Adult Education Opportunities

September 2019–May 2020

In response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, all non-essential programming and in-person gatherings have been canceled through April 30, 2020, and perhaps beyond. Please check our Programs & Events page for the listing of online programming.

 

To learn more about the book studies and film discussions being offered this year, click on the photo or title below.

  • Film Discussions

    This program has been postponed in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and the restrictions on non-essential gatherings. It will be rescheduled when conditions permit.

    Join us for fellowship and conversation around an assortment of interesting topics. After worship we will gather for a light lunch, then we’ll watch a movie and engage in some lively discussion. No previous knowledge necessary, all are welcome.

  • Introductory Bible Study

    Mondays, 12–1pm in the Zoom room

    Starting on Monday, April 27, we will be shifting our format slightly and looking at the gospel texts that Pastor Kimberly will be preaching on for the coming week. Help her think about the text and its meaning, compare the story to parallel stories in other gospels, look at Hebrew Bible texts that might have shaped the gospel's telling, and prepare to engage more deeply with the text in Sunday's worship.

         The text for Monday, April 27 and Sunday, May 3 is Luke 24:13–35. If we have time during the bible study we will finish reading chapter 24.

         It would be good to have you with us.


    To join the meeting online: https://zoom.us/j/8652748433

    To join on your mobile phone: +16465588656,,8652748433#

    To dial in as a phone call: 646-558-8656, then enter Meeting ID: 865 274 8433 #

  • Intergenerational Sunday School Class

    Sundays, 11:15am–12pm in the Library Lounge

    This program has been suspended in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and the restrictions on non-essential gatherings. It will resume when conditions permit.

    Our Intergenerational Sunday School is held during coffee hour in the Library Lounge. There are several stations, which rotate monthly. The stations incorporate all the scripture lessons for the month, and everyone can interact with them as they feel moved. You can do one a week, you can do several if you miss a week, or you can do the same one for several weeks if it is meaningful to you. Some stations are geared for all ages, some more for adults, and some more for children, but definitely something for everybody!

  • Book Study

    Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? by Bill McKibben

    Mondays, April 27 and May 4 & 11, 6:15–7:30pm in the Zoom room

    Read, then join us for a three-week book study led by Elder Chris Burger. Books are on back order, so you may have to download on Kindle. Everyone is welcome to join the discussion, even if you didn’t get to read the book.

     

    Click here for more information about this book study.

  • Passage Meditation guided by Judy Westcott

    This program has been postponed in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and the restrictions on non-essential gatherings. It will be rescheduled when conditions permit.

    “Be still and know….” —Psalm 46:10

     

    Church services with inspiring sermons, music, and community prayer. Committee work, programs including book discussion groups, movies with discussion, going to stage productions which inspire and educate, community action: Community Meal, Care and Share, Christmas projects, and more…

         All of these parts of our life as a congregation involve thinking, problem-solving, reasoning, interaction with others.

         So what does “Be still” mean to you?

         This spring, we will explore the practice of Meditation. There are many forms of meditation, but the basic premise is to still the mind. In that stillness one can hear one’s inner voice. That inner voice is God, Love, Divine Self.

         Eknath Easwaren offers one definition: “Teaching attention to flow without a break toward a single inspirational focus within the mind until finally the mind becomes completely absorbed and all distracting thoughts disappear.”

         More details of this exploration will be forthcoming.

Monday Evening Book Studies

Mondays, 6:15–7:30pm in the Library Lounge

Read, then join us for one of our three-week book studies. We’ll discuss topics such as mercy, hospitality, compassion, and ways that the modern church is changing. Copies of the books are available for pickup from the church office. Donations to offset the cost of the books are welcome, but not required. We hope to see you there!

  • Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week by Amy-Jill Levine

    March 16, 23, 30

    The story of the Passion of Jesus rests at the core of Christianity, yet the story is so familiar that many people never study the texts that tell the story to find its meaning for today. Dr. Levine has written a deep yet easily accessible meditation, useful to Christians and Jews, believers and agnostics alike. Through a dramatic retelling of the death of Jesus that brought new life meaning into the world, the author focuses primarily on risk-taking behavior — that of Jesus — and ultimately our own. She shows us how the text raises ethical and spiritual questions for the reader, and how we all face risk in our Christian experience. For practicing Christians, Dr. Levine de-familiarizes the Passion tale just enough that the story will be considered freshly.

  • Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? by Bill McKibben

    April 20, 27, May 4

    Bill McKibben’s The End of Nature alerted us to global warming. But the danger is broader: even as climate change shrinks the space where our civilization can exist, new technologies like artificial intelligence and robotics threaten to bleach away the variety of human experience. Falter tells the story of these converging trends and of the ideological fervor that keeps us from bringing them under control. And then, drawing on McKibben’s experience in building 350.org, it offers some possible ways out of the trap. We’re at a bleak moment in human history — and we’ll either confront that bleakness or watch the civilization our forebears built slip away. Falter is a powerful and sobering call to arms, to save not only our planet but also our humanity.