News & Events

THIS WINTER @JOYCE:

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Celebrate Black History Month with Joyce!

This month we honor Black History in all of our hymn choices. This Sunday 2/12, the Joyce Choir will pay tribute with an African American anthem. Music Director Liz Lupien will perform a rag attributed to Scott Joplin.

Sun., Feb. 26, we will be joined by gospel singer David Ballman of the Wild Moon Bhaktas!

Sun, Feb 12

Prelude: “Silver Swan” (attrib Joplin)

Offertory: “Soon and Very Soon” (Crouch)

Special Music: “O Freedom” (arr Bell)

Postlude: “Tango in D” (Albeniz)

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Uptown Kids Reading Club has resumed! First Sundays of the month, 12:15pm Parlor

All youth grades K-6 welcome! Kids will read a story together & create an art project based on themes from that story. Book selections help kids learn about different cultures and exercise their critical thinking skills. Book and supplies provided. Parents/guardians welcome to stay. Contact Bev for more info, or email events@joycechurch.org.

————————NEW VOICES WELCOME! The Joyce Choir performs every 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month. Choir practices are each Sunday morning from 9:30-10:30 in the Sanctuary. New singers are welcome any time! Contact Music Director Liz Lupien for info, or just drop into a rehearsal!

COMMUNION IS HOSTED THE FIRST SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH:

All are welcome to join us at the table. Joyce UMC provides the elements using non-alcoholic juice.

POTLUCK LUNCHES ARE HELD THE LAST SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH AT 12NOON, right after the 11AM CHURCH SERVICE.

If it’s your first time joining us, don’t worry about a thing. There’s plenty to go around. Regular-attendees are asked to bring a dish to share

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NEED MEETING OR PRACTICE SPACE? OR A PLACE TO HOST AN EVENT?

Contact Shayna for info: events@joycechurch.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

News Briefs

Do you have any news to share? Any joys or concerns you’d like to share with our church community? Ideas for speakers, cultural or arts entertainment?

Please send an email to: events@joycechurch.org

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Searching for something to kick-start your spiritual journey in 2012?

Begins February 1st

Jesus and the Sufi Way

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus”

- Philippians 2:5

Much has been written and spoken about the man from Galilee who lived 2,000 years ago. He has been called a prophet, teacher, revolutionary, healer, wise counselor and the Son of God. His followers have had a profound impact on the world, responsible for some of the most sublime creations the world has ever seen and others which it is hard to believe the man known as Jesus would ever have accepted.

This 5 week course will take a fresh look at the teachings of Jesus through the lens of Sufi wisdom tradition. We will try to understand Jesus by discerning what he actually said and did rather than what was attributed to him by later authors. We will examine his core teachings and look at the parallels within the wisdom teachings of the Sufi masters. We will attempt to see Jesus through fresh eyes as a Jewish prophet and teacher in the Middle East whose native tongue was Aramaic and who was steeped in the Hebrew holy books of the prophets before him.

Our exploration will begin with the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as well as the ‘gnostic’ gospels of Thomas and Mary. We will also look to the Aramaic bible (Peshitta) for insights into the layers of meaning present in the teaching stories he was fond of using. We will bring in the Holy Quran as well as the writings of the Sufi saints and teachers to look at the teachings from a perspective which may be new to many.

But we won’t stop with examing the teachings from theology, belief and the understanding of the mind. Central to the teachings of all the prophets is the understanding of the heart through direct experience. Each class will center around a method of experiencing the profound love and opening of the heart given by the teacher of the Love. We will experience the Christian practices of Centering Prayer, contemplation, Lectio Divina and meditation on the Aramaic words of Jesus. We will bring in the beauty of the Sufi practices of Remembrance of God, the Divine Names of God, reconciliation and others.

Themes of the course will include:

love
forgiveness
human nature
proximity to the Divine
reconciling the exoteric (outside) and the esoteric (inside)
reconciliation and peace
Jesus: man, teacher, prophet, Son of God?

This course may be of interest to:

Sufis who have come from a Christian background and wonder how the two intersect
Sufis who wish to remain Christian
Family members and friends of Sufis who wonder about how the Sufi tradition compares with Christianity
Christians who are curious about Islam and would like to learn more about it
Christians who feel their faith experience might be deepend by exporing the insights of Sufi theology and practice
Christians interested in a different perspective on Jesus and his teachings

Jesus and the Sufi Way – 5 week course

Every Wednesday in February from 7:00-00pm central time

Feb 1, Feb 8, Feb 15, Feb 22, Feb 29

2 ways to attend classes:

1) Live at Joyce United Methodist Church; 1219 W 31st Street, Minneapolis, MN 55408

2) Live by phone conference line

All classes will be recorded for participants.

Tuition: $95

Scholarships are available upon request

Teacher: Pat Aylward

Pat Abdullah Aylward is a graduate of the University of Spiritual Healing and Sufism and Muqaddam (community leader) in the Shadhiliyya Sufi lineage under the guidance of Shaykh Muhammad al Jamal of Jerusalem. He has taught Sufism for the past 10 years, was raised as a Catholic and studied Christianity with a focus on contemplation and mysticism, especially the Desert Fathers and Mothers, Thomas Merton, St John of the Cross, Meister Eckhart, the Philokalia and the Prayer of the Heart.

Registration

Include your name, email address and phone number.

Tuition payments can be made through Paypal:

Or mail a check to:

Pat Aylward

11200 W 78th Street

Eden Prairie, MN 55344

After registration complete course information will be sent to you including how to participate by phone.

For scholarship opportunities please contact Pat at pataylward@earthlink.net or 612-414-3317.