Full Fall Term   |   September 11 - December 11

Feasting on the Word

Bible study at its best!  All are welcome! This is a new ecumenical resource based on the uniqueness of the award-winning commentaries by the same name. Participants are brought deeper into the rhythm of the church year through solid biblical and theological explorations. Worship at Central is based on the same passages that will be studied each week.

Leader:  Beth Johnson
Location:  Oglesby Building Atrium

First Fall Term   |   September 11 - October 23

The Genesis of Secrecy
Text: The Genesis of Secrecy: On the Interpretation of Narrative (Charles Eliot Norton Lectures) by Frank Kermode

Leader:  John Huss and Others
Location:  Oglesby Building, G-1

We invite you to explore with us a classic text on the art of literary interpretation with particular emphasis on the Gospel of Mark.  See for yourself how faith need not be a pre-requisite (or a hindrance) to a thoughtful reading of a sacred text.    John Huss, Convener, Issues in Theology Class 

Queens, Slaves, and Harlots: Women in the Old Testament                          

Leader:  Kate Taber
Location:  Oglesby Building, G-10

What do women of the Old Testament have to teach us today about power and privilege, justice and resistance, community and family? Join us as we explore stories of biblical women—famous, infamous, and unfamiliar— and the ways their lives and struggles shed light on our own. We will read from Princeton Seminary scholar Katharine Sakenfeld’s, Just Wives: Stories of Power and Survival in the Old Testament and Today.  Ed Carwile, Convener, Sojourners Class  

Theology and Prime Time Families

Leader:  Carol Pitts
Location:  Oglesby Building, G-3

We will watch segments of prime-time television shows portraying different modern families. We will reflect on the structures and functions of the families, and on the messages we receive about families from these shows. We then will reflect theologically on what we have seen and described.   Faith and Family Class

Living a Compassionate Life 
Text: Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life by Karen Armstrong

Leader:  Melanie Bliss
Location:  Oglesby Building, G-4

This class will discuss compassion from the perspective of major world religions using Karen Armstrong’s book: Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life. Psychologist and Central member Melanie Bliss will be the discussant and will emphasize how mindfulness increases compassion toward self and others.  Jean Ellen Jones, Convener, Keystone Class

Second Fall Term   |   October 30 - December 11

On Evil
Text: On Evil by Terry Eagleton (Yale University Press, 2010)

Leader:  John Huss and Others
Location:  Oglesby Building, G-1

Join us in discussion stimulated by this accessible, provocative, off-center, not necessarily orthodox exploration of the topic by England’s most famous Marxist literary critic, deeply informed by classic philosophical theology.  John Huss, Convener, Issues in Theology Class

Faith and Doubt

Leader:  Todd Evans
Location:  Oglesby Building, G-4

We will read selections from the second half of The Christ-Haunted Landscape: Faith and Doubt in Southern Fiction, edited by Susan Ketchin. Reading fiction and thoughtful interviews with Will Campbell, Doris Betts, Harry Crews, Clyde Edgerton and other writers, we will explore our responses to the writers’ struggles and insights.  Jean Ellen Jones, Convener, Keystone Class

"The First Gospel -- Really!"

Leader:  Gary Charles
Location:  Oglesby Building, G-10

In the class, Gary will share his love for the Gospel of Mark. Each Sunday, class participants will be invited to read Mark and decide if they will "finish the story" that ends at Mark 16:8. Come and learn or refresh your learning about the First Gospel.  Ed Carwile, Convener, Sojourners Class

Faith and Family

Leader:  Cat Goodrich
Location:  Oglesby Building, G-3

Using the book Real Kids, Real Faith and other resources, the Faith and Family class will explore questions about God, faith and more, with Cat Goodrich facilitating the conversation.