Faith Formation - Adults

The Evolution of God

Sundays

11:00 am – Noon

via Zoom

Remote access credentials available from the class facilitator.

Topic:  The Evolution of God, by Robert Wright

Facilitator:  Jim Block

Participants will join in discussion, using this author’s narrative that takes readers from the Stone Age to the Information Age.  In the book, Wright unveils an astonishing discovery: there’s a hidden pattern that the great monotheistic faiths have followed as they have evolved.  Through the prisms of archaeology, theology, and evolutionary psychology, Wright’s findings overturn basic assumptions about Judiasm, Christianity, and Islam, and are sure to cause controversary.  He explains why spirituality has a  role today, and why science, contrary to conventional wisdom, affirms the validity of the religious quest.  And, this previously unrecognized evoluation logic points not toward continued religous extremism, but future harmony.

Love for One Another

Sundays

11:00 am – Noon

Fellowship Hall

Topic:  Love for One Another, by Susan Gamelin

Facilitator:  Bill Parasida

Loving one another is life giving, perhaps especially when we begin to love people who are difficult for us to love.  Joy and peacefulness pour into us when we love God and one another, no matter what.  “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”  (John 13:34).  The study is in Genesis, 1 Samuel, Luke, John, Acts, 1 Corinthians, James and 1 John.

Faith & Literature

Tuesdays (starts 9/22)

Every Other Week

9:30 am – 11:00 am

Katharina/Luther Room

Topic:  The Walk, by Richard Paul Evans

Facilitator:  Jane Hein

What would you do if you lost everything — your job, your home, and the love of your life — all at the same time?  When it happens in Seattle to ad executive Alan Christofferson, he’s tempted by his darkest thoughts.  A bottle of pills in his hand and nothing left to live for, he plans to end his misery.  Instead, he decides to take a walk.  But not any ordinary walk.  Taking with him only the barest of essentials, Al leaves behind all that he’s known and heads for the farthest point on his map:  Key West, Florida.  The people he encounters along the way, and the lessons they share with him, will save his life — and inspire yours.

Women’s Spirituality

Tuesdays

Every Other Week

1:30 pm – 3:00 pm

Fellowship Hall

Topic:  Beloved, by Toni Morrison

Facilitator:  Janet Montelaro

Beloved is a 1987 novel by the American writer Toni Morrison.  Set after the American Civil War, it is inspired by the life of Margaret Garner, an African American who escaped slavery in Kentucy in late January 1856 by crossing the Ohio River to Ohio, a free state.  Participants will join in discussion on the chronicling of the destructive legacy of slavery and one woman’s experience on the road to freedom.  More detail >>

3 Ds Women’s Group

Monthly (starts 9/16)

3rd Wednesday of every month

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Location:  TBD

Topic:  Rotating Discussion

Coordinator:  Donna Peffer

Participants will enjoy spiritual enlightenment, mutual encouragements and prayer through this monthly gathering also known for it’s devotions, discussions and destinations.  Facilitation of discussions are rotated monthly with shared leadership using either the A Woman After God’s Own Heart book, by Elizabeth George, or other selected material identified by the host.

3 E’s Women’s Group

Wednesdays (starts 9/9)

2nd & 4th Wednesday of every month

2:00 – 3:30 pm

Location:  TBD

Topic:  A Woman After God’s Own Heart, by Elizath George

Coordinator:  Brenda Hauser

Participants will experience peace, order and joy when they follow God’s guidelines, as they become a woman after His heart!  In this book, the author shares God’s Word and woman-to-woman practical wisdom on how to pursue God’s priorities in order for the real purpose in life to be discovered.

Pastor’s Class

Wednesdays (starts 10/7)

7:00 – 8:00 pm

via Zoom

Remote access credentials available from the class facilitator.

Topic:  Practicing Compassion, by Frank Rogers

Facilitator:  Doug Gebhard, Interim Pastor

Compassion is more than a sympathtic feeling, it is the bond of human connection.  Most religions lift up compassion yet few people actually teach how to practice it.  Through rich and moving stories of pepole from various faiths, the author shows ways to incorporate compassion in our daily lives.  His interfaith perspective on mercy, kindness, and caring for one another trains us to Pay attention, Understand emphathically, Love with conneciton, Sense the sacredness, and Embody new life (PULSE).

SWPA Synod Regional Study

 Thursdays (starts 10/8)

7:00 – 8:30 pm

via Zoom

Remote access credentials available from the class facilitator.

Topic:  Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race, by Debby Irving

Facilitator:  Jane Hein

This regional book study is being offered to laypeople of the SWPA Synod ELCA and is designed to offer race related discussions and ultimately better equip participants for their work of creating a more just world.  The book is a chronicling of the author’s journey of discovery and insight that shifted her worldview and upended her life plan as she strove to reach out to her students and families of color.

More details>>