INTRODUCTION / RECAP- the story thus far at ecofaith (as I've been telling it anyway)

Nov-Dec last year: story of evolution, life as the image of God, life as having dominion, no Fall, not original sin but intrinsic needs (love, autonomy and meaning), who is Jesus then (group discussion)?

February- why are we here: (why is life here, why are humans here, why is/was Jesus here, group discussion on the month)

March-April (Lent-Easter): We worked through the lectionary, looking at Old Testament covenants and the story of Jesus in Mark.  What kind of promise is being offered, what kind of salvation or covenant?  Who is it for, who misses out?  What do the prophets, and Jesus (and we) make of those covenants, those offers of salvation?  What is Jesus offering?  Is his offer the fulfilment or the rejection of the Hebrew covenant?
What does Easter mean to us, what about resurrection (group discussions).

So in terms of an overall story, which might take a year to explore, we had a six week introduction.  Then we looked at what our place in the story might be. Oddly, because of the time of year, we started the story with death.  I thought this month we could look at the next part in the story- life.  From death flows life, either through resurrection, or through sex!  So May is sex month.

September might seem to be a better month to think about sex, but we are still surrounded by the fruit of sex.  In Adelaide we get sex twice a year.  At least.

So: this week- the science story of sex.  Where it came from, how, why, and some interesting little anecdotes to help us reflect on it religiously in the rest of the month.  Sex, parenting, partnering
Then next week: maybe look at marriage and partnering- how it has been and could be viewed from a religious perspective, in an evolutionary context.  Why would people want to marry?  How is marriage linked to sex?
Then celibacy and kids: why have them? What is celibacy in 2006? Etc etc
Then a week to share our own thoughts or spin on the story of sex amidst the big story of life.
Then it will be June, kicking off with world environment day.

SEX
Based on the powerpoint presentation prepared for the Christianity after Darwin conference.

May 7- the story of sex and relationships (evolutionary version)
Pretty much a straight paraphrase of the powerpoint, takes about 10 minutes.

May 14- (Christian/religious) marriage in an evolutionary context
reflection question: what is my context, what kind of relationship is going to be life giving in this context?  To what extent does the relationship and the context shape each other?
May 21- Having kids in our current ecological context- the new celibacy?
Reflection on having kids- yours or others. Extended ”families” in 2006.  What does celibacy mean for you?
May 28- group reflection.

It would be good to have another week for the concluding propositions. Maybe I could give that to people on the 21st to take away with them and mull over.