Adult spiritual growth opportunities include several Sunday morning adult Sunday school classes. The new sessions begin on August 21st. Meet in person on campus or via Zoom.

Thoughtful Christians meets in the library, The Present Word in Calvin 203, and Open Door in Upper Witherspoon.

Thoughtful Christians

Thoughtful Christians is a book discussion group that focuses on theology and current events. The next book is The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis.

When C.S. Lewis set out to write this book, his thesis was “God is love.” The Four Loves explores four Greek words which are all translated into English as “love”: phileo (friendship love), agape (divine love), storge (affection love), and eros (romantic love).

This class has reading assignments, usually one chapter each week. Participants are all ages and a variety of backgrounds. The class is led by Pastor Phil Butin and Derrik Olsen.

The Present Word

The Present Word  is a Bible study group that uses the PCUSA series called The Present Word. For Fall 2022, the curriculum is “God’s Exceptional Choice,” which traces the arc of salvation history from Abraham to Jesus and on to the early church. 

The Present Word covers the entire Bible over the course of six years, using a mixture of scriptures rather than going verse by verse through a single book at one time.

Each session begins with scripture and reflections on the verses, and then asks participants to apply God’s word to their lives. Dennis Brewer and Jane Steinkraus lead this class.

Open Door

Open Door is a come-as-you-are adult Sunday school classwhich does not require reading before gathering.

Wholehearted Faith by Rachel Held Evans is the book for this session. This is a collection of essays by the New York Times bestselling author, collected after her death by Jeff Chu.

The essays present a very personal view of faith, the church, and the struggles Christians have with faith and understanding.

This class is led by Jan Butin. It will begin on September 11.