Sunday morning class is off for the summer but see below for other adult learning opportunities!

Study Guides and Class Materials for Past Classes

Select the "Past Classes" link above to go to materials created for some of our classes in the past---a lot of really good material in there! They include study guides for Marcus Borg's "The Heart of Christianity" and Huston Smith's "The Soul of Christianity", links to the Five Practices study and materials for our "Methodism 101" series.

Living the Questions logoLiving the Questions

Usually during the summer the Wednesday evening class takes the summer off and starts up with a Bible Study in the fall but this summer, there will be a group meeting for seven weeks starting July 9th led by Pastor Pam at the parsonage to view and discuss the "Living the Questions" series. The group will gather at 6 PM and be done between 7:30 to 8 PM.

Pastor Pam says that the series "is an `unabashed' progressive (or 'liberal') view of theology and faith issues. But even if you don't think you subscribe to such a view, you are encouraged to attend so that all voice can be heard." Living the Questions is a DVD-based study with presentations by pre-eminent scholars and theologians followed by plenty of time for all members of the group to discuss what was presented. The sessions are stand-alone so you can join for any particular one or ones you want. Please let Pastor Pam know if you'd like to attend.

The summer Wednesday group will be doing the first of three sets of the series called "Invitation to Journey". Here is a tentative calendar of topics:

  1. July 9: "An Invitation to Journey"
  2. July 16: "Taking the Bible Seriously"
  3. July 23: "Thinking Theologically"
  4. July 30: "Stories of Creation"
  5. August 6: "Lives of Jesus"
  6. August 13: "A Passion for Christ: Paul"
  7. August 20: "Out into the World: Challenges Facing Progressive Christians"

More on Living the Questions:

People know that at its core, Christianity has something good to offer humanity. At the same time, many have a sense that they are alone in being a "thinking" Christian and that "salvaging" Christianity is a hopeless task. What is needed is a safe environment where people have permission to ask the questions they've always wanted to ask but have been afraid to voice for fear of being thought a heretic.

Living the Questions is a source of curriculum and media for both seekers and "church alumni/ae" convinced that Christianity still has relevance in the 21st Century. Providing a variety of flexible resources, Living the Questions can help people explore the future of Christianity and what a meaningful faith can look like in today's world.

Contributors for the entire 3-part series include: Nancy Ammerman, John Bell, Marcus Borg, Minerva Carcaño, John B. Cobb, Jr., John Dominic Crossan, Lloyd Geering, Culver "Bill" Nelson, Siyoung Park, Stephen Patterson, Tex Sample, John Shelby Spong, Emilie Townes, Rita Nakashima Brock, Walter Brueggemann, Ron Buford, Yvette Flunder, James Forbes, Matthew Fox, Hans Küng, Amy-Jill Levine, Meagan McKenna, Rebecca Ann Parker, Helen Prejean, Barbara Rossing, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Bernard Brandon Scott, Rick Ufford-Chase, Winnie Varghese and Mel White.

Themes for the other two sets:

Reclaiming the World
8. Restoring Relationships
9. The Prophetic Jesus
10. Evil, Suffering & A God of Love
11. The Myth of Redemptive Violence
12. Practicing Resurrection
13. Debunking the Rapture
14. Reclaiming the World

Call to Covenant
15. A Kingdom without Walls
16. Social Justice: Realizing God’s Vision
17. Incarnation: Divinely Human
18. Prayer: Intimacy with God
19. Compassion: The Heart of Jesus' Ministry
20. Creative Transformation
21. Embracing Mystery

Walk To Emmaus

The Walk to Emmaus is a spiritual renewal program intended to strengthen the local church through the development of Christian disciples and leaders. The program's approach seriously considers the model of Christ's servanthood and encourages Christ's disciples to act in ways appropriate to being "a servant of all." Beginning with a 3-day retreat and following up with regular small group meetings, Emmaus participants seek to Christianize their environments of family, job, and community through the ministry of their congregations. For information about Walks in our area see the Southern San Joaquin Emmaus contact page (but note the displayed email addresses have been modified to foil the spam robots trolling for email addresses) or any one of the several people in our congregation who have been on Walks.

Wesley United Methodist Church -- Bakersfield, CA