Adult Study Group
Adult Study Group News
Educational Opportunities for Adults and Young Adults (for Spring 2010)
"Beyond Tolerance" - Speaker: R. Gustav Niebuhr. R. Gustav Niebuhr, Associate Professor in Religion and the Media at Syracuse University, will speak on his book “Beyond Tolerance” at 7:00 PM on Thursday, April 8 in room 105 of Kellas Hall at SUNY Potsdam. Prof. Niebuhr is the grandson and great-nephew, respectively, of the legendary theologians H. Richard Niebuhr and Reinhold Niebuhr. At the time of the September 11th attacks he was the religion editor for the New York Times. His book explores the importance of religious tolerance in a post 9/11 world. By surveying many examples of interfaith action across the country, he argues that it is not enough to speak about being tolerant; we must actually be tolerant of those different from ourselves. The lecture is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the Ministerial Association of Potsdam.
(Just finished!) Sundays, at 11:30, following coffee hour - an adult forum on the "Lord's Prayer" facilitated by lay preacher Dianne Morrison. (More...)
Some of Our Previous Adult Study Group Topics
Fall, 2009
The Christian Education Committee presented a number of opportunities for adults and young adults to expand their faith journeys.
One was Countering Pharaoh's Production-Consumption Society Today, features Walter Brueggermann, Old Testament scholar and retired professor from Columbia Theological Seminary. It is a five session DVD and discussion group.
A second was Victory and Peace or Justice and Peace? Presented in a six to eight week DVD format with John Dominic Crossan, Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at DePaul University as featured speaker.
The third was an “engaging new catalyst for conversation among young adults” called Dream, Think, Be, and Do which is geared to “help college groups and twenty to thirty somethings build a 21st Century faith.” This presentation includes the insights of over 25 prominent theologians and teachers and also has several DVD components.
These and other educational opportunities were led by different leaders in the church, following worship and coffee "hour."
A 13-Week Small Group Study - "Living the Questions"
An adult study group began in March and ended in June. It was "...an immersion in some of the major themes of Christianity that are being rethought as part of the radical reformation of basic Christian doctrine already emerging in the world." Living the Questions. (More...) [The latest program available from the Living the Questions" group is "Saving Jesus" (More...), and for spring, "Countering Pharoah" (More...).
Adult Sunday School Book Selection - Dakota
The Sunday morning adult class is reading and discussing Dakota by Kathleen Norris.
Links to more information and reviews:
3rd Annual Congregational Read - Galileo's Daughter
Galileo’s Daughter by Dava Sobel was our third annual congregational read. The discussion of the book was an evening of dessert and discussion on April 27th.
The work is a historical memoir of science, faith, and love. The events take place during Galileo’s life 1564-1642, but many of the issues are still being discussed on the nightly news today.
Sobel's book is concerned with the whole of Galileo's life, but especially with the relationship between the scientist and his daughter, Virginia. Her letters to him are at the center of the work. Sobel translates these letters herself and includes the complete text of many of them.
Named Virginia at birth, Galileo's daughter was one of three children born out of wedlock to Galileo and Marina Gamba. She adopted the name Maria Celeste after she took her vows with the Order of St. Clare. Galileo had placed her and her younger sister in the Convent of San Matteo as young children, most probably because their illegitimate birth and his own modest means would have made marriage unlikely for them. In the end both girls took their vows. Her letters contain both everyday minutiae, sewing projects and candy making, as well advice on dealing with his trials and problems.
The book also deals with the scientist's theories of the solar system, his disoveries about telescopes and his problems with the church over his writings.
Jack Goodstein
Links to more information and reviews:
- Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science. About the book, discussion questions, critical praise, author biography, excerpt, etc. From ReadingGroupGuides.com.
- The Galileo Project. Sections of this web site: Galileo, Biography, Chronology, Family, Portraits, Science, Christianity (the Inquisition, his contemporary church figures) , Library (which contains links to a glossary, bibliography, student projects, maps, lesson plans...). The search feature and site map will lead you quickly to the parts found on this site (such as to Chronology (timelines), portraits, information on his contemporary scientists, instruments, observations/experiments/discoveries, theories, and much more). Link to the section on Galileo's daughter. ©1995 Al Van Helden.
- Channel 4 History: Galileo's Daughter. A short synopsis of the relationship of Galileo with his daughter Virginia (who became the nun: Suor Maria Celeste).
BIBLE STUDY - "Women in the Bible"
Bible study met in the fall at 9:00am in the Head Start room on Sunday mornings. Pastor Rich Will led a study about women in the Bible. He is used two books as resources: Just Wives? by Katherine Doob Sakenfeld and Back to the Well by Frances Taylor Gench. Everyone is invited to attend and participate.
Just Wives? examines the complexity of the lives of eleven women in the Old Testament, including Sarah, Ruth, Naomi, Bathsheba and others. Back to the Well focuses on certain women who encounter Jesus. The author analyzes language, sociocultural and literary context, structure of each story while recounting traditional and contemporary interpretations.
Some Reviews of These Books and Some Remarks about Their Authors
Sakenfeld, Katharine Doob. Just Wives?: Stories of Power & Survival in the Old Testament & Today Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2003, pp. vii + 136. Paperback.
Gench, Frances Taylor. Back to the Well: Women's Encounters with Jesus in the Gospel. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2004, pp.xvi + 192. Paperback.
Some Sources - Women in the Bible
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First Presbyterian Church of Potsdam, New York