Adult Education – “Struggles of Faith”
This year the overall theme of Adult Education is “Struggles of Faith” . You can study faith through understanding and challenge’s of one’s own faith. However, during this year, we look at how others have done it and how they have been challenged. How has faith been revealed and reshaped throughout our history ? Hopefully it will provide a greater depth of your own faith by studying the diversity of the Christian experience.
1. FALL – Faith within Church History
The fall for 12 Sundays we will watch an intriguing DVD series Christianity the First 3,000 years, based on book of the same name by Diarmaid McCulloch. This series sheds the idea that Christianity is a pure western faith. Indeed he shows the story in Jerusalem, Rome, Constantinople and places to the east to show the diversity and constant reinvention of the Christian faith. This is less a study of Jesus and Gospels and more of understanding how worship has changed through different movements of the Church.
2. ADVENT – Faith through the Arts.
“Hallelujah! The Bible and Handel’s Messiah” provides an understanding of this incredible music work for Christmas and the composer who wrote the work. We will be listening to much of the work.
3. EPIPHANY- Faith through Practice.
A Potpouri in the new year… We will look at a variety of spiritual practices, including visiting sites in Israel associated with Jesus, the Labrynth and some contemporary writers who are exploriong alternative means of expression through the concept of the Emerging Church
4. LENT – Faith of Forgiveness
Lent is an appropriate time to examine the issue of forgiveness and the role of faith in the process. This is both a book and DVD.
Note – #5 and #6 were not done.
5. EASTERTIDE – Faith in the Reformation
How did a re-examination of faith and practice lead to the development of the Refomation in Germany and England ? This gets at the heart of the creation of Episcopalianism.
6. PENTECOST /ORDINARY TIME – Faith within the Prophets
We see faith demonstrated in the struggles and thoughts of seven prophets of the old Testament in relationship to their particular circumstances – Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi