Come join others who are open to “living” the questions of faith, growing in relationship to God, and sharing God’s passion for peace and justice. It’s called a Seminary for Life!

Justice for the Poor

Sunday Mornings, 9:45 – 10:40

Beginning September 11

8-Week Offering Hosted by the Seekers Adult Class

Led by Glen and Fran Roberson
Jesus said, “the poor will always be with you”.  According to Jim Wallis, this scripture means, we, as followers of Jesus, must always be with the poor”.  Who are “the poor” in the world?  When we think of the poor, do we think of charity or do we think of relationship?  And if we push beyond charity to relationship, do we know how to build that relationship?  How are poverty and social justice connected?  How has St. Stephens’ theology defined our role in social justice work?  Are we about charity or relationship?  Where do the Biblical messages about the poor lead us to action as a community of faith?
With the help of Jim Wallis of the Sojourners Community in Washington, DC, and Ruby Payne of AhaProcess.com, Glen and Fran Roberson will lead an exploration in search of answers to these questions.  Each session will contain a short video with Wallis speaking about social justice and poverty, Fran and Glen sharing information about being in relationship with people other than ourselves, and lots and lots of class discussion. Join this class on Sunday morning in the Community Hall as the Seekers Class hosts the exploration between September 11 and October 30, 2011.

Eclipsing Empire: Paul, Rome, and the Kingdom of God

Tuesday Evenings, 7:00 – 8:30

Beginning September 20

12-Week Class

Led by Jeanne Miller

What about Paul? Is he an appealing apostle or an appalling one? It’s a question scholar John Dominic Crossan has asked, observing that while many are inspired by Paul’s passion and life risking commitment to spreading his interpretation of Christ’s message and purpose, others have dismissed Paul citing a moral code that seems irrelevant in the 21^st Century. Without doubt, Paul is one of the most controversial figures in Christian history.

Eclipsing Empire is a twelve-week series of understanding Paul and his message for today. In a 12-session DVD study from Living the Questions, the class will join preeminent New Testament scholars Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan on location in Turkey as they trace the Apostle Paul’s footsteps throughout the Roman Empire. The study explores fresh insights into Paul’s message of the Kingdom of God, its challenge to Roman imperial theology, and the apostle’s radical relevance for today. Borg and Crossan share a twenty-minute lecture each session, and the remainder of class time is spent discussing. Come join Jeanne Miller and explore Paul’s message set against the historical matrix of imperial Rome and consider the implications of living in the empire of our day. A “Participant Reader” written by Crossan will be available. The class meets in Room 12.

Science and Religion

Sundays, 5:00 – 6:00

Beginning September 18

12-Week Class

Led by Don MacGorman

What is the nature of the relationship between science and religion? At St. Stephen’s, this issue enriches many of our conversations, and it was the focus that shaped our first Roundtables in the mid-1990’s as we invited scientists in the community to share their professional scientific passion and reflect on its relationship to their spiritual formation and life of faith. But often in the news and in conversations elsewhere, we hear skeptical scientists and fundamentalist Christians alike stridently claim that science is incompatible with Christian faith. This fall course will explore the origins and evolution of the idea that science and religion are in conflict. The course resource is a DVD lecture series by Lawrence Principe, an award-winning professor at Johns Hopkins University who holds faculty appointments in three diverse fields – history of science, philosophy and chemistry. The resource from the Teaching Company is designed to equip participants with a vocabulary of ideas and a clear, historical perspective on the science/religion relationship. Dr. Principe’s lecture content will be coupled with group discussion led by Don MacGorman, a physicist at the National Weather Center, to explore our own ideas about the relationship of science and religion. The class meets on Sunday from 5:00 – 6:00, in Room 11.

Additional Group Members Needed for:

Living the Questions

Wednesday Evenings, 7:00 – 8:30

21-Week Class

Led by Kay Antinoro

What’s Christianity all about for this time? Living the Questions 2, a second version of the popular curriculum St. Stephen’s began using six years ago, is an overview of progressive Christianity that explores what a meaningful faith can look like in today’s world. Living the Questions doesn’t seek to provide easy answers but to be a resource for people who want to “think theologically” about the mysteries of faith and life. Each session includes twenty minutes of short DVD segments featuring leading theologians and scholars of our day who offer information and reflect on their own lives and experience. Class conversations between media segments and a spiritual formation experience called “Living It Out” shape each session.

Anyone interested in a group that will meet on Wednesday evenings from 7:00—8:30 can register by calling the church office 321-4988. Four to six more participants are needed before the group begins. The twenty-one week experience will be divided into fall, winter and spring sessions with breaks between. A weekly 5-6 page commentary is the only weekly preparation, and Kay Antinoro will facilitate the conversations. Over 100 in St. Stephen’s community have completed this popular and powerful core offering of the Seminary for Life. Is this your time?