ADULT FAITH FORMATION
Every week adults from Peace Lutheran Church gather together to study the Bible, develop friendships, pursue wholeness, and share life experiences. Are you ready to join in? Learn more about a sampling of our groups and classes here, email office@peaceaustin.org for more information or to explore what may be your next steps.
Sunday Opportunities
We offer snacks and conversations every week after the worship service. Most Sundays also feature a potluck lunch and discussion topic. Check below for the schedule of events. You can also find current information in our weekly email and Facebook page.
Weekday Opportunities
See the weekly email or email us to get connected with these groups.
Women’s Bible Study on the first Wednesday of each month at 9:30 am on Zoom. All women are welcome for Bible Study. Bring your Bible as we dive into God’s word through the study published in Gather, the ELCA women’s publication.
Men in Mission meet monthly for a potluck meal and Bible Study, usually on the fourth Tuesday at 6:30 pm, and also for special outings and service projects.
Our Book Club, Perpetual Page Turners meets via Zoom monthly on the second Thursday at 1:30 pm.
Community Connections Sessions
15
Sep '20
9/27/20 – Refuge Crisis Followup
15
Sep '20
In a final session on Refugees, Mary Beth and John Foster will review the key points we have learned. Then they will share information about one of the local refugee agencies: Refugee Services of Texas. While one might assume that they have less to do, given the current political situation, they are actually very busy. Peace is looking at ways we can help. Come learn more!
Facilitators: John & Mary Beth Foster
30
Aug '20
9/20/20 – Philippians
30
Aug '20
Philippians 2:12-3:11
On September 20, we will continue looking at Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. It is a letter of thanksgiving for the Philippians’ material support of Paul’s ministry. Paul’s thanks, however, are combined with the belief in God’s grace for both himself and the Philippians, and therefore God deserves the ultimate thanks. Paul expresses his warmest feelings for the Philippians, the freedom of joy in the Lord even as he is in chains, and he encourages them to be of one mind in Christ.
Facilitators: Matt Bloom & Darrell Bailey
28
Aug '20
9/13/20 – Philippians
28
Aug '20
Philippians 1:1-2:11
On September 13, we will begin looking at Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. It is a letter of thanksgiving for the Philippians’ material support of Paul’s ministry. Paul’s thanks, however, are combined with the belief in God’s grace for both himself and the Philippians, and therefore God deserves the ultimate thanks. Paul expresses his warmest feelings for the Philippians, the freedom of joy in the Lord even as he is in chains, and he encourages them to be of one mind in Christ.
Facilitators: Matt Bloom & Darrell Bailey
27
Aug '20
New Testament Studies
27
Aug '20
In Community Connections from September through May, we will have the opportunity to study books of the New Testament. Three Sundays a month, we will look at a specific book from the New Testament or a series of passages around a single theme.
Read more...
8/30/20 – Dialogue on Race
The Work Continues
Join Young Adult Community Builder, Fatima Mann, and Pastor Carolyn to reflect on how our learnings from the Dialogues on Race series can grow toward transformation and healing – both inwardly and outwardly. Fatima will guide us in processing our learning and reflecting on what we might do next.
This session will also offer an introduction and invitation into a 5-part series Fatima will be leading. You won’t want to miss this opportunity!
*See the calendar or weekly email for the link or email us.
Facilitators: Fatima Mann & Pastor Carolyn
17
Aug '20
8/23/20 – Dialogue on Race
17
Aug '20
A New Heaven and a New Earth – The Problem with Racial Reconciliation
After a lot of learning and listening, it is time to think about next steps and action to take toward racial restoration. We will consider how we can spur the rest of the congregation on to make our church a bold witness in rejecting and dismantling racist structures in the world while building the kin-dom of heaven on earth.
*See the calendar or weekly email for the link or email us.
Facilitators: Vaike O’Grady & Lisa Pursiheimo
8/16/20 – Dialogue on Race
Two Christianities – American Religion in Black and White
The focus of this week’s conversation is the racial divide in American Christianity and a historical analysis of black Christianity as a response to the pro-slavery, segregated, white supremacist attitudes of white Christianity in the early centuries of the British colonies and the USA. You will start to see how white supremacy is woven into the structure of the church far more tightly than they ever realized.
*See the calendar or weekly email for the link or email us.
Facilitators: Vaike O’Grady & Lisa Pursiheimo
03
Aug '20
8/9/20 – Dialogue on Race
03
Aug '20
Whither the Women? – Race, Gender, and the Intersecting Nature of Oppression
Throughout US history, women of color have been caught in the crossed streams of race and gender, leaving them to fight for a place in both the civil rights and women’s rights movements. This session introduces the concept of intersectionality – a term used to highlight the complexity of living in the midst of multiple kinds of discrimination.
*See the calendar or weekly email for the link or email us.
Facilitators: Vaike O’Grady & Lisa Pursiheimo
27
Jul '20
8/2/20 – Dialogue on Race
27
Jul '20
American Amnesia – Christianity and the Erasing of Native American Stories
This week’s conversation centers on the experiences on Native Americans. The Doctrine of Discovery, boarding schools, reservations, and the demonization of Native spiritual practices provide cause for somber reflection about how Native Americans have been harmed by white supremacy.
*See the calendar or weekly email for the link or email us.
Facilitators: Vaike O’Grady & Lisa Pursiheimo
20
Jul '20
7/26/20 – Dialogue on Race
20
Jul '20
Say It Loud: I’m Black and I’m Proud – Anti-Blackness, Oppression, and the Dehumanization of Black Bodies
The focus of this session is on the experience of being black. What is it like to walk through the world today in a black body? We will start to grapple with conscious and unconscious bias and acknowledge that we all hold them. Our job is not to eliminate them – that’s impossible – but to recognize them and understand how they influence our beliefs, assumptions and experiences.
*See the weekly email for the link or email us.
Facilitators: Vaike O’Grady & Lisa Pursiheimo
13
Jul '20
7/19/20 – Dialogue on Race
13
Jul '20
Christmas Cookies from Cambodia – The Bible and Race in America
This week we will take a deep dive into the Bible and consider how it has been used—and misused—in conversations about race throughout US history. We’ll deal with the concept of “the other,” a thread that runs through the entire Biblical narrative. Alongside it runs the all-too-human impulse to divide ourselves into groups that include some and exclude others.
*See the weekly email for the link or email us.
Facilitators: Vaike O’Grady & Lisa Pursiheimo
01
Jul '20
7/12/20 – Dialogue on Race
01
Jul '20
What does it mean to be white? – History and Social Construct of Race
Many people think of race as a reference to ethnicity, which can be a helpful way to categorize or describe commonalities or shared experiences between people. But the homophone of the word, used to describe a contest between two or more people, might actually shed more light on the way we will talk about race over the next several weeks—as a human construct used to elevate one group over another.
*See the weekly email for the link or email us.