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Our Founding Eggheads (l-r): Jay Price, Steve Solomon, and Fred Wehling
In September 1998, Jay Price, Steve Solomon, and Fred Wehling began attending a Bible study conducted by the pastor of St. Timothy Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Monterey, California. Jay (a Ph.D. in history), Steve (an M.A. in German Language and Literature), and Fred (a Ph.D. in political science) all liked to hold forth in learned monologues on erudite topics such as theology, linguistics, church history, and Biblical studies. All three "eggheads" also began to notice that other members of the class, who were expecting a devotional Bible study rather than a lecture series, tended to become glassy-eyed during these monologues. Jay, Steve, and Fred decided to found an ecumenical study and discussion group in which learned rambling was not only tolerated but actively encouraged. Fred suggested a "patron" for the endeavor: Johannes Amos Comenius, a bishop of the Bohemian Unitas Fratrum (Moravian Brethren) who preached religious tolerance during a time when religious tolerance was very rare. Thus was born the Comenius Fellowship. The Fellowship's mission is aptly summarized by its official motto, "Loving God with All Our Minds." The Fellowship's unofficial motto, "For People with More Education than Common Sense," demonstrates that our Founding Eggheads share a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor as well as an interest in considering faith issues from an intellectual perspective.
The Comenius Fellowship held its first meeting in November 1998. Members attended a Taizé service at First Presbyterian Church in Monterey and met afterwards with Rev. Jay Bartow to discuss the origin and significance of the Taizé movement.
In December, the Comenius Fellowship attended a talk with Bishop Basil Meeking entitled "A Catholic View of Ecumenism" at San Carlos Cathedral in Monterey, then retired to Morgan's for coffee and discussion.
Our third meeting was held on Thursday, January 14, 1999, at 7:00 p.m. in the Social Hall at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. Pastor Harold Englund presented a talk entitled "The Role of the Church in Post-Apartheid South Africa."
On Friday, February 26th, we met at All Saints Episcopal Church, Dolores & 9th Street, Carmel, for a discussion entitled "The Church Meets the 2/3 World" concerning social issues raised at the 1998 Lambeth Conference, the most recent convocation of the Anglican Church.
The March meeting of the Comenius Fellowship took place on Wednesday the 24th at St. Timothy Lutheran Church, following the Lenten Soup Supper. Guest speakers from Sar Shalom Messianic Congregation spoke on the Christian significance of the Passover seder.
Because of our busy Easter schedules, we did not meet in April. Our May meeting took place on Thursday the 2th at St.Timothy. Our topic was "John Comenius and his ecumenical vision." We viewed a video on the life of Comenius and discussed topics for future meetings. Around this time we began considering a weekly rather than monthly format.
For our June meeting, we joined in a day trip to San Francisco's Grace Cathedral planned by Rev. Debbie Low-Skinner of All Saints Episcopal Church. We took a tour of the cathedral's art treasures and were treated to a private demonstration of and lecture about the pipe organ, which boasts pipes ranging from 8 feet to less than an inch in length. After the tour, several of us took the opportunity to walk the Grace Cathedral Labyrinth, which is based on the labyrinth of the cathedral in Chartres, France.
On June 30, 1999, the Comenius Fellowship adopted a weekly format for its next activity, a Reading and Discussion Group. The choice of Karen Armstrong's controversial best-seller, A History of God: The 4000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, made for some lively discussions. Shortly after beginning this activity, we skipped one meeting to say farewell to Founding Egghead Jay at a festive dinner at Rosine's (something of a Comenius Fellowship hangout) before he departed for his new professorship in Wichita, Kansas. We also put Armstrong aside on September 8, 1999, to hear Carl Erickson give a presentation on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), based on his experience of a three-day Loyola retreat. After presenting extracts from Loyola's writings to guide us in silent meditation, Carl showed a video on Loyola's life and works. On May 17, 2000, we met at the home of LaRene Kauffman to view and discuss a video on the Shroud of Turin.
After concluding our discussion of A History of God, we next read Jack Miles's GOD: A Biography, followed by John Shelby Spong's Why Christianity Must Change or Die. We then read and discussed Marcus Borg's Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time. On June 28 we will view a two-hour video concerning the so-called Lost Tribes of Israel. We will begin our next book, the Reverend Robin Griffith-Jones's The Four Witnesses, on July 5 or 12, depending on how long it takes us to finish our discussion of the Lost Tribes video. If you are interested in participating, please call Founding Egghead Steve Solomon at (831) 649-1764 or write him at srsgm@pacbell.net.
The Comenius Fellowship welcomes your participation and solicits your suggestions for future meeting topics. In Monterey, California, please contact Steve Solomon or Fred Wehling. In Wichita, Kansas, please contact Jay Price.