Adult Education Offerings Winter/Spring 2009
Sunday Classes — 9:30 to 10:30 in the church library

January Classes | February Classes | March Classes | April Classes

January 4, 11, and 18 — Perspectives on the Economic Downturn

We will examine the current economic crisis from several perspectives -- what the economic crisis means for individuals, communities, and our nation with an emphasis on how our identity as a community of faith shapes our response.

• January 4:  Jorgen Vik will discuss how these economic changes may affect our families and what they mean for our personal financial considerations.
• January 11:  Megan Sharp, Jonathan Schakel, Winston Barham, and Charlotte McDaniel will lead a discussion on how our identity as a community of faith shapes our personal and collective response.
• January 18:  Bob Bruner, dean of the Darden School of Business, will show how we arrived at our current economic position and what the crisis means for our nation and communities.

 January 25 — Predatory Lending Practices – A Justice Issue

The Peace and Justice Committee has asked the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy to lead a discussion on predatory lending practices that continue in Virginia. Following on the coattails of payday loans, car title loans draw the most vulnerable in our society into an endless cycle of debt with the fear of having their automobile repossessed.  We will learn of steps that are being taken in this important arena of social justice.  Come and learn how we as a church community can help.

February 1, 8, and 15 - Do You Hear What I Hear:   Listening to the Bible with Different Ears    Back to Top

In this class we will seek to develop "the are and sacred obligation of listening to those who are different from us" by considering half a dozen biblical texts - from the Exodus to the Book of Revelation - from the perspective of a variety of cultures and social locations in the US and around the globe.  Singnificant emerginig voices can deepen our consideration of Scripture and enlarge the church's vision of God's work among and through us in the world.  This course owes a great debt to the remarkable Frances Taylor Gench's "Bible from the Underside" class a Union-PSCE.  Nancy Essig is the class leader. 

 February 22 - The White Flag Project

The  Peace and Justice Committee has asked Aaron Fein, a local artist and peace activist, to share his vision for the White Flags project.  White Flags is a growing installation of 192 flags-one for each member state of the United Nations - rendered entirely in white.  Hanging together in monochrome, the idealized emblems of stripes, stars, crescents, suns, animals - all the national symbols that define us and demarcate us - begin in the light, varying in translucency, the silhouettes of nations, large and small, rich and poor, old and new, fade away.  White Flags suggests time when our similarities might overshadow our differences: a day when we might all be united as one.

Westminster's Peace and Justice Committee has sponsored four flags: Columbia, Cambodia, The Republic of Congo, and Zimbabwe.  These, along with other completed flags, will be on display in Fellowship Hall for 10 days.  Aaron will discuss the history and the creation of his flags and his hopes to have the project grow and reach a wider audience.

March 1 — An Update on the Ordination Issue in the Presbyterian Church USA - Led by Jim Baker                        Back to Top

The General Assembly o f the Presbyterian Church this past summer voted to amend the Book of Order (our Constitution) to delete the former so-called fidelity and chastity ordination standard:  "Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church.  Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or in chastity in singleness.  Persons refusing to repent off any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders, or minister of the Word and Sacrament."

And to replace it with:
"To those called to exercise special functions in the church - deacons, elders, and minister of Word and Sacrament - God gives suitable gifts for their various duties.  In addition to possessing the necessary gifts and abilities, natural and acquired, those who undertake particular ministries should be persons of strong faith, dedicated discipleship, and love of Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.  Their manner of life should be a demonstration of the Christian gospel in the church and in the world.  They must have the approval of God's people and the concurring judgment of a governing body of the church."

Ratification of the amendment is now being voted on by Presbyteries across the nation.  By March, we will likely know if the necessary majority of Presbyteries has voted for or against ratification.  In part, our discussion will center on how this affects us here at Westminster.  Jim will be assisted by Stephen Pfleiderer, who is the moderator of the chapter of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians in the Presbytery of the James, which is working for the adoption of the amendment in our Presbytery. 

 March 8 — New Books for Our Family of Faith: "Witness to a Changing World", by David Newsom

The Library Committee invites you to Jean Newsom's review of her late husband's recently published memoir.  David's book covers his work, first as a journalist, and then as a diplomat at home and abroad.  One reviewer has observed, "These memoirs of an unusually wise and perceptive American diplomat provide rare insight into America at the apogee of its global power.  Ambassador Newsom reminds us throughout that one of our greatest strengths is the diplomatic power of the United States in a complex world."  
 

March 15, 22, and 29 — Loving God and Loving Neighbor
Led by Laura Sugg

April 19, 26, and May 3 — John Calvin: Then and Now.

The year 2009 marks the 500^th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin, the leading figure in the emergence of the
Reformed branch of Protestantism in the sixteenth century. After 500 years, John Calvin may also be the most misunderstood figure in the reformation. This course will be coordinated with the annual Westminster Lecture series, which will also focus on Calvin.  In this series we shall:

• locate Calvin in the stream of intellectual, theological, and political developments that led up to and characterized the Protestant Reformation,

• discuss the salient doctrinal positions that he held, and

• evaluate his theology for Christian faith and life today in the context of the Presbyterian Church.

A suggested reading is Christopher Elwood’s book, Calvin for Armchair Theologians (a sprightly, if not to say jaunty, but reliable read; ($11.53 at Amazon).  Discussion leaders will be Earle Hilgert and Guy Hammond. 

 The Westminster Lectures
in Contemporary Theology
April 24-26, 2009
A Calvin Celebration

    This year’s lecture program features Randall Zachman, professor of Reformation
    Studies at the University of Notre Dame.  Zachman is a dynamic speaker and
    internationally recognized Calvin scholar.  He will be presenting two lectures that
    offer   new perspectives on John Calvin’s thought and influence and will likely
    challenge many people’s preconceptions about Calvin’s theology.  The full agenda
   for the series will be available later in the spring.