For more information on the following events/announcements contact the church office at 703-281-4411 or e-mail office@oaktonbrethren.org. All events take place at the church unless otherwise noted. The church is located at 10025 Courthouse Rd., Vienna, at the intersection of Rt. 123 and Courthouse Rd. near Oakton.
Adult Elective on Synoptic Gospels begins 1/8
Saturday, January 7th
Quarterly Adult Sunday School Class - Synoptic Gospels
Vern Wingert will be leading a class on the topic of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew Mark Luke). The term synoptic comes from the Greek syn, meaning "together", and optic, meaning "seen". The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in the same sequence, and sometimes exactly the same wording. Please join Vern for a discussion of the significance of each of these gospel texts. The class will be held in the former Middler's Classroom on the upper level room 2-2. This class will be held January 8th through February 26th. Please contact Missy Burket maburket [at]yahoo.com or Vern Wingert wingertv [at] aol.com if you have any questions.
Meal and Congregational Business Meeting Jan 29
Sunday, January 15th
Congregational Business Meeting noon on January 29
Please attend the next CBM on January 29th after worship with a carry-in lunch. Our agenda will include the annual reports of our church committees. Join in a celebration of our congregation's ministires in 2011 and our prayers for the future.
7:30 pm 2/22 Ash Wednesday Service
Monday, February 6th
Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22, begins the season of Lent in 2012. This time of year--40 days (not counting Sundays) before Easter—echoes Christ’s time in the wilderness and invites us to look more deeply into our own walk with God. A worship service, “In Step With Jesus,” will be held Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 7:30 PM.
A special prayer path will be set up in the Fellowship Hall for meditation during Lent. As you follow the path around the room, posted scriptures, meditations, and prayers will encourage you to consider aspects of following Jesus.
A copy of the Church of the Brethren's Lenten devotional, "A Community of Love," by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford will be available in the narthex beginning Sunday, Feb. 19.
New Adult Elective Class - begins 3/4
Tuesday, February 7th
One Word, Different Voices: The Amazing Variety of Biblical Styles
Taught by Pastor Chris March 4 – April 1
(Third Floor at top of stairs; room 2/2)
The Bible holds a whole library-full of different types of writing. Some of these styles are mysterious, some boring, and some downright shocking. Examples of some styles will be shared and discussed in class so that each type of biblical voice will be given authority to speak through the Holy Spirit. This class will be a fun, quick, challenging overview helping us remember to read the Bible with respect while delighting in its down-to-earth realness. Our whirlwind study is designed for all levels of experience; whether you know a lot or very little about the Bible, the "One Word, Different Voices" class will add both substance and spice to our Bible-reading experiences. It's a good way to get your head around the differences in this book we cherish as "The Word of God."
3/04 Short Stories (Ruth, Jonah, Esther, parables of Jesus)
3/11 Erotic Poetry (Song of Songs --- so steamy some folks wanted to ban it)
3/18 Worship Hymns (Psalms --- including some words you'll never hear in church)
3/25 Genealogies (these boring parts of the Bible sometimes surprise us)
4/01 Wisdom Literature (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes---hopeful, helpful, or downright depressed)
At various times we will also briefly note other types of text: Apocalyptic (Daniel, Revelation), Letters (the major and minor Epistles), Legal (Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and the Ten Commandments), Prophetic (Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc), Gospel.