CHRISTIAN Formation and EDUCATION FOR ADULTS

Grace Church offers a lively, wide-ranging adult program of classes, retreats, and special events. 
The goals of our program are:

 

The Fall 2010 syllabus will be coming soon. Stay Tuned.

WEDNESDAY EVENINGS (Back in session again starting Sept. 8, 2010.)
6:00 p.m. Light Potluck Supper in Parish Hall (If you can, please bring some food and drink to share.)
6:30-8:00 p.m. Evening Program in Parish Hall

 

Below are the details from last spring's session

Seeking Peace at the Center; the pilgrim journey

God makes a home within us, and God makes a home in the world. To grow in Christ, we must travel
both the inward and the outward journeys. The journey inward--which includes such practices as prayer
meditation, reflection, and keeping Sabbath--leads us to the indwelling God. The outward journey--
expressed in acts of service, kindness, and justice--opens us to the God of compassion who loves all
creation and especially identifies with the powerless and poor. A healthy spiritual life balances and
integrates the inward and outward journeys. As Christians we take these journeys not as solo travelers,
but together, as members of a pilgrim community within which we learn to listen, to forgive, and to
support each other to grow into our maturity in Christ. This year's program seeks to help us deepen
our journeys inward, outward, and together. We invite you to travel with us.

Our spring 2010 syllabus is available for download in pdf format.

JANUARY 13, 20, 27, FEBRUARY 3 “This I Believe/This We Believe”
Led by the Rev. Rob Hirschfeld and Shawn Adams
What are the foundational beliefs that express our faith? The heart of this course will be narrative theology, which uses stories to explore personal assertions about God. We will start not with abstract dogmas or doctrine, but with our own stories. Because the course’s approach will be inductive rather than deductive, sharing our personal experiences of our faith and beliefs will be central to the conversation. Time will be given to speaking and writing our
stories of faith. We will also explore the theology of the Mystery of God and the mystery of the person, the difference and dialogue between faith and belief, and the distinction between a theological discourse ‘from above’ and a theological discourse ‘from below.’ As a follow-up to the course, participants may wish to read a book about the Apostles Creed (Joan Chittister, In Search of Belief) and/or a book about the Nicene Creed (Marianne H. Micks, Loving the Questions: An Exploration of the Nicene Creed).
--Parishioner Shawn Adams uses the words of Emily Dickinson to describe herself: “I’m Nobody,” and adds, “Yet, in the love of God I continually become somebody every day.”

FEBRUARY 10 “Faith Development”
Led by Dr. Robert A. Jonas
What are the stages of faith development? What helps us to move to the next level? How does our level of faith development shape our interpretation of Scripture and Christian tradition, and our attitudes to other religions? If interpretation of Scripture depends on the lens through which it is read, can theories of faith development help us to understand afresh such sometimes-controversial passages as Jesus’ proclamation, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”?
--Robert A. Jonas, Ed.D., M.T.S., is the director of The Empty Bell, a contemplative sanctuary (www.emptybell.org). Trained as a psychologist and theologian, Jonas is a retreat leader, musician, and video artist. His latest publication is The Essential Henri Nouwen (Shambhala Publications, 2009).

FEBRUARY 24, MARCH 3, 10, 17, 24 “Give Us That Old Time Religion: An Invitation to a Holy Lent”
Led by the Rev. Rob Hirschfeld, with guest speakers including Veronica Chapman and
the Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas
For many people, the traditional practices of the church during the season before Easter have become less meaningful: either they are completely forgotten, or they are trivialized, equated with giving up chocolate or dessert. In this series we hope to take a new look at the sacred practices of Lent so that our selves, souls and bodies
may be found again as created, redeemed and sustained by a loving God who made us for love and joy. During these weeks we will find time to talk about the Peace of God that comes to us in prayer; to reflect while walking on a pilgrim path on a labyrinth and in our neighboring woods; and to discover the power that can come to us from fasting, the freedom that we can attain by alms-giving, and the sheer joy and renewal that can come from the Rite of Reconciliation (Confession). Come as though you’ve never heard of Lent before; leave feeling ready to accept the Paschal Fire and Feast more fully in your life.Participants will be invited to read and pray with
a book of short daily readings for Lent, Martin L. Smith’s A Season for the Spirit. Copies will be available for sale in the Old Rectory..

