See the listings below for adult educational offerings
at The Redeemer in the year ahead.

Adult Forums

Bible Studies

Adult Study Groups

Click on the image above for a PDF copy
of the Fall 2011 Adult Christian Formation brochure

Lent is traditionally a time when we Christians prepare hearts and minds to behold, embrace, and wonder about what we believe to be the most glorious and mysterious saving act of God, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is this central reality that grounds us and the one that we celebrate and for which we give thanks to God week to week in our corporate worship through the Holy Eucharist. The transcendent goodness of God’s desire to gather all people to Godself, into one body, thus highlighted, beheld and celebrated brings inquiring and discerning hearts also to wonder whether and how a group of believers can make a difference in this world, a world that continues to writhe in discord and violence, separation and fear, helplessness and hopelessness.

This Lent, Christian formation opportunities for adults will provide environments where we can wonder about and have dialogue around who we are meant to be and what fruits we are meant to bear, just how we should live in the here and now as Christian people and as the Church, a people always growing into our calling to be a “royal priesthood.” Our inquiry will be informed by N.T. Wright’s 2010 publication, After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters. Tom Wright is the former Bishop of Durham, a noted contemporary theologian and New Testament scholar and prolific writer. He is currently the Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. (The book can be purchased on-line from Amazon. A limited number of copies are available for purchase in the parish office. The cost is approximately $15.)

As has become our custom, those interested in engaging the topic more intensively during the season of Lent, will be meeting in small groups each week at the homes of parishioners. In addition, the Sunday Adult Forum will explore various related subtopics and Café Conversations (running concurrently with the Forum on Sundays) will provide opportunities for short dialogue sessions related to the overarching theme of Christian purpose and virtue. Stay tuned to the weekly News from The Redeemer and watch for special emails regarding events and speakers and more information will be posted here when its available.

The initial chapters of the book of Genesis contain some of the best known and most misunderstood stories of the Bible. Creation, the Fall into Sin, Cain and Abel, the Flood, and the Tower of Babel are all familiar tales, easily told and even more easily warped into breezy stories that reflect no more than primitive attempts to explain the most fundamental dynamics of our world, it’s being and form.

The resultant problems effect more than just our interpretation of these passages. For they comprise the foundation on which all the rest of the Biblical drama is based. If we get these wrong (as has been so exasperatingly the case with Creation), all the rest of our perception of Christian faith becomes skewed. When we dismiss these stories as weak or irrelevant within our modern context, then the whole of the Scriptural witness loses its weight and profundity. We are left with flighty images of love that simply cannot compete with the visceral issues of power, deception, confusion, and challenge that are integral to our lives today.

The discussions will be focused on reclaiming these texts in such a way that their true importance can be discovered and their common and crippling misinterpretations can be dismissed. You will be surprised at how deep and formative these chapters become.

Upcoming Adult Forums

Redeemer Adult Study Group
Meets the 2nd & 4th Tuesday evenings of each month
at 7:00pm in the Parish House Library

Why Evil Exists

Why do humans do evil? What is behind “man’s inhumanity to man,” the troubling fact of human actions that produce suffering and destruction? Is it ultimately a spiritual or cosmic problem? Is it a consequence of social systems or power structures? Or it is some inner deficit of human nature, lurking in the shadow world of our psychology? Why, in the end, does evil exist, why do we all sometimes commit evil ourselves, and how can we avoid it?

The Adult Study Group will meet again on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 or 9:00 pm in the parish House Library throughout the 2011-12 year. We’ll throw open the gates of hell and think together about evil. We will use the video course, Why Evil Exists, by Charles Matthews, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Religion at the University of Virginia and consultant to the Episcopal House of Bishops. Some of us have evaluated the course, and we know that it is lucid and thought provoking. Each meeting begins with a 30-minute lecture from the course, and then we discuss it. No preparation is necessary. The only rules are that everyone is free to express themselves as much or as little as they like, we are free to change our minds, there can be no charge of heresy, and we will have fun with evil—well at least with talking about it!

We are interested in including new members, and our time together really is fun, interesting, and filled with opportunities for spiritual growth.

For more information, contact Howard Baker.

Click here to register for this class.

Are you Crazy About Money?

Third Tuesday of the month
starts October 18 and runs through April 17 at 7:00 to 8:30pm

Many of us struggle with our complex relationship to money, just as we often struggle with our relationship to food. Dr. Maggie Baker, author of her recently published book, Crazy About Money: How Emotions Confuse Our Money Choices and What to Do About It, has offered to lead a 6-session/ once a month group to provide a safe place to learn about unconscious assumptions and beliefs we all have about money. No budgeting, disclosures of net worth, etc. are required. Most important is a willingness to challenge beliefs that may hinder making effective use of financial resources. Purchase of Dr. Baker’s book ($14.95) is recommended but not required. Dr. Baker will discuss the course briefly and entertain questions at the end of the Sunday forum on Sept. 25.

Click here to register for this class.

Men's Brown Bag Bible Study
Thursdays
12:00 pm, Conference Room, Parish House

Bring your lunch and your inquiring spirit to join in a wide-ranging discussion about writings of C. S. Lewis, the Gospels, the letters of Paul, and the religious issues of our day.

    Contact: Dr. Doug Raymond

Contemplative Prayer Group for Women
Thursdays  10:45-11:45 am

All women of the parish are invited to gather for an hour on Thursday mornings to explore and practice contemplative forms of Christian prayer, some ancient and some more contemporary.   We will always begin with a time of centering prayer.  While regular attendance is encouraged in order to open the way for optimal blessing in each person’s prayer life, participants are welcome to attend as they are able and to invite their friends.  The Reverend Beth Hixon is your convener and guide.

Biblical Studies for Women
Thursdays   12:00- 1 pm

“Read, learn, mark and inwardly digest…” Sitting with scripture and soaking in its meaning for our individual and corporate lives is an art.  As in any relationship, it is important in our relationship with God to nurture a balance between speaking and deep listening.  This weekly time of study will give participants an opportunity to encounter particular biblical texts, to listen reflectively to those texts, and to engage in dialogue about how God’s word is touching their own lives. Come when you can, bring a lunch if you wish, invite others to join the group at any time.  The Rev. Beth Hixon is your catechist (guide and teacher).