Fall Schedule

We will begin Adult Formation again on Sunday mornings on September 11th at 9:30 AM in the Parish Building.  We will be studying A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson until the beginning of Advent.

The book can be purchased from Amazon.com for as little as a couple of dollars + shipping.  It is possible to order it from a local bookstore as well.

A brief description:
As a society, we are no less obsessed with the immediate than when Eugene Peterson first wrote this Christian classic. If anything, email and the Internet may have intensified our quest for the quick fix. But Peterson's time-tested prescription for discipleship remains the same--a long obedience in the same direction. Tucked away in the Hebrew Psalter, Peterson discovered "an old dog-eared songbook," the Songs of Ascents that were sung by pilgrims on their way up to worship in Jerusalem. In these songs (Psalms 120-134) Peterson finds encouragement for modern pilgrims as we learn to grow in worship, service, joy, work, happiness, humility, community and blessing. This 20th anniversary edition of A Long Obedience in the Same Direction features these Psalms in Peterson's widely acclaimed paraphrase, The Message. He also includes an epilogue in which he reflects on the themes of this book and his ministry during the twenty years since its original publication.

Looking toward the Fall

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Just an update about what we have been doing since Lent.

The Easter Season through Pentecost we spent some time looking at other religions in our midst, mostly Judaism and Islam.  We discussed our relationship tp them historically, looked at some of their scriptures, and how they work in the modern world.  As you can imagine, the discussions always went longer than we had time for.  We closed out the season with some discussions about Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other groups that we encounter regularly.

We have taken July off and we are planning to come back in full force on September 11th for the Fall Term.  Look for another announcement soon regarding the topic until Advent.

Also:

ADULT FORMATION COOKOUT

Anybody who has ever attended Adult Formation on Sunday mornings, or is the least bit interested in attending, is invited to a  cookout on August 28th at Carole Talman's home in the evening at 5 PM. In case of inclement weather, we will meet at St. Andrew's.

We are planning to have hamburgers and hot dogs, and everyone attending will bring some kind of dish to go along with the meal.

Let me know you are coming--
Michael Rich
hmichaelrich@gmail.com
(828) 316-7442

Season of Lent 2011

We will be using the Anti-Racism training manual from the Episcopal Church during the season of Lent this year.

The manual is meant to be used in a 12-14 hour training session, and we will not have the opportunity to do that during Adult Formation time.  But we will be able to use some of the exercises, discussion points, and use it as a jumping off place for discussing racism in the church and in our community.

All of this discussion will prepare us for the Presiding Bishop's visit to the Diocese in April.

Download your own copy of the study guide.

Season after Epiphany Study

We will be discussing the concept of being a missional, relational, and incarnational church using study guides from the Leonard Sweet book- So Beautiful: Divine Design for Life and the Church.

The study guides can be found at the book's website at David C. Cook Publishing...Explore So Beautiful

Some questions we might be asking in the coming weeks:

1) Had an MRI lately?
2) What are the four forces that can kill a church?
3)  How have we as a church dealt with the five biggest stories of the last 50 years?
4) What does it mean to be Missional?

You can see where we are going.  It is the season of Christ's revelation to the whole world, how are we living it in WNC?

Advent is Coming

We will finish our discussions of faithful dying by Christ the King Sunday.  We will begin a study of the Lectionary texts of the Advent season on November 28th.

Plan to join us as we prepare the way for the Lord.

Faithful Dying

We have been studying since September 2010 the whole concept of living faithfully until the end of our lives.

We have been using resources such as the Book of Common Prayer, the Saint Andrew's Customary and other planning resources available in the parish.

Here are some examples of our discussions on Sunday morning:

What is the nature of an Episcopal funeral?
What are the practical considerations of preparing for a funeral?
What are the burial alternatives available to us?
What about living wills and the will?
How can we discuss this with family?
What about cremation? Natural burial?

These have been broad, fruitful discussions and there are lots of folks in the room that have first hand knowledge and skills for dealing with end of life issues.

Summer Break

Adult Formation will take a break at Saint Andrew's for the summer.

We will resume with weekly meetings around September 1.

Stay tuned for a couple of summer special sessions.