Adult Education
The mission of the Adult Education Ministry is to help every adult fulfill their potential as a disciple of Jesus Christ. To support this mission, we offer a variety of opportunities, including Bible studies, Inquirers’ Classes, topical classes, guest lecturers, and other occasional events.
These offerings are held as a hybrid model of in-person and live stream access (via Zoom) on Sunday mornings during the program year, from 9:30-10:45am. To access the Zoom link for each class, please see the Thursday e-gram or Sunday morning worship email each week.
Adult Education meets in Heritage Hall.
If you have questions about Adult Education classes or the would like to join the Adult Education Ministry Team, please contact Noelle Castin, Director of Christian Education.
For recordings of classes since September 2021 on Vimeo, click here
For recordings of previous classes on YouTube, click here.
The Reformed Institute
The Meeting House is a founding member of the Reformed Institute of Metropolitan Washington. The Reformed Institute is a cooperative effort of several local Presbyterian churches, seeking to draw on the resources of the Reformed tradition to deepen our faith and understanding, and challenge our minds in the service of God. The Reformed Institute offers various classes, lectures, special events, and retreats, as well as providing a variety of resources through its website and Company of Teachers.
To learn more about upcoming Reformed Institute offerings visit reformedinstitute.org/events.
The Power of Lament for the Church
The Reformed Institute will hold a morning seminar and worship event April 29 with Dr. David Gambrell of the Office of Theology and Worship for the PCUSA. It features The Power of Lament for the Church, especially in relation to our history with indigenous peoples and their lands. Gambrell will explore Biblical, theological and liturgical forms of lament for the Christian life. Participants will learn the forms of lament in Scripture, church prayers, and hymns. They will also experience worship practices that they can adapt for their own congregations and devotions in relation to the church’s troubled history, but also in relation to personal tragedy, communal injustice, and more.
As Mark Charles said, “recovering lament is essential for the church to move forward” on past injuries and misdeeds with marginalized people and the planet.
Spring 2023
Looking into the Lectionary
Each week we meet on Zoom for study and fellowship. Our focus is the passage that the coming Sunday’s sermon will be based on. The only prep participants need to do (and even that is optional) is read the passage.
This winter we will learn to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. This is God’s commandment to us and for others. Our study will explore the many dimensions of celebrating and honoring Sabbath. Through scripture, reflection and prayer we will discover Sabbath practices for today. Please join us on Thursdays at 10:00 AM on Zoom.
You are welcome any or all weeks. We welcome anyone who wants to join us.
Please contact Vicki, for the zoom link.
Sunday Morning Adult Education
Join us for Breakfast in Heritage Hall! We will review the last year and we will be joined by Jim Palmer who will preview our next series, “Architecture of Compassion”.
The Architecture of Compassion series is inspired by our discussions of Genesis (stewardship/dominion) this fall as led by Rob Dunn. In particular, we will explore our originally intended relationship to this planet we inhabit. Our guest speakers will be people whose compassion moves them to take action in this moment when our natural environment is under unimagined stress. Finding Beauty In A Broken World by author, educator, conservationist, and activist Terry Tempest Williams will serve as inspiration for this year’s talks and inform each presentation.
January 8
Breakfast sponsored by Adult Education Ministry and The 2023 Architecture of Compassion series intro by Jim Palmer
January 15
Speaker: Kurt Moser, President Four Mile Run Conservatory Foundation, fourmilerun.org
January 22
Speaker: Scott Cameron, Chair of Legislative Committee, Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District
fairfaxcounty.gov/soil-water-conservation
January 29
Speaker: Matt Bright, Conservation Manager, Earth Sangha
earthsangha.org
February 5
Speaker: Glenda Booth, Friends of Dyke Marsh
This historic 7-acre cemetery, established in 1809, is still active today. The cemetery operates as an independent entity overseen by the Presbyterian Cemetery Board under the authority of our Session. Join long time member, storyteller and Superintendent of the Presbyterian Cemetery, David Heiby, as he shares about the cemetery’s vibrant history, true stories of those buried there, answers questions about funeral planning, and learn ways to get involved and provide support.
David Heiby is a second-generation member of the Meeting House for the past 60 years. He was baptized and confirmed in the Meeting House. He met his wife, and married Christine Hamilton, in the church in 1991.
He has served in numerous roles including as a perennial usher, a member of a Pastor Nominating Committee (The Reverend Dr. Gary W. Charles), a Deacon, and an Elder. He also served several terms as the Chair of a National Capital Presbytery commission.
In 2015, he was hired by the Board of Directors of the Presbyterian Cemetery and Columbarium as the Superintendent of the historic 7-acre Presbyterian Cemetery located in the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex one mile west of the Meeting House on Hamilton Lane (Avenue).
