C o u r s e   O f f e r i n g s

Adult Education at Good Shepherd currently includes the following courses and programs. Additional offerings will be added throughout the year.

Lesson 1:  Praying the Psalms

Dear Fellow Travelers,

We are about to begin together an eight-week journey through the book of Psalms. Fasten your seat belts because there will be a few bumps along the way as we take our whole range of human experience and emotions to God in psalm prayer. This journey mirrors Jesus' march toward Jerusalem , Good Friday, and Easter. Be prepared to stretch your understanding of prayer and of faith along the way.

I can't think of a time when Christians have needed to study and pray the psalms more than right now. We live in a culture of hype—everything is over the top and in your face. We live in an atmosphere of fear—of terrorists, Ricin, snipers, mad cow disease, and dwindling retirement funds. We are over stimulated and distracted by scandals, things to buy, "wardrobe malfunctions," and war. How can we find God in the middle of such a world as this? How can we envision the kind of world that God intends for us?

The figurative, image-laden language of the Psalms can help. Psalm 1 begins our journey by speaking of the "way" of the righteous and wicked. There is a way through the mess of our daily living, and it is dependent upon obedience and honest prayer, on praise of God and doubting questions, on thanksgiving and quiet reflection, and ultimately, upon a God who receives us as we are.

In these weekly letters I hope to help set the tone for each lesson, to recommend related book titles, and to look at what's going on in our culture in relation to the psalms we are studying. This week let me recommend to you two books offering artistic interpretations of selected psalms: the first entitled The Book of Psalms illustrated in expressive calligraphy by Timothy Botts (Tyndale House Publishers, 1997), and the second entitled The Psalms: An Artist's Impression by Anneke Kaai (InterVarsity Press, 1999). Their art work is stunning and reminds us that the psalms engage not just as disembodied minds but as whole people before God.

Let us keep one another in prayer as we journey together through the Psalms. May God bless you on the way.

Grace and peace,

Denise Dombkowsk Hopkins

Lesson 2:  The Synagogue, the Church, and the Psalms

Dear Fellow Travelers,

When we pray the psalms, we take our place in the stream of faithful through the ages who have prayed the psalms in synagogue, church, monastery, and home. The psalms have endured because they express our seasons of faith - order, chaos, and new beginnings - in ways that speak truthfully of our experience. Walk into any bookstore and you will see new translations and paraphrases of the psalms week after week that testify to this. If we define spirituality in its basic sense as communion or communication with God, the psalms offer ready vehicles for our communication, ensuring that nothing is left out of the conversation.

Yet the church does not often draw upon the entire range of psalms prayer as it should, thereby stunting our spiritual growth. It would be wonderful if we never had to deal with chaos and disappointment. But the truth is, little girls are abducted and found dead, soldiers return in body bags from Iraq , and many children go to bed hungry at night in America . The irony is that when our churches shut out our pain, Jerry Springer, Judge Judy, and Dr. Phil will pick up the slack and deal with our wounds on national TV, where we can participate as voyeurs. No wonder "reality TV" has struck such a chord in our culture!

This week let me recommend to you two books dealing with psalms for children. They would be wonderful for children's sermons or bedtime reading. The first is Bless This Way by Anne Kitch, with illustrations by Carol Conahan (Morehouse Publishing, 2003); it includes children of all colors and does not sugar coat the fact that children are not always happy. The second is Psalm Twenty-Three illustrated by Tim Ladwig (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 1993), featuring an African-American family in an inner-city setting. These books can shape positively a child's understanding of prayer as covering all parts of life and can remind many adults of that, too.

May the Lord bless you and keep you,

Grace and peace,

Denise Dombkowski Hopkins

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LENTEN SIMPLE SUPPER PROGRAM

Please come to  Simple Supper on Wednesdays evenings during Lent and enjoy the  Wrestling with Angels series and small group discussions to follow. Wrestling with Angels: An Intimate Look At The Tough Questions of Life, is a six part series that will help us, together, tackle the kind of tough, real-life questions that can lead a person into a deeper understanding of God. It is my hope that many of us “Good Shepherdites” will come together for this interactive evening that will help us strengthen our relationships with the Lord and with one another. There will be nursery coverage if needed and a Kid Flick will be offered after supper at The Outreach House.Volunteers are needed to provide our meals and cover the Outreach House movie. Please sign up for this gathering and consider volunteering yourself or your small group to host one of the suppers and to supervise the children at the Outreach House.  A Sign-up Sheet can be found on the kiosk in Hardtner Hall, or you may call in to the office or speak with Joan Myers (433- 7112 or 513-7020) the program coordinator.

Simple Supper Series – Wrestling with Angels

Wednesday Evenings , 6-8 p.m.

  February 13^th =   Guidance – How do I know what to do? with Tony Campolo

  February 20  =    Why Me? – If You’re So Good, Why Are Things So Awful? with Philip Yancy

  February 27  =    Prayer – Why don’t My Prayers Get Answered? with Richard Foster

  March   5      =    Forgiving – How Do I Forgive And Get ON With My Life? with Lewis Smedes

  March 12      =    Doubt – How Can I Question and Still Believe? with Madeleine L’Engle

  March 19      =    Love – Why Is Loving So Hard? with Keith Miller

Rediscovering Our Spiritual Gifts

Gifts are given to every believer by the Holy Spirit that they may serve others in Christ’s name.   What are your gifts?  How can you best use them to build up the body of Christ?  Which Good Shepherd ministry will be best served by your gifts?

We will meet for ten Sundays to study Rediscovering Our Spiritual Gifts by Charles V. Bryant.

Join us for lively discussion and a light meal in Hardtner Hall, 4:30 pm, Sunday, February 10. 

Estimated cost $12.00 per book

Enroll by contacting Martha Whelan at 494-0825 or mhwhelan@bellsouth.net

Monthly

Anglican Mystery Book Club – English and American literature is filled with mysteries which have some association with the Anglican or Episcopal Church. The "Mystery" group meets one Sunday a month in the homes of parishioners to discuss a different novel. See the interactive church calendar for the current date.

Weekdays

Wednesday Bible Study – A Bible Study, currently reading "Searching for God in America,"  meets at 10:45 each Wednesday in the second floor conference room of the church. The study concludes in time for the participants to attend the 12:05 p.m. Eucharist in the Chapel of the Resurrection.

Wednesdays
NEW ADULT SMALL GROUP STARTING….Jamie Whelan is sponsoring a Small Group Study on Wednesdays from 6:30 until 8:00 p.m. entitled: What is Religion?  ( a DVD series by Karen Armstrong). Armstrong observes that it sometimes seems that we are developing exactly the kind of religion that people such as the Buddha, Confucius, Laozi, Jesus and Muhammad wanted to get rid of.  Confucian, Daoist, Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, Greek, and monotheistic traditions were not much interested in metaphysics or theology, and each one of these faiths began in recoil from the violence of their time.  They developed an ethic based on compassion and the Golden Rule, which they declared to be the essence of the spiritual quest.  In these classes, Armstrong looks at the implications of this conviction to see what it has to say to our conflicted world. 

Education For Ministry (EFM) – A lay program of Biblical and theological study created and administered by The School of Theology of The University of the South. It meets once a week for nine months a year. The program is designed to be completed in four nine-month sessions.

see the interactive church calendar  for a monthly list of offerings

Interested in any of these education opportunities?
For more information, contact the Adult Education Coordinator.

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