By Setarreh Massihzadegan
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

With the holidays around the corner, many Linden Ponds residents made it a priority to learn about the origins of various religions.

In the third course offered at Linden Ponds by Reverend Paul Sprecher, of Second Parish Unitarian Universalist in Hingham, "Origins of Religion" drummed up so much interest that the group had to be split into two classes.

"The courses are attracting people from a wide range of different religious faiths, and I think that’s good," says Sandy Peavey, who lives at Linden Ponds. Peavey has served as a liaison between her community and Sprecher’s parish, of which she is a member.

Origin of the course
The religion courses, sponsored by the Unitarian Universalists Fellowship at Linden Ponds and Sprecher’s Second Parish, weren’t always held at Linden Ponds.

Sprecher was teaching a Bible class at his parish last winter when he realized that about half of his students came from Linden Ponds, which is nearby. The realization prompted him to move recent classes to Linden Ponds, where people who don’t live in the community are also welcome.

"People like to learn. It’s heartening that people are willing to come out and invest some time in reading," Sprecher says of the nearly 50 people who met for eight weeks of the origins class.

Lessons today
The course followed the book The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions, written by Karen Armstrong, a well-known author on matters of comparative religion. The book delves into the foundation of four of the major world religions that originated in China, Israel, Greece, and India during the "Axial Age" of 900 B.C. to 200 B.C.

Sprecher says the class, which was more of a discussion group, aimed "to share an understanding of where our religious traditions come from and to understand the lessons as they apply to our contemporary reality."