Wednesdays
January 8th -February 26th
(No Session January 29th)
10-11:15 a.m.
January 8th -February 26th
(No Session January 29th)
10-11:15 a.m.
2025 Education/Faith Formation Calendar
Adult Faith Formation at Westminster Presbyterian Church – the Little Church by the Sea - allows individuals to deepen their understanding of faith and grow spiritually. Lively sessions provide a deep understanding of theology, Biblical text, context, all within a circular whole-listic movement from life to faith to life. We explore the teachings of Scripture, discuss current topics and issues, and discover how to live out our beliefs in everyday life. Whether new to faith or seeking to deepen your spiritual practice, our adult faith formation calendar offers a space to learn, connect, and refresh.
Our Faith Formation program is led by a very familiar team to you – Alan Keohane, David Norton, Pastor Eddie and guests TBD. Sessions are hybrid, in-person and Zoom, once a week on Wednesday morning from 10 a.m. through 11:15 a.m. Zoom session links are accessible through the Back of the Bulletin (newsletter). In-person sessions are held either at Coolspring Presbyterian Church Community Hall or at Westminster PC Fellowship Hall (see calendar for location).
2025 season will kick off on January 8th with Alan Keohane - Questioning Scripture - via Zoom only.
What…Where…When
Questioning Scripture is an interactive visual tour of the bible organized chronologically. It builds on Picturing Scripture, which integrated geographical, historical, literary, scientific, philosophical, socio-economic and other background information to provide context that can be vital in gaining a deeper understanding of bible passages.
Like its predecessor, Questioning Scripture also uses pictures and video clips to illustrate scripture verses. It adds lots of new material and takes a spiritual formation approach. We’ll interrogate the text to see what big questions of faith it raises. We’ll also let the text question us, to discern what our response might be.
This study is nerdy, quirky and irreverent. Each session begins with a list of three inappropriate things for a bible study that are surprisingly connected to the passages being discussed. Think of it as a ‘provocateur-guide’ to the bible!
Following is a brief Bio on Alan.
Alan Keohane graduated from Cambridge University England with a Master’s degree in Natural Sciences. Now retired, he spent most of his career in human services. Alan has taught at the National Leadership Institute on Aging and was a faculty member at Alfred University, New York. He has over 25 years’ experience teaching bible studies, including two years leading a missional bible study in bars in inner city Wilmington. These days he spends most of his time playing with his grandkids. His wife Molly describes him as criminally curious.
The first session (7 weeks) will run from Wednesday January 8th until Wednesday February 26th, from 10-11:15 a.m. with the exception of January 29th. It covers Genesis.
Did the events in Genesis 1-11 really happen, or are they just myths? Questioning Scripture will take a look at the origin stories of the Old Testament and compare them to our best current evidence from science, archaeology, paleoanthropology and other disciplines to explore whether science and faith are compatible. We'll also examine the philosophical & theological ramifications of those stories. Did Adam & Eve know right from wrong before they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Did they fall... or were they pushed! We'll also look at the Patriarchs to explore the characters & stories described in Genesis 12-50. Who was Abraham and why was his family such a train wreck? What was Sodom’s sin? What was Abraham thinking when he almost sacrificed Isaac? Was Jacob the original soup Nazi (for you Seinfeld fans)? Join us for a visual tour of humanity's beginnings and the soap opera masquerading as history in risqué narratives from the early years of the Hebrew people.
The second session (7 weeks) will run from Wednesday April 23rd until June 4th from 10-11:15 a.m. It covers Exodus through Deuteronomy.
Who was Moses and why didn’t he just stop and ask for directions? Questioning Scripture will take a look at the Children of Israel’s journey from Egypt to the Promised land as described in Exodus through Deuteronomy. This is where most people give up when they try to read the bible cover to cover, but there are lots of intriguing stories buried in these sprawling texts. Why did God choose those particular ten plagues? Did the Children of Israel wander or were they just in time-out? Was it fair that God prevented Moses from entering the Promised Land? Join us for a visual tour of the good bits hiding in the fine print!
Lenten Season: will kick off from Ash Wednesday, March 5th through April 2nd except for March 12th (5 sessions) from 10-11:15 a.m.
Session will be hybrid (in-person and Zoom) led by Pastor Eddie hosted at Westminster PC – Fellowship Hall. Subject will be the Psalms of Lamentations. The psalms of lament are songs and poems in which the psalmist cries out to God in times of deep distress and despair. In psalms of lament, the psalmist asks God for intervention to deliver him from suffering, sorrow, great loss, failures, and enemies. These petitions often give way to expressions of trust in God to act in the psalmist’s favor, leading to hope and joy. (Resource book TBD)
The third session (7 weeks) will run from Wednesday April 23rd until June 4th, 10-11:15 a.m. Zoom only. It covers Exodus through Deuteronomy.
