John Dominic Crossan at Queen Anne UMC May 26-27

John Dominic Crossan comes to Queen Anne United Methodist Church May 26-27 as the next facilitator in our program "The Well, a gathering place for conversation." Speaking on his new book "The Power of Parable: How Fiction by Jesus Became Fiction about Jesus," Crossan will lecture three times and preach during worship on Pentecost Sunday.

The schedule for the weekend begins Saturday, May 26, with a lecture at 7 PM. Sunday begins with worship; John Dominic Crossan will preach during worship, which begins at 10 AM. In the afternoon, he will give two additional lectures beginning at 3 PM. Book sales and book signing will take place on Sunday.

"The Well" has focused on narrative and story during our early weeks. Robert V Taylor spoke about his book in which he uses his own spiritual journey as a tour guide for the reader along his or her own journey. Carrie Newcomer led a workshop called "Our Lives as Sacred Story." In June, Kathleen Norris will speak about time - our use and misuse of it - drawing from her book "Acedia and Me." And, in July, poet and activist Luis Rodriguez will join us, also taking on the theme of story.

John Dominic Crossan asserts that Christians can't get 21st Century Christianity right if we don't understand 1st Century Christianity. His work attempts to make Jesus, his followers, his Jewish context, and the early Christian movement real for Christians today.

His most recent book dissects the linguistic tool Jesus most used - the parable. Jesus spoke about the "kingdom" by telling stories. Yet, Christians very quickly lost that focus in order to emphasize Jesus himself. Why is that? What does it mean? What can we learn from Jesus' own teachings?

These are questions that thinking, questioning, and maturing Christians should attempt to answer.

The weather has finally turned nice in Seattle. It is Folklife that weekend. There are lots of reasons to be distracted, but I encourage folks in the Seattle area to sign up and come. Email us at thewellqueenanne@gmail.com or call at 206-282-4307 for tickets. The event is free and open to the public with a suggested donation of $30 for the full series of lectures.