Adult Spirituality, Support, Education and Events

Adult Spirituality, Support, and Education at Epworth

Adult Education at Epworth is devoted to community building, broad interests, and questioning. In terms of breadth, we range from more “traditional” modes of Christian adult education such as meditation and prayer and bible study to less traditional ones such as ecological issues, finance and economics, the struggle for peace and justice, parenting, Christian approaches to love and sexuality, race relations, etc. Essentially every aspect of life can be regarded as a focal point for considering how a Christian might live, and members of our church represent many areas of expertise and experience — thus the breadth of our inquiry.

Questioning is important, not only as regards interpretation of scripture but also the many difficult questions that confront us in daily spiritual, personal and political life. And we build our community, both within the congregation and beyond its walls, by facing up to how we might work together to understand each other and tackle the difficult problems that keep us from experiencing full grace. Adult study takes place in lectures, meetings, or discussions after church coffee hour on Sundays, but also at Lenten evening soup suppers, the pastor’s book discussion group, and other venues as we continue to think of different ways to come together and learn.

Sunday Morning Adult Study
Adult study classes are scheduled on Sundays after worship and coffee fellowship and at other times during the year. Classes are led by both members of the Epworth community and outside speakers. The classes are often a part of a series. Recent series include: Winter Bible Institute “Wrestling ’til Blest with our Sacred Text,” “Families and Faith,” “Jesus According to Hollywood,” Philippines Bible Study, and classes sponsored by the Building Beloved Community Committee.

Building the Beloved Community
Building the Beloved Community is a ministry group whose goal is to deepen Epworth’s fellowship and intentionally explore community through issues of race, ethnicity and culture, learning who we are individually and as a church. Contact Sandra Sanders-West, svswval@aol.com

Dinners for Six
Sponsored by Building the Beloved Community ministry group, Dinners (and sometimes lunches) for Six are an effort to bring our church members and affiliates together outside of the church walls to share a meal and share our lives as we seek to know and understand each other and ourselves better.

Pastor’s Book Group
Each month the Pastor selects a new book to read and explore at the Pastor’s Book Group. The book is usually available for purchase during Coffee Hour. Dates, times and location of the Book Group are announced in the Epworth News and the Sunday bulletin.
Books in 2009 included. . . . .
Upcoming titles:

Odd One Out
A bi-monthly potluck dinner for LGBT individuals and family members at Epworth. The group comes together in odd numbered months, on the first (No. 1) Saturday of the month to celebrate and share food and conversation.  Contact us at epworth@lmi.net

Young Adults Social Group
Young Adults share food and fun at regularly-scheduled potluck dinners

Woodminster Buddies
During the summer months, Epworth members and friends attend five musicals under the stars at the Woodminster Ampitheater in the Oakland hills. This is a public community celebration and intergenerational fun. Picnic together before the show at tables reserved for us on-site by group organizer Beverly Dance. Contact Beverly at dance@mba.berkeley.edu.

Lenten Study Series:
Once a week during Lent, we gather as a community for a simple meal, then break out into a variety of small study groups. Adult, youth, and child study groups explored creative prayer, prayer expressed in the arts, Bible study, the spiritual practice of shared labor, exploring our world, and parenting.

Lenten Friends
During the six weeks of Lent, you may volunteer to be paired as a spiritual friend to talk with one another for one hour a week until Easter. This is an opportunity to get to know someone from our community better with six focused conversations about God and your spiritual journey.