Eastertide and Spring Adult Education Classes

Adult Education and Bible study are offered as a means of strengthening community and deepening the culture of spirituality at St. Mark’s. Open to both parishioners and members of the general community, classes take place between Sunday morning services, and on Wednesday mornings and evenings in the Education Center or in the Library.

The topics are intellectually provocative and clearly relevant to our own lives as we discover that questions about sin, death, evil and goodness that have perplexed Christians since the formation of the Church. Our clergy lead us through the primary and secondary sources that helped codify our beliefs. We offer some classes for newcomers to the faith and others to sustain veteran parishioners. 

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SUNDAY AND WEEKDAY CLASSES AT A GLANCE

Sunday Bible Studies:

 

John’s Gospel: An Exploration of the Community of the Beloved Disciple

The Rev. Anne Richards

Eastertide 2008, March 30 - May 4

Sundays, 9:00-9:45 a.m. in the Outreach Room

 

Class Description

In this 6-session class, starting March 30 the Rev. Anne Richards leads a class on the Gospel of John. Come explore this unique gospel and consider the implications of its poetry, stories, and mysticism for your relationship with God. 

 

What the Gospels Meant by Garry Wills

The Rev. David M. Rider

Eastertide 2008, March 30 - April 27

Sundays, 9:00-9:45 a.m. in the Education Center

 

David Rider leads a 5-week discussion of Garry Wills’ new book, What the Gospels Meant.

 

The class begins by exploring different traditions of biblical interpretation, including Early Church, Medieval, Reformation, Modern and Postmodern.  Using Wills’ book, we then encounter the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John.  Throughout, we will compare gospels v. epistles as genres of witness, exploring--in the Easter spirit--resurrection and its many meanings for Christians.  Join us for spirited discussion.  Garry Wills’ book is available in the Lion’s Den for those who choose to read it. 

  

Monday Class:

 

Parenting Book Group Discussion Series II

The Moral Life of Children

The Rev. Anne Richards

Eastertide 2008

Mondays in April, 9:15-10:30 a.m.  in the library 

 

Class Description

On the four Mondays of April, the Rev. Anne Richards will offer a second parenting class in the Library. The group will meet from 9:15 – 10:30am.

All are warmly welcome to attend this class - parents, grandparents, stepparents, and any other interested persons – from St. Mark’s and from the larger community.

 

For this class, we will use Robert Coles’s best-selling book, The Moral Life of Children by Robert Coles. (Copies are available in the Lion’s Den.)

 

From the publisher’s material about the book:

 

“How can we raise our children to be good people with strong moral characters and values that will guide and sustain them through life? In this powerful, carefully reasoned book Robert Coles, America’s leading authority on child development, explores the ways parents and teachers can foster generosity of spirit and empathy in children, and nurture them so that they become ‘morally intelligent.’ Drawing on his decades of experience as a teacher and child psychiatrist, and using case histories and interviews with children, Coles takes us through what he calls the ‘moral archeology’ of childhood. He describes how character can be shaped from infancy through adolescence, and how a child can learn to become ‘smart’ by observing the conduct and caring of others. With insight and compassion, Coles shows the ways children can be taught to be kind and supportive, and to respect themselves and those around them.”

 

                        April 7     Moral Intelligence: An Introduction to the Moral Life of Children

                        April 14   The Good Person and the Not-So-Good Person

                        April 21   The Moral Archeology of Childhood

                        April 28   Robert Coles’s Letter to Parents

 

 

Wednesday Morning Bible Study:

 

The Book of the Prophet Isaiah – “The Fifth Gospel”?

Wednesdays, 10-11:15 a.m. in the Education Center

April 2 - June 25

 

Described by one biblical interpreter as “the fifth gospel,” the book of the prophet Isaiah has influenced the development of our Christian scriptures perhaps more than any other “Old Testament” text. (Some 400 quotations from Isaiah are woven throughout the four gospels and the other New Testament writings!)

 

On Wednesday, April 2, the Rev. Carol Hoidra and the Rev. David Rider will launch a 13-week study of this important biblical text, with specific emphasis on the appropriation by the writers of the New Testament of key textual elements and themes from this seminal book of the Hebrew Bible.

 

Join us on Wednesday mornings at 10:00 AM as we explore and experience the resonance of Isaiah’s prophetic voice on our community of faith. Click here for class topics/notes.