Adult Education
Education is an important part of our continuing faith development, especially for adults. We strive to present engaging, relevant and even fun learning opportunities for our adults. Current and upcoming adult classes are described below. All of these classes are held on Sundays from 9 to 10 am, unless otherwise noted. "Grab 'n Go" coffee and tea are available in the Fellowship Hall lobby on Sunday mornings beginnning at 8:45 am.
Silent Conversations in Good Company
Sundays, January 15 through February 5
in Fellowship Hall led by Dr. Greta Ham
Dr. Greta Ham will lead discussions from the book, Silent Conversations: Reading the Bible in Good Company, by William Apel. Each week's reading is a chapter that pairs a Biblical verse with a passage by a prominent religious thinker. You can purchase the boook at Barnes and Noble or Amazon, or pick up copies of the the relevant materials in Fellowship Hall on Sunday mornings before class. Readings and conversation will be as follows:
January 15: The Sign of Jonah: Jonah and Thomas Merton
January 22: Centered in Christ: Mark and Dietrich Bonhoeffer
January 29: Something Beautiful for God: Matthew and Mother Teresa
February 5: Valley of the Shadow: the Psalms and C.S. Lewis
John Calvin: Presbyterian Roots
Sundays, February 5, 12, 19
in the Study led by Reinhard Schweitzer-StennerThree theologians are generally considered as the “founding fathers” of protestant reformation: Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli and Jean Calvin. Luther, and later Melanchton, laid the foundation for the Lutheran branch of Protestantism. The thoughts and words of Zwingli and Calvin led to the reformed tradition. As a Presbyterian church, we belong to the Anglo-Saxon branch of the latter. To understand our tradition and our faith, a knowledge of what our founders were thinking and how their theology has influenced the development of reformed Protestantism is helpful. Three Sunday classes this February will be dedicated to the person and the theology of the French/Swiss theologian Jean Calvin.
February 5: some important facts about Calvin's life and its historical and theological context.
February 12: Calvin’s understanding of scripture with regard to the Old Testament, which was much more comprehensive than that of Martin Luther.
February 19: the most disputed topic of Calvin's theology, the so called 'double predestination.” In this context we will also discuss a more recent modification of this important doctrine (which Calvin didn't invent) in the theology of Karl Barth.
All three classes will be based on a series of Calvin lectures which Karl Barth delivered at the University of Goettingen in 1922 and Calvin's most important work, the 'Institutes of Christian Religion.'
Forgiveness
Sundays, February 12 & 19in Fellowship Hall led by Rev. Lisa Day
Many of us assume that our call as Christians is to “once and done” forgiveness. Lisa Day will lead a two part class in which we will explore a model that looks at forgiveness as more of a process or pilgrimage that proceeds in fits and starts. Forgiveness can be the work of a lifetime, or longer, but it is never too early, or too late, to begin.
News from the Democratic Republic of Congo
Sunday, February 26
in Fellowship Hall led by John & Gwenda Fletcher
Our newest mission co-workers will be spending a few months “stateside” reporting to some of the congregations that support their efforts. We are fortunate to be among them, and look forward to meeting John and Gwenda Fletcher in person. They will be making a slideshow presentation followed by Q & A in Fellowship Hall at 9:00, and will join us for worship at 10:15. The World Mission Committee also invites those interested to join them and the Fletchers for lunch. This group will gather in the Fellowship Hall lobby at noon. Details on lunch plans will be published in the Sunday bulletin.
Read more about the Fletchers' work in their own words on the PCUSA website.
Inquirers' Classes
Sundays, February 26 through March 18
in the Study led by Rev. Richard Wohlschlaeger
Calling all prospective members! All who have been worshipping with us from time to time, whose children enjoy our church school programs or youth groups, or who attended the Open House in January and think SPC might be a good place to explore their faith, are encouraged to join Dick Wohlschlaeger for four Sunday mornings in the Study. In this time together you will learn what “being Presbyterian” really means, share some of your own faith journey, and spend some time with our pastors and committee folk talking about some of the many ways there are to do ministry in this particular Presbyterian Church. We love new members because we thrive on new ideas. Come and see!
To view descriptions of previous SPC Adult Education classes,
please visit our Adult Education Class Archive