APRIL 14, 21, 28 “The Theology of Social Justice: How Prayer with Action Can Change the World (and Ourselves)” Using chapters from Walter Wink’s The Powers That Be as a springboard for discussion,
this series will address questions such as: In Scripture and our own lives, where do we sense Jesus calling us to reach out to those in need? How do our actions confront “the powers”? How does engagement in social justice and service enliven our faith? How do we pray about and act upon the ‘big issues’ such as poverty, environmental destruction, and war? How do we maintain hope and compassion, and avoid burnout, in the face of frustration, anger, and defeat? Copies of The Powers That Be will be available for purchase in the church office. “Prayer is never a private inner act disconnected from day-to-day realities. It is, rather, the interior battlefield where the decisive victory is won before any engagement in the outer world is even possible.” (Wink, p. 181)
April 14: DeAnne Riddle will lead a conversation based on chapters 1, 3, 5
(“Identifying the powers,” “Jesus’ answer to domination,” “Jesus’ third way”)
April 21: Bob Hawley will lead a conversation based on chapter 6 (“Practical non-violence”)
April 28: Annie Scarff will lead a conversation based on chapter 10 (“Prayer and the powers”)

MAY 5 “John Newton and the Progress of Grace”
Led by the Rev. Hilary Bogert-Winkler
John Newton is perhaps best known as the eighteenth century slave owner-turnedabolitionist who penned the hymn, “Amazing Grace.” However, he was also a priest in the Church of England and a committed evangelical Christian. In a series of three letters, Newton describes a three-stage path of spiritual development that he calls the “progressive work of grace.” In this class we will read the three letters from Newton describing this progress, and think about it in relation to our own faith journeys.

MAY 12 “Christian Healing” Led by the Rev. Ann Wood
This evening we will focus on inner healing, or, as it is sometimes known, on healing of the emotions, or healing of memories. We all carry “wounds” which we have picked up during our journey through life. How can we heal those wounds and find greater peace within? We will discuss what blocks there might be to hinder such healing, look at references to healing in Scripture, and spend some time practicing what we have learned.

MAY 19, 26, June 2 “The Great Book: Everything You Wanted to Know About the Bible but Haven’t Had a Chance to Ask”
Led by the Rev. Dr. Susan Schaeffer
The course will give an overview of the Bible’s content in just three weeks. Topics to be covered will include: The history of Israel, according to the biblical narratives; early Christian expressions of belief in Jesus; who God is; the theological themes of creation, sin, covenant, salvation; how the Bible is read in the Synagogue and the Church (our
lectionaries); praying with the Bible (the hours or offices; lectio divina, or meditativeprayer). Participants are encouraged to bring their questions -- and, if possible, a Bible (preferably an NRSV) -- to the class.
--Susan Schaeffer is Assisting Priest at Grace Church and has a Ph.D. in New Testament from Union Theological Seminary in New York.

JUNE 9, 16 “Spirituality and History: Images of St. Francis”
Led by Patricia Appelbaum
Most of us know and love the story of St. Francis of Assisi, but the church has not always understood him in ways familiar to us. Would we recognize a St. Francis who is an evangelical, a missionary, a forerunner of the Italian Renaissance--or even a faithful Roman Catholic? What about an ambitious schemer or a man of questionable morality? Using materials from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as Protestants gradually embraced their pre-Reformation history, we will explore diverse images of St. Francis, and how and why they emerged. We’ll also ask how history might shape our sense of devotion -- and vice versa.
--Patricia Appelbaum (M.A., Andover Newton Theological School; Ph.D., Boston University)
is a historian of American Protestantism with particular interest in its cultural expressions.

SUNDAY MORNINGS

Throughout the spring, Prayerful Bible Study will be held from 9:15-10:10 a.m. Newcomers are welcome to join this small group, which reads aloud and prayerfully discusses the day's Gospel passage. (Tom Williams, 413/269-1921)

photo courtesy of Reynolds Winslow


photo courtesy of Reynolds Winslow