Summer Session: led by Dave Norton. Starting from July through August (six sessions) Wednesdays from 10-11:30 a.m. in person only hosted at Coolspring Presbyterian Church Community Hall. (Topic and resource book TBD)
Advent Season: led by Pastor Eddie from November 26th through December 17th (4 sessions) 10-11:15 a.m. hybrid at Westminster PC Fellowship Hall and on Zoom. (Resource book TBD)
Save the dates. ALL ARE WELCOME!
Our Faith Formation program is led by a very familiar team to you – Alan Keohane, David Norton, Pastor Eddie and guests TBD. Sessions are hybrid, in-person and Zoom, once a week on Wednesday morning from 10 a.m. through 11:15 a.m. Zoom session links are accessible through the Back of the Bulletin (newsletter). In-person sessions are held either at Coolspring Presbyterian Church Community Hall or at Westminster PC Fellowship Hall (see calendar for location).
2025 season will kick off on January 8th with Alan Keohane - Questioning Scripture - via Zoom only.
What…Where…When
Questioning Scripture is an interactive visual tour of the bible organized chronologically. It builds on Picturing Scripture, which integrated geographical, historical, literary, scientific, philosophical, socio-economic and other background information to provide context that can be vital in gaining a deeper understanding of bible passages.
Like its predecessor, Questioning Scripture also uses pictures and video clips to illustrate scripture verses. It adds lots of new material and takes a spiritual formation approach. We’ll interrogate the text to see what big questions of faith it raises. We’ll also let the text question us, to discern what our response might be.
This study is nerdy, quirky and irreverent. Each session begins with a list of three inappropriate things for a bible study that are surprisingly connected to the passages being discussed. Think of it as a ‘provocateur-guide’ to the bible!
Following is a brief Bio on Alan.
Alan Keohane graduated from Cambridge University England with a Master’s degree in Natural Sciences. Now retired, he spent most of his career in human services. Alan has taught at the National Leadership Institute on Aging and was a faculty member at Alfred University, New York. He has over 25 years’ experience teaching bible studies, including two years leading a missional bible study in bars in inner city Wilmington. These days he spends most of his time playing with his grandkids. His wife Molly describes him as criminally curious.
The first session (7 weeks) will run from Wednesday January 8th until Wednesday February 26th, from 10-11:15 a.m. with the exception of January 29th. It covers Genesis.
Did the events in Genesis 1-11 really happen, or are they just myths? Questioning Scripture will take a look at the origin stories of the Old Testament and compare them to our best current evidence from science, archaeology, paleoanthropology and other disciplines to explore whether science and faith are compatible. We'll also examine the philosophical & theological ramifications of those stories. Did Adam & Eve know right from wrong before they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Did they fall... or were they pushed! We'll also look at the Patriarchs to explore the characters & stories described in Genesis 12-50. Who was Abraham and why was his family such a train wreck? What was Sodom’s sin? What was Abraham thinking when he almost sacrificed Isaac? Was Jacob the original soup Nazi (for you Seinfeld fans)? Join us for a visual tour of humanity's beginnings and the soap opera masquerading as history in risqué narratives from the early years of the Hebrew people.
The second session (7 weeks) will run from Wednesday April 23rd until June 4th from 10-11:15 a.m. It covers Exodus through Deuteronomy.
Who was Moses and why didn’t he just stop and ask for directions? Questioning Scripture will take a look at the Children of Israel’s journey from Egypt to the Promised land as described in Exodus through Deuteronomy. This is where most people give up when they try to read the bible cover to cover, but there are lots of intriguing stories buried in these sprawling texts. Why did God choose those particular ten plagues? Did the Children of Israel wander or were they just in time-out? Was it fair that God prevented Moses from entering the Promised Land? Join us for a visual tour of the good bits hiding in the fine print!
Lenten Season: will kick off from Ash Wednesday, March 5th through April 2nd except for March 12th (5 sessions) from 10-11:15 a.m.
Session will be hybrid (in-person and Zoom) led by Pastor Eddie hosted at Westminster PC – Fellowship Hall. Subject will be the Psalms of Lamentations. The psalms of lament are songs and poems in which the psalmist cries out to God in times of deep distress and despair. In psalms of lament, the psalmist asks God for intervention to deliver him from suffering, sorrow, great loss, failures, and enemies. These petitions often give way to expressions of trust in God to act in the psalmist’s favor, leading to hope and joy. (Resource book TBD)
The third session (7 weeks) will run from Wednesday April 23rd until June 4th, 10-11:15 a.m. Zoom only. It covers Exodus through Deuteronomy.
Summer Session: led by Dave Norton. Starting from July through August (six sessions) Wednesdays from 10-11:30 a.m. in person only hosted at Coolspring Presbyterian Church Community Hall. (Topic and resource book TBD)
Advent Season: led by Pastor Eddie from November 26th through December 17th (4 sessions) 10-11:15 a.m. hybrid at Westminster PC Fellowship Hall and on Zoom. (Resource book TBD)
Save the dates. ALL ARE WELCOME!
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