Dreaming with Mark
![](https://www.stjohnsjackson.org/uploads/images/img-1245_647_medium.jpg)
A Message from Brian Nystrom
I just got back from a walk along the Snake, down the dike from the Wilson Bridge. We’ve entered those beautiful, hot, dog days of August. The snow has melted from the high mountain passes in the backcountry, the river is running low and clear. Although the landscape is turning brown, it is a time of ripening. After a lush, green spring and early summer, things seem a little spare.
And yet it’s a time of plenty. Grasses are going to seed, the berries are turning. It’s a time to be grateful for this magnificent valley and all it offers us.
This summer, we got together on five Monday nights to eat a simple meal and dream big dreams for St. John’s, the world, and ourselves. We planted seeds, and now we are going to see how our dreams ripen. I’m excited to see where the Spirit is leading us. I wonder what’s in store. I’m pretty sure the fruits of our dreams will be better than we can even imagine yet.
One of the dreams that kept emerging at those sessions was the hope that adults could get together to study scripture. In response to that dream, I’m happy to say that Christie Laughery and I are going to lead a class that focuses on the gospel of Mark. We’ll get together in Hansen Hall on the four Mondays in August, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. We’ll have soup, so you don’t need to cook that evening, and childcare will be available. We’ll have fellowship and learn about what Mark had to say to his readers, and what he has to say to us, today. Mark is my favorite gospel, because it is urgent, simple, and quick. Like August in Jackson Hole, Mark’s story of Jesus might seem a little spare, but it also might surprise you. It is rich and ripe, for those who have ears to hear. Let’s explore this together.
And you don’t even have to read Mark. It was a story composed to be heard, preferably in one sitting, so that’s how we are going to encounter it. Here's a link to a recording of the entire book, read by yours truly. It only takes an hour and twenty minutes, so listen, come with an open mind and an open heart, and let’s see where Mark’s dream takes us.
Peace, Brian
Tags: Worship / Adult Formation / Formation