For nearly twenty years, Jon Goman has been offering classes on various aspects of Christian tradition under the auspices of Linn Benton Community College.  The classes are held in the Lakeside Room at the Mennonite Village in Albany, and a number of the participants are residents of the Village, but participation is by no means restricted to residents.  On the contrary, at least half come from surrounding areas.  Again, many of the participants are retired, but not all.  Episcopalians usually predominate, but there are always people from other denominations, from Roman Catholic to Mennonite.  These are academic classes in the sense of being two-hour lectures one day a week for ten weeks and focused on a particular topic along with readings. But, the lectures wander delightfully in response to questions.  Participation is lively, to say the least, and continues during the break, a break which is also a delicious midmorning snack because participants take turns supplying home made cookies and other good things.

This past quarter, the topic was the theology of prayer.  Readings were from a book by an Anglican monk, Christian Proficiency, dating from about a half century ago:  a book neither liberal nor conservative, just full of undogmatic common sense and a tranquil faith that individual daily prayer, habitual prayer, is part of living a Christian life.  The readings are especially valuable because they offer a clear presentation of the relevant vocabulary of ascetic theology, vocabulary once taught in catechism but now frequently misunderstood, such as the distinction between a fault and a sin, or a habit and a rule.

As good as the readings may be, it is Jon’s lectures and responses to questions which supply the main attraction.  His particular area of expertise is church history. While he in no way denigrates the importance of imagination and feeling, his emphasis is on critical thinking and knowledge of history as a guide.  Christianity, Jon teaches us, is an experiential reality, an experiment in living and in the process of change that goes with it.  We don’t know the right answer.  All doctrine is at the very best mere approximation.  As Jon expressed it at the last meeting of the class, the vocabulary and structure offered is but equipment to go in your backpack; the trip is yours.

Submitted by Stephen Blevans