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President Thomas M. Becker gavels a previous season to a close.

Sacred Song provides fitting sendoff

August 26, 2012 by The Chautauquan Daily 0 Comments

Two short months ago, excitement, joy and greetings among old friends swirled through the Amphitheater as Institution President Tom Becker tapped the gavel three times to open the 2012 Season.

As the Sunday sun sets and the final note of the Massey Organ fades into the twilight hour, Becker will repeat the tradition in a totally different atmosphere. With three more taps, he will close the season during the final Sacred Song Service at 8 p.m. in the Amp.

“This is like the death of 2012 Chautauqua in a way,” said Jared Jacobsen, organist and coordinator of worship and sacred music. “We have to help people kind of get up to it and then get through it.”

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The Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, Chautauqua’s pastor and director of the Department of Religion, will preach on “The Case for Ambiguity.”

Campbell gives season’s final sermon

August 25, 2012 by The Chautauquan Daily 0 Comments

“We are living in an age of certainty, and I want to make the case for ambiguity,” said the Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, director of the Chautauqua Department of Religion.

Campbell will be the preacher for the final Sunday of the 2012 Chautauqua Season at the 10:45 a.m. Service of Worship and Sermon. Her text is I Corinthians 13:4-13, and her title is “The Case for Ambiguity.”

“Even though the Scripture reading will be from the New Revised Standard Version, I will be preaching from the King James Version. I believe that we do see ‘through a glass darkly.’ That old translation is more poetic, but it is also more helpful in a time that is rooted in certainty,” she said. “I believe that it is in times of uncertainty, when we question our thoughts and decisions, that God can enter our lives. Chautauquans are leaving to go to an election burdened with certainty when we can only see anything partially.”

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Hunter: ‘You are not forgotten. You are loved. It is going to be great.’

August 25, 2012 by The Chautauquan Daily 0 Comments

“Most of us think reason and emotion are antithetical, but they need each other,” began the Rev. Joel Hunter at the Friday morning 9:15 a.m. Devotional Hour. His text was 1 Kings 3:5-9, and his topic was “Odd Couples: Reason and Emotion.”

In the Scripture, Solomon asks God for an “understanding heart.”

Hunter said, “I used to counsel couples planning on getting married to never try to work out a problem when they were angry. When adrenaline goes up, emotions go up, and reason goes down. I tell them to go out, calm down, then come back after prayer.”

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Images of fingers point the way to important passages in the 511-year-old Koberger Bible recently donated to Chautauqua’s Department of Religion. Photo by Michelle Kanaar.

Chautauquan donates 511-year-old Bible for Institution’s book collection

August 23, 2012 by The Chautauquan Daily 2 Comments

The Bible is one of the world’s most read books. People turn through its pages in moments of despair or elation. The holy text is present at baptisms, weddings, funerals and the moments that punctuate life in between.

The Department of Religion of Chautauqua Institution recently received a Bible that has seen many such moments. Earlier this month, Judith Burrows, a retired Episcopal priest, gave a 511-year-old Bible to the institution.

“This wonderful institution was built on a religious foundation. It’s right for it, it’s where it should be,” Burrows said.

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Hunter: ‘We see ourselves in Christ, and we focus on him’

August 23, 2012 by The Chautauquan Daily 0 Comments

I am talking this week about God’s complementarity, about partners that complete one another, but should never be married lest they become confused. Today, I want to talk about piety and practicality, about soul-shaping and service,” said the Rev. Joel Hunter at the Thursday morning 9:15 a.m. Devotional Hour.

His topic was “Piety and Practicality,” and his text was James 2:14-18.

“People easily confuse or substitute the one for the other,” he said. “That is because they are not sure of their role on Earth. They become indistinct and lose their personal mission. They try to replace the personal love of a personal God with service.”

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Hunter: ‘If love is to be effective, it has to be exclusive’

August 23, 2012 by The Chautauquan Daily 0 Comments

The Rev. Joel Hunter continued his series on “Odd Couples” at the Wednesday morning 9:15 a.m. Devotional Hour.

“These odd couples hold our lives in dynamic tension as we grow into the creatures God made us to be,” Hunter said.

His title was “Odd Couples: Believers and Unbelievers” and his text was John 17:13-20.

“Unbelievers are people who don’t believe like you do,” he said. The congregation laughed. “Becky, my wife, sat next to a rabbi on Sunday who said we need to be more radical about our own faith. By radical he meant rooted so that we become more the kind of person we are.”

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Hunter: ‘God’s revelation comes by the Word and the world’

August 22, 2012 by The Chautauquan Daily 0 Comments

“We are always learning about science and religion. They are not separate spheres; God has two major sources of revelation. In Scripture, we find specific revelation, and in nature, we find general revelation,” said the Rev. Joel Hunter at the Tuesday morning 9:15 a.m. Devotional Hour. His text was Romans 1:20, and his topic was “Odd Couples: Faith and Science.”

He noted that the sermon continued on his theme of complementarity. God made the world for differences to combine to be complete; they can go together, but they should never marry. Hunter said that his wife was a biology teacher, and he is a preacher, and they agreed to never combine their fields of expertise in their marriage.

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Hunter: ‘God is not confined by institutions’

August 21, 2012 by The Chautauquan Daily 0 Comments

“There are some odd couples who can date but who should never marry,” said the Rev. Joel Hunter at the Monday morning 9:15 a.m. Devotional Hour. His topic was “Odd Couples: Church and State,” and his text was Romans 13:1-4.

“There are some couples who can date but should never marry. This is true of the church and the state. This is why Jefferson referred to the wall of separation between church and state,” Hunter said. “Keep this picture in mind. The state is a well-intentioned bully. He knows strength and force. The church is a bipolar church lady. She tries to help people across the street, but if you make her angry, she will hurt you. The nature of the relationship between church and state is one of continual dialogue, but they should never marry.”

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