Jack Horner’s Corner

Jim Johnson hosts “Jack Horner’s Corner” each Sunday following worship to dig into the topic of the day.

Seeker’s Group

This group, which is open to all who are interested, meets at 9 am each Sunday to discuss books by contemporary authors, usually covering one chapter at a time.   Like author Rachel Held Evans, the group takes inspiration from the insight that the word “disciple”comes from the Latin “discere” – to learn.  “We’re all,” as Evans says in Wholehearted Faith,  “in process, all just part way through our studies.”

            Books that the group has recently explored include Evan’s Wholehearted Faith; Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal; Bruce Epperly’s Piglet’s Process; Barbara Brown Taylor’s Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others; Karen Armstrong’s Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life; and Ibram X. Kendi’s How to be an Antiracist.

Current Study: Who Killed Jesus? Exposing the Roots of Anti-Semitism and the Gospel Story of the Death of Jesus by John Dominic Crossan

The death of Jesus is one of the most hotly debated questions in Christianity today. In his massive and highly publicized The Death of the Messiah , Raymond Brown — while clearly rejecting anti-Semitism — never questions the essential historicity of the passion stories. Yet it is these stories, in which the Jews decide Jesus’ execution, that have fueled centuries of Christian anti-Semitism. Now, in his most controversial book, John Dominic Crossan shows that this traditional understanding of the Gospels as historical fact is not only wrong but dangerous. Drawing on the best of biblical, anthropological, sociological and historical research, he demonstrates definitively that it was the Roman government that tried and executed Jesus as a social agitator. Crossan also candidly addresses such key theological questions as “Did Jesus die for our sins?” and “Is our faith in vain if there was no bodily resurrection?” Ultimately, however, Crossan’s radical reexamination shows that the belief that the Jews killed Jesus is an early Christian myth (directed against rival Jewish groups) that must be eradicated from authentic Christian faith.

Click Here to learn more about Who Killed Jesus? Exposing the Roots of Anti-Semitism and the Gospel Story of the Death of Jesus by John Dominic Crossan

The United Congregational Church of HolyokeUCCH Fellowship

We regularly meet the first Tuesday of the month for friendship and fun October – June. Mayor Garcia will be speaking at our November meeting. We usually enjoy programs from time to time. We also host the Annual Pork Roast Dinner.