Adult Enrichment Opportunities

Newark United Methodist Church offers many opportunities for adults to explore and enrich their faith.

2008 Adult Enrichment Opportunities:

Check out the Adult Faith-Building Activities at Newark United Methodist Church – for Winter 2008

For more information on any of the activities on the flyer, please call the Director of Education Ministries (Donna Hitchner) at 302-368-8774, ext. 225, or email deejay4358@yahoo.com or donnajhitchner@msn.com

Pastor’s Book Discussion: How do we live our Christianity? - The NUMC community is warmly invited to a discussion group reading L.R. Holben's "What Christians Think about Homosexuality" on Wednesdays from April 2 through May 14 from 7:00-8:30pm (Memorial Lounge). Our Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN) team has made a commitment to our church family to listen and learn from all our brothers and sisters, as well as to share our own commitment to addressing God's call for us as a congregation. Rev. David Palmer will be facilitating the discussion.

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON BIBLE STUDY (WABS) –(various locations – check-in at the Main Office, 1:30pm Wednesdays) will return to discussing The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew – Three Women Search for Understanding.  This popular book is well-liked by study participants, and the group welcomes new members at any time.  A copy of the book is available in paperback from amazon.com at $11.20 (new).   

FAITHFUL FRIENDS -- (6:30 – 8pm Sundays in the Wilson Room) continue their study of Paul’s letter to the Romans in Invitation to Romans.

DISCIPLE II CLASS? -- The Adult Ministries Team is negotiating with some possible teachers in order to offer a DISCIPLE II class for this year.  Anyone who is interested in attending should call the Christian Education office at 302-368-8774, ext. 225, or email deejay4358@yahoo.com. If you leave a message or email, please include the times and days you would be most able to attend.

Sunday Morning AE3 Activities:

Newcomers are always welcome in our Adult groups and classes!

COMPANIONS IN CHRIST -- Meets in the Chapel on Sundays at 9:30am. The Companions finish up their discussion of Brian McLaren’s Everything Must Change in April, and embark on a new study, to be decided.  This group welcomes new members to add to their spirited discussions!

MRS. WILSON’S BIBLE CLASS --  Meets in the Samuel Wesley Room, just inside the handicapped entrance, Sundays at 9:30am.  Current study: ) They will explore the book of Daniel during the four Sundays in April.  This group uses Cokesbury’s Adult Bible Studies series, and welcomes interested students to come by any time.

TEACHABLES – Meets in Room 210 Sundays at 9:30am. This group will begin to read The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis the first Sunday of April.  Come join the discussion of this lively tale.

TRYING CHRISTIANS – Meets in Memorial Lounge Sundays at 9:30am. They start a six-week course on March 30 about “Turning Points” of the Christian Church, facilitated by Jerry Swalley and based on the book, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity, by Mark A. Noll.  The author “has taken the broad topic of the history of Christianity and given it a structure of turning points, focusing on individuals and events at key points in Christian history. The ‘turning points’ put history into perspective and provide opportunity to add a human quality by often focusing on individuals while looking over particular events.” From the Library Journal review reprinted on amazon.com. Newcomers always welcome!

WANDERERS – Meets in Memorial Lounge Sundays at 11am.  They are mid-way through their study based on the book Images of God, by Dale and Sandy Larsen.  From the Cokesbury website: “Rock. Warrior. Peacemaker. Builder. Husband. Potter. The pictures of God in Scripture are multifaceted. In each of the ten studies in this study guide, Dale and Sandy Larsen show you another aspect of your powerful and peaceful Lord. But the purpose of this guide goes far beyond surveying the images of God. The Larsens also lead you to focus on your relationship to the reality behind the images. God will lead you to know him better through these inspired word-portraits.”  Feel free to “wander” into this class and check it out.

Bible 101 - This group meets on Sunday mornings at 9:30 in room 218, continuing their trek through the Old Testament.  They are always looking for new members, and welcome you to drop by to give the class a try.

SINGLES MINISTRY – Currently there are 25 people are on the Singles Ministry list. As a point of information, this definitely is NOT a Match.com or find-a-date/mate opportunity.  Some in the group primarily are interested in volunteering together with other singles in local missions.  Others are keen on the fellowship aspect, getting together just for fun or field trips. It is as yet unclear how this ministry area will gel, but any single adult is encouraged to come to a “Touch-base” meeting or any other activity (listed below) to check it out.  Here are some upcoming dates:

• March 30th – “Touch-base” meeting at 11am in the Wilson Room
• April 13th and May 18th – Trips to Longwood Gardens
• May 9th – Game Night (set to coincide with the next Family Fun Night

SPRING WOMEN’S RETREAT – The Adult Ministry Team is looking into the possibility of facilitating a very small women’s retreat for the Spring of 2008. Space will be extremely limited for this first venture. The cost will be around $150 per person for two nights lodging and five meals, and the theme has yet to be decided, and we are open to suggestions. Most likely dates are April 4-6, 2008. Please call Donna in the Christian Education office at 302-368-8774, ext. 225 or email deejay4358@yahoo.com if you could be interested in this event.

COMING IN JANUARY – Real Life Evangelism – facilitated by Senior Pastor David Palmer Begins Wednesday evening, January 30th – 7 to 8:30pm. Evangelism books presume everyone wants to do evangelism, so they tell you how to do it. Four years of Lilly Endowment-funded research has demonstrated conclusively that most people would rather go get a root canal than think about evangelism! The Real Life Evangelism Series, based on this research, doesn’t leap to the hows of faith-sharing. This course will help your church grapple with fundamental questions before it moves to the hows: Why share our faith? Why do evangelism? How can we let God enrich our relationships and our spiritual lives so that we can’t help sharing them with people?

Author, pastor, researcher and lawyer Martha Grace Reese discovered that most mainline Christians don’t share our faith because we aren’t clear why we should. (She calls evangelism the “E-word,” because it’s not a good out-loud word in most churches!) The Real Life Evangelism Series will help your church get past the E-word stigma, answer the fundamental “why” questions, connect with the power of a deep faith in Christ, begin to pray for real, and start to share your faith with enthusiasm and theological authenticity. (From the Real Life Evangelism series introductory material)

Starting Wednesday, January 9th - The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew – Three Women Search for Understanding Wednesday Afternoon Bible Study (WABS), Wednesdays at 1:30 to 3pm. A few books are still available ($11.50), or the paperback now can be purchased at many local bookstores or on amazon.com.