WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2021, 6:45 P.M.–8:15 P.M., in person in Bloedel Hall and via Zoom.
Dean Thomason introduces the theme for The Wisdom School at Saint Mark's 21/22 program year.
Desire is often understood as existing in the realm of carnal experience, and is therefore to be denied or rejected. But mystics know a deeper truth—that desire is at the core of our spiritual awareness and informs all that we do and are, in response to God’s desire for us, or alternatively, as a shadow that hinders that union through false attachments. Dean Steve Thomason will draw on art, poetry, science, and theology, including writings of the mystics, exploring desire as a deeply-seated (and perhaps divinely hard-wired) spiritual gift that enables us to engage the Other in life-giving union while also reflecting on ways we fall prey to false attachments meant to fill the spiritual whole that only God can fill. No fee. In-person attendees must be vaccinated.
Click here to download the Powerpoint slides from this presentation.
References related to this presentation include:
- Coakley, Sarah. The New Asceticism: Sexuality, Gender, and the Quest for God. Bloomsbury, 2015
- Gudorf, Christine. Body, Sex, and Pleasure: Reconstructing Christian Sexual Ethics. Pilgrim Press, 1994.
- Guenther, Margaret. The Practice of Prayer. Cowley, 1998
- May, Gerald. Will and Spirit: A Contemplative Psychology. HarperOne, 1987.
It is my great delight to share the exciting news that The Reverend Eliacín Rosario-Cruz has accepted the call to serve as Canon and Priest Associate at Saint Mark’s Cathedral. Eliacín (pronounced “ay-lee-uh-SEEN”) is no stranger to Saint Mark’s, having served as Adult Faith Formation Associate here 2005–2008, and he was ordained a priest in the cathedral in 2015. Since ordination he has served St. Luke’s~San Lucas Episcopal Church in Vancouver, WA, and, more recently, as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Snohomish since September, 2017.