Class outline for February 12 & 19
To learn more about David, visit his website.
Help us welcome our transitional pastor, Rev. James Sledge, on his first Sunday at the Meeting House!
Before entering seminary at age 35, Rev. James Sledge worked as a corporate pilot. After graduating from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, he was ordained as the pastor of Western Boulevard Presbyterian in Raleigh, NC. He next served as pastor of Boulevard Presbyterian in Columbus, OH prior to becoming Falls Church Presbyterian Church’s pastor in 2012. He recently completely a 10,000-mile motorcycle trip across the country as part of a sabbatical. He is an avid runner and is preparing for his sixth marathon. Originally from Charlotte, NC, he and his wife, Shawn, have two grown daughters, along with a son-in-law and two grandsons.
The story of Scripture is a story of meals. Every time we gather to eat, we step into the story that God has been writing throughout time—a story of goodness even in the midst of an aching world. As we probe the story that God tells through food, we see how the Communion table flows out to every table we sit at throughout the week. And we learn how to set tables of belonging, hope, and joy.
Kendall Vanderslice is a baker, writer, and the founder of the Edible Theology Project, an educational nonprofit connecting the Communion table to the kitchen table. Kendall is a graduate of Boston University (MLA Gastronomy) and Duke Divinity School (MTS) and the author of two books: We Will Feast and By Bread Alone. Learn more about Kendall Vanderslice: http://kendallvanderslice.com/, https://www.edibletheology.com/
This year’s Lenten study will take us on a guided conversation with the Psalms. During this season of contemplation, each class will offer an opportunity for new reflection. We will study particular Psalms and how they relate both to Jesus and our life of discipleship. Classes will be led by Meeting House members Linda Lanam, Jennifer Veech and our transitional pastor, Rev. James Sledge. Each class stands alone. All are welcome.
If you are unable to attend adult ed on Sunday mornings, consider joining us for the same study on Wednesday evenings in Fellowship Hall at 7pm, March 8, 15, 22 and 29.
John Williams, Austin College Chaplain, will present a brief study of a historical marker on U.S. 190 in the Texas Hill Country, an obscure passage from 2 Kings, and a sociological analysis of the results of a 2015 Survey of Presbyterians yields 3 significant conclusions for Presbyterians as we consider the future of our denomination.
These conclusions are
1. The river has changed course;
2. The mantle still works; and
3. We’re still good millers.
Consideration of the circumstances that led to these conclusions will serve as a lens through which the state of the Presbyterian Church and our way forward might come into focus.
Rev. John Williams, Ph.D. is Chaplain and Director of Church Relations at Austin College in Sherman, Texas. He received a B.A. in History and Philosophy from Austin College with honors in History in 1984; a Masters of Divinity from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 1987; and a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Southern Methodist University in 2004. His dissertation title was Between the Labyrinth and the Abyss: Presbyterians and Schism, 1837-1861.
Dr. Williams has spoken at hundreds of local, regional, and national Presbyterian Youth and Adult events and has written several published articles about Presbyterian history, church-related higher education, and ministry with college students, youth, and young adults. He is founder and director of the Austin College ACtivators—a program through which, since 1995, 622 Austin College students have traveled over 181,000 miles to help plan and lead 740 ministry events in 14 states involving over 57,000 Presbyterian children, youth, college students, young adults, adults, and senior citizens. Sixty-seven former ACtivators have attended seminary. Fifty-three former ACtivators currently serve as full-time clergy or educators in 29 Presbyterian congregations in 11 states (including Noelle Castin). Twenty-five ACtivators have served as PCUSA Young Adult Volunteers. Learn more at: https://www.austincollege.edu/campus-life/religious-life/chaplain/
On April 30, the Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) will be leading an Adult Ed session during which we will share with you the search process we will be following and update you on our progress. We look forward to being with you. The Pastor Nominating Committee is made up of Meeting House members: Marty Barolo, Meredith Check, Eric Johnson, Chuck Jones, Wendy Matney, Chris Pommerer and Marsha Rhea.
Click here for a summary of the search process.
On the first three Sundays in May, the Adult Ed classes will be led by Linda Lanam, Jennifer Veech, Mary McElveen, Ellen Smith, and Steven Seigart, and they will do a deep dive into the various texts that will be sung, set to music, on the May 21st program. The sources include scripture in Hebrew, poetry by Walt Whitman, Sara Teasdale, and W.E.B. DuBois, and even from a speech by John Bright in the British House of Commons warning against the First Crimean War in 1855. During these Adult Ed sessions, we’ll explore the meaning and context of these texts and also have a chance to listen to some of the music as well. We hope you’ll join us for these sessions on May 7, 14, and 21, and then again for the concert May 21st at 3 p.m.!