Christian education is a foundation of our community at St. Andrew’s. With a wide range of learning experiences offered here, we welcome you to join us. Please contact the Rev. Margaret Schwarzer, associate rector for adult formation and membership, regarding any of the information below:

9am Christian Learning Series

Our 9am Christian Learning Series meets from 9am to 9:50am every Sunday from mid-September through December and from mid-January through May. You can see our current offerings by reading St. Andrew’s communications, or reading the 2024 spring schedule. Recent topics have included spirituality, history, scripture, theology, and prayer. All are welcome. Please contact our associate rector, Rev. Margaret Schwarzer if you have questions

2024 Spring Schedule

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9am Christian learning series schedule — Spring 2024

Lenten Program & Potluck

Our Wednesday night potlucks begin at 6:30pm and run till 7:10pm. We provide the entrée and drinks, and you bring a salad or dessert. From 7:10–8pm, we offer a program on the theme Ancient Scripture/Modern Life. Each talk will apply one of Scripture’s formative teachings to modern life. All are welcome. Please contact our associate rector, Rev. Margaret Schwarzer if you have questions

2024 Lenten Program

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Lenten Program and Potluck Schedule

Lenten Meditation Guide 2024

Editor’s Note

Dear members of St. Andrew’s,

For the next forty-seven days, the spiritual practice we take on together will be our daily reflection and prayer. Most of us will be reading our fellow parishioners’ words alone, but we will be sharing that experience with other parishioners reading the same meditation each day. To be linked together in this common spiritual work is a blessing and a reminder that none of us walk alone. We are supported by Christian community while we ponder the complexities within our own souls and the challenges within the larger world we inhabit.

Our writers wrote alone, but some common themes emerged—perhaps they are the whispers of the Holy Spirit. We are invited to take sin seriously, to forgive, to be bold when we act on our faith, and to trust that the work of faith will bear fruit.

Being a Christian is hard work, but as we practice, we live the life that is life. We “glorify God and enjoy God’s works forever.” (Westminster Catechism)

Godspeed in the journey.

Yours,

Margaret

The Rev. Margaret K. Schwarzer, associate rector

2024 Lenten Meditation Guide

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Lenten Meditation Guide 2024-img

Bible Study Offerings

Open Bible Study

Margaret offers a monthly open Bible study on the second Tuesday of every month from 11am to noon, and the same class again the second Wednesday night of the month from 7pm to 8pm. This year we are studying the Gospel of Mark. We meet in person and by Zoom (see links below). All are welcome. Contact Rev. Margaret Schwarzer with questions.

NEW Weekly Beginner’s Bible Study

Adrian will be leading a weekly beginner’s Bible study on Thursdays from noon to 1pm. The study will be online to maximize participation. (Zoom link below). We will look at Matthew’s Gospel through a scholarly lens but also ask what passages say to us as 21st century Christians. There is no homework but you need a Bible. You are welcome to join us even if you cannot attend every week. Contact Rev. Adrian Robbins-Cole with questions.

Men’s Bible Study, September – May

Adrian leads this men’s Bible study class that meets on Zoom on the first Saturday of the month from 8am to 9am. This year, we are studying Timothy and Titus, two letters written by Paul to two of his fellow evangelists. Contact Rev. Adrian Robbins-Cole with questions.

Other Adult Learning Offerings

Faith & Practice Series

This year, we are offering three Faith & Practice classes that invite members of our parish to deepen our own practice of Christianity. We gather together to reflect on an aspect of our spiritual life and we share our own questions and experiences. This intergenerational class is held from 11:30am to 12:15pm on the first Sunday of the month it is offered. You are invited to join us as we grow in faith together. All are welcome. Here are our 2023-2024 offerings:

  • February 4, 2024: Forgiving Ourselves (Margaret Schwarzer)
  • April 21, 2024: Why do we Suffer? (Paul Shellito & Margaret Schwarzer)
  • May 5, 2024: How to Acknowledge Grief in Others (Karen Vickers Budney & Margaret Schwarzer)
Men’s Book Club

Meets the first Wednesday of the month (check the calendar for exceptions) at 7:30pm for fellowship and discussion of selected works of non-fiction.

Antisemitism Series: A Jewish Perspective

In response to so much antisemitism in North America in the past few years, we are sponsoring a series lead by Eric Rosen, one of our friends at Temple Beth Elohim. He will share his experience of antisemitism from a Jewish perspective. Each class meets from 11:30am-12:30am in Room #2. The series’ dates and themes are as follows:

  • November 5, 2023: Antisemitism from a Jewish Perspective: Greece, Rome, and the Early Church
  • January 21, 2024: Antisemitism from a Jewish Perspective: Scapegoating the Jews in Medieval Europe
  • April 7, 2024: Antisemitism from a Jewish Perspective: Modern Antisemitism
Sacred Ground

Sacred Ground is part of Becoming the Beloved Community, the Episcopal Church’s long-term commitment to racial healing, reconciliation, and justice in our personal lives, ministries and our society. Participants are challenged to put into practice their baptismal covenant promises to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself” and to “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.”

The 11-part series Sacred Ground is built around an online curriculum of documentary films and readings that focus on Indigenous, Black, Latino, and Asian/Pacific American histories as they intersect with European American histories. Please see the Sacred Ground website for more.

This is a continued learning process for all. A group of 30 parishioners took part in this rich and enlightening course last year and completed the 11 sessions on April 29, 2023. We plan to offer this course again in the Winter/Spring of 2024. For more information, lease contact our rector, Rev. Adrian Robbins-Cole.