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The Adult Forum meets each Sunday from September 14 through May 17 at 10:00 am in the Commons Room, and features series led by parishioners, clergy and guests on a wide variety of topics which contribute to adult spiritual formation. Everyone is welcome for one, many, or all of the weekly offerings, which offer easy entry into the life, community and teachings of St. Paul’s and the Episcopal Church.
September 14: Capital Campaign Awareness presentation. Lauren Moye, of the consulting firm Demont & Associates will address the forum with an update on the St. Paul’s capital campaign.
September 21 & 28: Episcopal Church 101: The Episcopal Church in the World. Every September we begin our program year with a series entitled, “Episcopal Church 101.” Each year the series has a different topic designed with the purpose of providing an overview of a particular aspect of Episcopal tradition, practice, or belief. This year we will have two such series. Our opening series, “The Episcopal Church in the World” will focus on how we as a local and national church participate in the larger physical and social world in which we live as God’s creation. September 21: The Episcopal Church of the USA and Environmental Stewardship. Understanding the Episcopal Church’s work on environmental stewardship and sustainability is important as we study our parish’s role and our individual roles as Christians in today’s world. We’ll share statements, actions and policies of our national church at all levels from Presiding Bishop to our Diocese. This session is presented by St. Paul’s Earth Care Circle and will be led by parish members Sylvia Knight and Bob Wright. September 28: The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. Early August saw the Lambeth Conference, one of the Anglican Communion’s Instruments of Unity. It takes place every ten years as an occasion when bishops from around the world meet for worship, study, and discussion. The Episcopal Bishop of Vermont, Thomas Ely, attended the conference. He will present his reflections on the conference in the Adult Forum.
October 5: Kim Nataraja, of the World Community for Christian Meditation (London), will speak on “Meditation, the other half of Prayer.” A very old definition of prayer described it as ‘the raising fo the heart and mind to God.’ Most of our training in prayer, however, is limited to the mind. We were taught as children to say our prayers, to ask God for what we or others needed. But that is only half of the mystery of prayer. The other half is the prayer of the heart where we are not thinking about God or talking to him or asking for anything. This way of prayer is about simply being with God who dwells within us through the Holy Spirit whom Jesus has given us. Meditation, contemplative prayer, then is the prayer of the heart uniting us with the human consciousness of Jesus in the Spirit. It complements other forms of prayers, completes and deepens them.
October 12, 19 & 26: Episcopal Church 101: What are we doing on Sunday mornings? This series will look at different elements of our shared worship experience: the Word, the Eucharist, and liturgical roles for laity. Stay tuned for more details!
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