FPC provides several learning opportunities for adults. If you have any questions about the opportunities listed below, please contact George Minot.
Sunday Mornings for Adults: 9:15 - 10:15am
Welcome...to the Wired Word! Coover Lounge
Join us for the continuing journey---the Wired Word, a series of questions and answers offered each week that links the latest national/world headlines to cutting-edge Biblical scripture. Developed by a panel of Ministers, Deacons, Elders and lay leaders, the Word selects a significant ‘headline of the week’, and then develops the lesson plan by weaving various points of view and applying it to Biblical texts. There are questions designed to stimulate our thinking and faith. Join us! All are welcome!
Spiritual Formation / New Members Class
A new class will begin in early 2012.
Pastor Sam Massey will lead a class interpreting church membership as part of our journey of faith. Please contact Pastor Sam or Tammy Schroeder if you have questions or would like to sign up. Join us; all are welcome!
Christmas Carols—Sunday, Dec.4 & 11, downstairs, rm 13
One of the most popular Christmas stories in the world, Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol is a wonderful tale of transformation—after a life of selfishness & greed, Scrooge is charged and changed by Spirits, and awakens on Christmas morning with joy and love in his heart. His spirit has been restored, and he begins to treat people with generosity and lovingkindness. Join us as we watch a scene or two from the movie(s)—who is your favorite Scrooge? Jim Carrey? George C. Scott? Mr. Magoo?---and listen to the great comforting rustle of language from selected passages of the novella. We’ll talk, too, about other Christmas stories—It’s a Wonderful Life—and the beginning of the greatest story ever told as it appears in the Gospel according to Luke.
Dec. 4 A Christmas Carol It’s a Wonderful Life
Dec. 11 The Magnificat The Gospel according to Luke
First Sunday Coffee Caucus on Sunday, December 4, at 12 noon – 1 p.m., and continuing every first Sunday of the month (except January 1) through May 2012 in Coover Lounge.
Once a month Pastor Sam (and perhaps other staff persons) will make themselves available to talk about any topic that members and friends want to bring to the table. Consider it a sort of Wittenberg door for sharing ideas and faith (in 1517 reformer Martin Luther first nailed his 95 Theses on the Wittenberg church door, and there began the social transformation of Europe). God, life, church operations, politics and any other subject under the sun can be brought up for cordial dialogue. No reservation necessary!
Weekday Classes
Love Wins Monday, Nov.28 & Dec.12, Church Library, 7 p.m.
For the last five years, a small group of ‘theologians’—First Pres folks & others—have met during the year to talk faith and seek understanding. We’ve read Bonhoeffer, discussed Palestine and Israel, and read about spirituality. This fall we’ll begin with Love Wins, a controversial book by rogue pastor Rob Bell, who has stirred fierce debate about sin, judgment and salvation. According to a recent Time magazine cover story, Bell’s thesis “reaches people in the midst of divine mystery---and speaks to a generation rethinking Jesus.”
If you have questions and/or answers, join us for good, kind conversation; all are welcome, of course—especially new folks!—to seek faith and understanding.
FPC Men's Spiritual Growth Group Fellowship Hall, 7:00- 7:50 a.m.
After nearly four years of inactivity, the FPC Men’s Group gathers weekly on Wednesday mornings from 7:00 – 7:50 in fellowship hall to provide an opportunity for relaxed interaction and spiritual growth. A continental breakfast is provided. Men of FPC, please give serious consideration to joining this group. Further questions can be directed to John Barr at BarrJohnO@sau.edu
Wednesday Morning Bible readings Coover Lounge, 9:30-10:30 a.m.
For over 20 years this lively group has met in the mornings to read and talk about Holy Scripture. During Advent, we’ll be reading selected passages from the Gospels according to Luke and Matthew—the beginnings of the greatest story ever told. Join us as we read and talk; and, of course, all are welcome!
Nov. 30 Whose Story is it?
Dec. 7 The Gospel according to Luke
Dec. 14 The Gospel according to Matthew
The FPC Book Club Wednesday, Dec 7 Panera at Sycamore Mall, Noon to 1 p.m.
At Christmas time this year we’ll be reading and talking about Desmond Tutu’s vision of hope for our time, God Has a Dream. Long admired throughout the world for the heroism and grace he exhibited helping countless South Africans in their struggle for human rights, Tutu’s book is a spiritual message for our century—a vision of how individual and global suffering can be transformed into joy and redemption. Join us as we gather at Panera’s Bakery—bring or buy your lunch—all are welcome!
Thursday night Bible study with Pastor Sam Massey Coover Lounge, 5:45-7:15 p.m. resumes January 5
The apostle Paul proclaimed that the gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith.” Paul in his letter to the Romans unpacks the implications of the gospel for the church in Rome that he had never visited. It is said that Paul’s theology can be complex for those who cannot appreciate ambiguity. Indeed, it is said that the second-century heretic Marcion was the only one who came close to understanding Paul, and yet Marcion “completely misunderstood him.”
You are invited on a study journey in which we will be “Roamin’ through Romans” as a parallel track with Pastor Sam’s sermon series on Paul’s letter to the Romans continues. While 5:45 p.m. will be the ‘start time’ to gather and prepare, the actual Bible study will begin @ 6 p.m. and end at 7, with Pastor Sam available thereafter for extra questions and reflections. Decaf coffee and water will be served, and you are invited to bring your own dinner and drink. Participants will be called on to do their own Bible reading and studying of resources. Questions? Talk with Pastor Sam @ 351-2660 or sam.massey@firstpresiowacity.org.