At First Church, our goal of Adult Education is to provide a dynamic program of small group classes that not only strengthens, inspires, and sustains our current church membership but also encourages and welcomes newcomers to join us! We learn with open minds and hearts to enrich our faith and lives through Christ.
We hope you’ll join us in this journey. For more information, please contact us.
Current Classes:
The Way: Going Deeper
Date(s): Sundays during Lent season
Time: 10:00-10:50 AM
Place: Activity Center
You have seen the film and heard the messages in worship service. But there is more! How do you apply all of this to you personally and to your own spiritual growth? During Lent, the class will engage in the church-wide study of the film The Way. Inspired by passages of the Judeo-Christian scriptures that reveal journeys on the pathways of life, the film The Way follows a father’s pilgrimage in honor of his late son on the Camino de Santiago trail in France and Spain. Drawing upon scripture, video clips, and personal experiences, we will use journal/discussion prompts to engage with and reflect upon the film’s four central characters and their burdens of grief, exhaustion, anger, and fear countered by uplifting themes of redemption, spiritual renewal, friendship, and healing through Grace.
We invite all adults to the Living Faithfully Thinking Critically class on Sunday mornings from 10:00-10:50 AM in the Activity Center. The class is for adults of all ages and meets year round with new, engaging subjects throughout. You are welcome to join us anytime!
For more information contact Diana Hoke, hokediana@gmail.com.
Neurotheology
Date(s): Sundays, April 12-June 14 (except the first Sunday of each month)
Time: 10:00-10:50 AM
Place: Activity Center
This class will consider the topic Neurotheology, a multi-disciplinary field combining elements of science, theology, philosophy, and psychology to examine roles for the brain in feelings of spirituality and religiosity. The classroom approach will include illustrated presentations, professional videos, and group discussions. Topics will include evolution of cognitive capabilities in humans, “neural correlates” of specific regions of brain activation / deactivation with spiritual experiences during brain scans, as well as theories of mind & brain, consciousness & soul, meditation & prayer, dreams, free will, altered states & mystic experiences, and perhaps others. Although the educational approach will emphasize evidence-based theories of neuroscience and brain evolution that may drive spiritual experiences, faith-based alternative beliefs of brain mediation are totally respected. This topic is an update from an FUMC Science, Society, & Religion adult class more than a decade ago when this topic was in its infancy. Since that time, neurotheology has taken off to become a much more active area of research worldwide, with preliminary early views of spiritual roles for the brain giving way to more complex and sophisticated current theories. Scholars speculate about roles that neurotheology may play in the evolution of religions going forward.
Adults of all ages are invited to attend this rare opportunity to explore a breakthrough subject regarding science and faith with one of Purdue’s leading scientists, our own Dr. Cary Mitchell. For more information, please contact Diana Hoke hokediana@gmail.com or Cary Mitchell cmitchel@purdue.edu.