Dust and Glory
What does it mean to be human? What is it that makes humans distinct from other creatures? What does a good life look like? These are massive questions, and arguably, they are the questions that our culture is wrestling with currently.
One of the facets of being human and that makes us distinct from other creatures is that we are storytellers. It is through stories that we make meaning out of the world we find ourselves in. We all have our favourite stories, the ones that we connect with on deep emotional levels and inspire us to dream bigger, to see the world and others differently. We use stories to speak to deep truths about who God is, what it means to be human, and what the meaning and purpose of life is. We also all have our own stories that we use to make sense of our lived experience.
Stories shape our lives. As the theologian AJ Swoboda writes ‘we become the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves.’[1] Stories, ideas, have power; they have the ability to create and also to destroy. Therefore it’s vital that we examine the stories we are telling about what it means to be human, both on an individual level about ourselves, and on a cultural level. Are these stories life-giving or death-dealing?
During our time together we’ll go right back to the beginning of the Bible to see what story Genesis 1 and 2 has to tell us about what it means to be human. We’ll discover a story of Dust and Glory, that humans are a wonderful mix of dust – earth, and glory – heaven. As the Orthodox theologian, Kallistos Ware was fond of saying, each of us is a cosmos, the crossroads where earth and heaven meet. We’ll also spend some time looking at the stories we are telling ourselves about who we are. And all through the metaphor of a Peanut M&M!
[1] AJ Swoboda, The Gift of Thorns
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Arrival is from 9:30am for a 10:00am start. Lunch is included, along with tea/coffee throughout. The day will end around 4:00pm.
To book your place or request further details, please email:
b2ZmaWNlIHwgc3JwZiAhIG9yZyAhIHVr or call the office on 01494 881037.
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Leader: Katherine Gantlett
Katherine is married to Jon, and they have a young son, Charlie. She studied with and worked for Westminster Theological Centre (WTC) and she is currently training as a Spiritual Director with the London Centre for Spiritual Direction. Her book Walking Through Winter unpacks how with God, we can face and walk through seasons of loss with authenticity, faith, and hope.
You can find out more about Katherine by visiting her website
https://katherinegantlett.org.uk/.
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