Television art legend Bob Ross showed people how to paint happy mountains and joyful trees. People with some skills could follow along, however, if you had never used an artist’s brush or mixed paint, you had to watch the reruns over and over again to complete a painting.

If you have ever wanted to learn to paint from the very first step I am offering classes just for the fun of it. I am inviting you to join me from my grubby home studio via Zoom. The classes will be live, offering the ability to ask questions and have conversation.

My plan is to begin with basics that include value, color mixing, and use of brushes. Yes, you will be painting an image. However, the image will be one of your choosing and will be started after basic introductory practice classes.

The classes are intended for adults, however, if older youth join with their adult that’s okay with me. I simply request patience since remote teaching is new to me.
Class 1: (example)
Opening prayer/scripture
A Sample Tour of Images
Color and Value (Practice mixing)
Color Wheel (download an online sample for yourself)

A list of supplies will be given to participants. Dave Bart, from Jerry’s
Artarama, Newark, is working with me to put together an inexpensive
packet of supplies for anyone who needs them.

Classes will begin the second week of January. Class days and times
will be set by a survey of participants. To sign up, email prgunderson@comcast.net. Indicate a couple of days and times that work for you – afternoon, evening, day of week.
If you say, “I can’t draw a straight line.” I would respond, “Then use a straight edge to draw it.” Skill is not a requirement for this class. A bit of playfulness is expected.

St. Paul’s Lutheran has established the  ‘Proverbs 22:6 Education Fund.’  It was born from a congregational member’s small gesture, as they assisted a family within our Extended Care program who needed a helping hand. A simple gift turned into a mission, which now works to serve the families of both St. Paul’s Lutheran School and Church.

More details of this exciting mission can be found at:

http://st-pauls-lutheran-school.squarespace.com/proverbs226/

“Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.” 

 – Proverbs 22:6

This coming Sunday (Oct 12) Amazing Grace looks at HEARING God address us with a word of Grace. And, as time allows we’ll begin to look at how Lutherans TEACH the faith. See Chapters 2 and 3 of Baptized, We Live.

Come with a favorite bible passage of yours to share. And questions you may have about the Bible.

The way we understand the Bible is critical. Too often we’ve used the Bible in ways that have distorted God’s Word for us. Here’s a quote that may open up some discussion among us.

“The Bible, as I read it now, is not a catalogue of absolutes, as its champions sometimes imply. Nor is it a document of fantasy, as its critics charge. It is an ancient record of an ongoing encounter with God in the darkness as well as the light of human experience. Like all sacred texts, it employs multiple forms of language to convey truth: poetry, narrative, legend, parable, echoing imagery, wordplay, prophecy, metaphor, didactics, wisdom saying. In the Christianity of the modern West, we’ve largely left the vivid storytelling of the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, in Sunday school. We’ve consigned it to the world of childhood figuratively and literally. And in our time a superficial Christian rendering of these biblical texts underpins false dichotomies that plague our public life— chasms we’ve set up between sacred text and truth, between idealized views of the way human beings should behave and the complex reality of the way they do.”

Tippett, Krista (2008-01-29). Speaking of Faith: Why Religion Matters–and How to Talk About It (Kindle Locations 624-631). Penguin Group US. Kindle Edition.

What do you think? Comments invited! (Both here and at the class this Sunday.)

Come out and join us on the 3rd Saturday of each month from 9:00 am – noon – bring fabric, your sewing machine if you like and a snack to share with your fellow quilters!  Everyone is welcome!  We get together, share food, fellowship and work on what we have – utility quilts for LWR (Lutheran World Relief), and lighter quilts for local agencies/individuals.