ADULT FORMATION STUDIES

Sunday 10:00 a.m.

Death by Suburb—How to Keep the Suburbs from Killing Your Soul          

David L. Goetz

This book deals with eight essential practices for spiritual survival. Making time or space for God is the most basic element of spirituality. You can’t stop your busyness, really. You begin to open your life to God in small amounts.

Leaders: Mem and Hall Bryant, Cattie and Tad Clanton, Amy and Steve Creech, Holly and Jeff Ellis, Steve and Kirsten Mosher, Natalie and Jonathan Ramsey, Beth Morring and Bland Warren, Mary Beth and Ward Wilson.

When: September 2008 through November 2008

THE FIRST TO FOLLOW The Apostles of Jesus                               John R. Claypool

One of the first things Jesus did in his ministry was to reach out to twelve individuals and draw them into a circle of close companionship with him. This series is about those twelve apostles, their relationships with Jesus and with each other, and what the dynamics of that community can teach us.

Jesus did not wait for people to be perfect in order to call them into the circle of God’s love. As we look at those who Jesus called, and consider ourselves as part of that ever enlarging circle, we gain not only a deeper sense of how Christ wants to work with us.

Leaders: Mem and Hall Bryant, Lisa and Frank Caprio, Amy and Steve Creech, Susan and Austin King, Susan and Charles Morley, Holly and Jeff Ellis, Kay and Don Wheeler, Steve and Kirsten Mosher, Mary Beth and Ward Wilson, and Mary  Anne Akin

When: January 2009—March 2009

The Zimmerman Bible Study Class

This group will been in the library each Sunday morning.  For the 2008-2009 Sunday School year, the group will be studying the Gospel according to Matthew. The Zimmerman Bible Study Class was started in 1947 by Mrs. Anna Zimmerman, who taught the class until 1969. Steve Likos succeeded Mrs. Zimmerman, and continued to each until the spring of 2008. The tradition continues this fall with teaching team this year including: Betty McCaleb, Jane Douthit, Gaines Watts, and Elise Taylor.

The class will be utilizing commentary:

The Gospel of Matthew, Volumes 1 and 2 by William Barclay

Stories Jesus Still Tells: The Parables by John Claypool

The Book Class

Class Leaders: Evie Spearman, Olga Lana, Ann Bishop, Bob Serio, and Guest Speakers

Place: Joffrion 2 East

The Greco-roman World of the New Testament Era: Exploring the Background of Early Christianity                                                            James S. Jeffers (1999)

James Jefferes puts it succinctly: If we try to make sense of the Bible with no knowledge of the people who wrote it, those who read it and the society in which they lived, we will be inclined to read into the Scriptures our own society’s values and ideas. This would be a major mistake since our culture is very different from that of the ancient Romans (p.11).

Therefore, James Jeffers’ book is a helpful tool to help us better understand the new Testament World.

Here and Now                                                                                   J. M. Nouwen

Class Leader: Ann Corley

Place: Bibb Chapel

Dates: September 7 - October 12, 10:00 a.m.

Henri Nouwen was a human being first, then a Catholic Priest, then a well-known and highly respected spiritual write. Harvard and Yale offered him academic appointments which he turned down. Henri Nouwen lived his life like “one of us” often describing himself as the “everyman”. He once suggested that his middle initials “J.M.” stood for “just me”. He longed for nothing more than what we all want, friendship and real intimacy with other people and God. Come join us for the simple spirituality of Henri Nouwen, Here and Now.

Blue Like Jazz                                                                                     Donald Miller

Class Leaders: Mary Anne Akin, Cattie Clanton, Susan King, Steve Mosher, Ed Starnes, Helen Vaughn

Place: Bibb Chapel

Dates: October 19 - November 23

For anyone wondering if the Christian faith is still relevant in a post-modern culture,

For anyone thirsting for a genuine encounter with a God who is real,

For anyone yearning for a renewed sense of passion in life…

Blue Like Jazz is a fresh and original perspective on live, love, and redemption.

The Soul and Relationships: Dancing with Rumi on the Mystic Path   

Denise Breton and Christopher Largent

Class Leader: Jim Pierce

Place: Choir Room

Dates: September - May, 10:00 a.m. (1 year commitment)

In this class we will explore the nature of our personal relationships with the divine through the medium of the poetry of the Thirteenth Century Sufi mystic, Jalalu-’D-Din Rumi. Mysticism seeks to connect us to the mystery that is the basis for religious beliefs and is intimately associated with our soul-FULL-ness and our capacity to love. Benton and Largent provide us with a mechanism by which we can identify the divine as the active principle in our lives. We will seek to open and empty our SELVES in order to allow the Holy Spirit to flow through our everyday experiences. 

Watershed and Warming 

An Adult Christian Education Curriculum prepared by The Episcopal Diocese of Alabama Task Force for the Stewardship of Creation

Class Leader: Freya Neely

Dates: January 11, 2009 (five-week class)

This resource seeks to make us aware of the abundant beauty and goodness of the part of God’s creation we call Alabama. The more we know about the earth and the environment, the more we will love and care for them. This course is for adults and youth, to provide an opportunity to learn of the wonders of the Diocese of Alabama’s unique biodiversity and our role in Care of God’s Creation with our home rivers, lakes, streams, creeks, and water resources.

Silence, Peace, Love and Joy: Universal Themes in Art and Literature

Leaders: Lynne Berry, Jeannie Robison, Walter Thames

Dates: TBA

This class will explore a sampling of works of art and literature to illustrate silence, joy, and peace. The inspiration for this class is the Book of Meditations by Sister Wendy Beckett, a delightful British art expert and contemplative hermit who became a most unlikely celebrity when she presented a series of acclaimed art history documentaries for the BBC.

ADULT FORMATION STUDIES CONTINUED

WEEKDAYS

Wednesdays: Supper 5:30 p.m. , Study groups 6:10 p.m.

Bible Study for Women

The Best Christmas Ever

Dates: September  

Psalms from the Heart

Dates: January

Contact: Lane Tutt

Nativity will be offering a Bible study for women on Wednesday nights. This will be especially good for those women who work during the day and cannot attend a daytime Bible study. This will be for women of all ages. There will be a small fee for materials. All Nativity women are encouraged to come and to bring a friend.

Via Media: Discovering the Episcopal Church’s Wide Center

Leader: The Rev’d Andy Anderson and others

Contact: Lane Tutt for registration

Dates: September 10, 17, 24,

In October, the class will join the Wednesdays in October Spiritual Development Series

November 5, 12, 19

December 3, 10

Time:  A light supper will be served in Ridley Hall between 5:30 - 6:00 p.m. and the class starts at 6:10 p.m. with a 7:30 end time.

Join us on Wednesday evenings beginning September 10, for this exciting program that helps people look at the Episcopal Church and what it means to be a person of faith, Episcopal style. Questions of faith and other challenging questions that relate to our complex society are the core of this program. We know that science cannot solve the questions of the heart that hungers for spiritual communion. Episcopal parishes across the country are finding that Via Media is a creative, exciting way to explore these questions and build community. 

Thursdays:

Reflections Bible Study for mothers of young children

Contact: Mary Beth Wilson, 539-0361

Dates: Thursdays, 9:15 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. (Childcare provided by contacting M. Wilson)