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Faith and Culture: Living Stones of Architecture / Living Words of Literature
New Learning for Life class begins January 11, 2026
Sundays, January 11 to March 29, 2026, 9:30, in the library and on Zoom.
Facilitators: Brenda Beckman-Long and Timothy Long
This class will explore the many ways that faith experiences are expressed in church architecture (January 11 – February 15) and contemplative literature (February 22 – March 29).
In the first section, “Living Stones of Architecture,” Timothy will ask what the structure, space, and symbols of First Baptist Church Regina mean. He will draw on the rich language of temple and stone found in the Bible, examples from historic and modern churches he has visited, and the insights of guest speakers. The class will attune the congregation to the unspoken messages contained in what they see every week: from the massive columns of the Victoria Avenue entrance, to the shimmering waters of Katepwa Lake in the baptistery mural, and everything in between.
In Brenda’s section, she will start with poems by John Donne, George Herbert, T.S. Eliot, and Robert Frost. Moving from poems to stories, she will discuss selected works by J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Alice Walker, and Annie Dillard. They include Tolkien’s “Ainulindale” (a creation story), Lewis’s “Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What’s to be Said,” Walker’s “The Welcome Table,” and Dillard’s “A Field of Silence.” These works can encourage contemplation, especially in the season of Lent.