Adult Education

Learning and growing in our spiritual life together

Living the Questions 2

LtQ2 is a popular video & internet-based small group exploration of progressive Christianity featuring premier religion voices of our day. 21 sessions in all, it will be presented in three 7-week segments:

1. Invitation to Journey

2010 Sep 30 -- Nov 11
7 Thursday evenings, 7:30 - 9:30 pm
at Robertson-Wesley, Room 11

2. Reclaiming the World

2011 winter, dates tba

3. Call to Covenant

2011 spring, dates tba

Leaders: Jim Allan, Nancy Heule

Please register with the church office

For more information see the Living the Questions web site.

Saving Jesus from the Church

by Robin R. Meyers

book study

Countless thoughtful people are now so disgusted with the marriage of bad theology and hypocritical behavior by the church that a new Reformation is required in which the purpose of religion itself is reimagined.

Meyers takes the best of biblical scholarship and recasts these core Christian concepts to exhort the church to pursue an alternative vision of the Christian life:

• Jesus as Teacher, not Savior
• Christianity as Compassion, not Condemnation
• Prosperity as Dangerous, not Divine
• Discipleship as Obedience, not Control
• Religion as Relationship, not Righteousness

This is not a call to the church to move to the far left or to try something brand new. Rather, it is the recovery of something very old. Saving Jesus from the Church shows us what it means to be a Christian and how to follow Jesus' teachings today.

Leader: Nancy Heule

Saturday, 2010 Nov 13, 9:30 am -- 3:00 pm
Please register with the church office

For more information about the book see HarperCollins web site.

The Decalogue

film and discussion group

Join us to view Polish Director Krzysztof Kieslowski's award-winning series The Decalogue. Filmed in Poland toward the end of the Soviet era, it brings the Ten Commandments to life in unusual and often confusing ways.

Review of The Decalogue by James Berardinelli

Leader: Nancy Heule

Sundays at 9:15 am, beginning 2010 Oct 24

Membership Class (for Adults)

Leader: Jim Allan

Offered each winter, this six-week course is designed to be a brief survey of the foundational elements of church membership with opportunity for discussion and exploration of our religious background. While it is primarily for people preparing for confirmation, we also welcome anyone who would like to just review the basics, whether they have been confirmed or not.

2011 Mar 3 to Apr 7
6 Thursday evenings, 7:30 - 9:30 pm
at Robertson-Wesley, Room 11

The service for adult confirmation will be on April 10, 10:30 am.

For more information about church membership see Becoming a Member of Robertson-Wesley.

Past Programs

The Passion of the Christ

Mel Gibson's motion picture, The Passion of the Christ (2004) was controvercial and impactful because of its attempt to portray the last days of the earthly life of Jesus of Nazareth with unprecedented graphic realism. It also incorporated some non-biblical elements of the story which have their source in The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, containing the visions of 19th century German nun, Sister Anne Emmerich.

The experience of the motion picture has been an inspiring spiritual experience for many people and the basis for some very interesting and stimulating discussion. So during Lent this year, we are offering two opportunities to view the picture, followed by an opportunity to gather for discussion.

Evening Screening: Monday, 2010 Mar 22 from 7:00 to 9:30 pm. Rm 11.

Noon Screening: Wednesday, 2010 Mar 24 from 12:00 to 2:30 pm. Rm 11.

Discussion: Sunday, Mar 28, 2010 from 12:00 to 2:00 pm,
starting with lunch. Rm 11.
Discussion leaders: Jim Allan, Nancy Heule

Experiencing Ecological Christianity

a nine-session program designed to be used with Bruce Sanguin’s book Darwin, Divinity, and the Dance of the Cosmos. Together we will explore how we humans became distanced from nature and creation, and how, as Christians, we can be faithful to God in this era of rapid climate change.

Each session will be offered twice a week for nine weeks:

Mondays, January 11 -- March 8, at 7:30 pm, and
Wednesdays, January 13 to March 10 at 12:00 noon.

Cost– book purchase: $30.
Facilitator – Nancy Heule

Saving Jesus

Ever feel like Jesus has been kidnapped by the Christian Right? Saving Jesus is a revolutionary dvd-based small group exploration of Jesus Christ for the third millennium. Featuring leading religious voices of our day, the 12-week program includes a CD with facilitator and participant guides with readings, quotes and discussion questions. The format for each 1 – 1 ½ hour session includes conversation around the readings, a 20-minute video segment and guided discussion. Join Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, Matthew Fox, Amy-Jill Levine, James Forbes and a host of others for an exploration of the relevance of Jesus Christ for the third millennium.
This exciting DVD series from Living the Questions will be offered for twelve weeks beginning on Sunday March 1st. Each one of the series of twelve will be presented again on the following Monday evening and Wednesday noon.

Time and Place

Cost $20 for participant guide.

Borg & Crossan

As part of our centenial celebrations, we are pleased
to be co-sponsoring this important educational event:

"The Shack"

A study and discussion of the novel by Wm. Paul Young.

This story takes us on an imaginary journey through one of the most tragic experiences of human existence, the part of life that leads us to ask the hardest questions about God, and boldly imagines some ways of thinking about God and relating to God that enables us to hear a word of grace in one of those darkest moments.

Facilitator – Jim Allan and/or Nancy Heule
Cost: book purchase only

There will be two opportunities to study and discuss The Shack.

First opportunity (in 2 sessions):
Mondays, Sep 28 and Oct 5, 2009 from 7:30 to 9:00 pm. Rm 11.

Second opportunity (in a single session):
Saturday, Nov 14, 2009 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, including lunch. Rm 11.

Saving Jesus

Ever feel like Jesus has been kidnapped by the Christian Right? Saving Jesus is a revolutionary dvd-based small group exploration of Jesus Christ for the third millennium. Featuring leading religious voices of our day, the 12-week program includes a CD with facilitator and participant guides with readings, quotes and discussion questions. The format for each 1 – 1 ½ hour session includes conversation around the readings, a 20-minute video segment and guided discussion. Join Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, Matthew Fox, Amy-Jill Levine, James Forbes and a host of others for an exploration of the relevance of Jesus Christ for the third millennium.
This exciting DVD series from Living the Questions will be offered for twelve weeks beginning on Sunday March 1st. Each one of the series of twelve will be presented again on the following Monday evening and Wednesday noon.

Time and Place

Every Sunday at 9 AM in Room 11 beginning 2009 March 1;
every Monday evening at 7 PM in the Club Room beginning 2009 March 2,
and every Wednesday noon beginning 2009 March 4 in Room 11.

Cost $20 for participant guide.

More details