First Parish Church Adult Christian & Religious Education Program

The guiding vision for the Adult Education Committee is to provide forums for adults at First Parish to reflectively engage in their own and our collective spiritual journey, to deepen their understanding of their faith, to foster spiritual growth, and thereby to enrich their lives and the lives of their families, the community, and the world. The programs sponsored by the Adult Education Committee help achieve the broader vision of the Church’s Christian Education Executive Committee to promote faith formation and religious enrichment for the children, youth, and adults in the Church.

ONGOING PROGRAMS

  • Adult Bible Study/Every Sunday/9:00am, Chapel. Using The Present Word as a study guide. Contact Jack Kieffer, program coordinator, through the Church office if you have questions.
  • Quiet Day/Quiet Days are planned for about every two months on a Friday. Dates are announced as they are set. Quiet Days create a few hours to collect and prepare ourselves for leading the lives we wish for ourselves. A soup, bread, and fruit lunch is served. Please contact Jeanne Tuttle or Ann Barry, program coordinators, through the Church office for time and location.
  • Inquiring Minds Book Group/7:00pm, Parlor (generally held the 3rd Tuesday). Organized by Becky Halbrook for the “intellects out there” who are want-to-be-avid-readers-of-good-books. The group reads a different book each month. Open to all. Contact Becky Halbrook through the Church office if you have questions.
  • Circle of Faith Book Group/Every 2nd Tuesday/9:30-11:00am, Parlor. A women’s book group reading spiritual biographies or books of spiritual/religious significance. For more information please contact coordinators Eve Thorsen or Jeanne Tuttle through the Church office.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

  • Friday evening, October 22 and Saturday October 23, Judith Valente and Charles Reynard return to First Parish Church for an encore retreat weekend. This year’s retreat will again use poems, essays, and other media to help us focus on living a more contemplative life and to illustrate how to tap into the “rejuvenating salve of silence and solitude”. As we learn to turn down the volume on all that meaningless chatter we begin to engage in “conversatio”, a continuous conversation with life. Please bring your journal or notepad and pen to write about and perhaps share some of your experiences. Click here for more information.
  • The Eastern Religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism/Taoism will be the subject of an introductory-level program sponsored by the Adult Education Committee this Fall. The program is organized into seven Thursday sessions, September 23 - November 4, from 12:00 to 1:00pm, in the Chapel (9 Cleaveland Street, Brunswick). Bring a brown bag lunch if you wish. The program is designed so that you can “mix and match” sessions depending on your interest. Gwen Moore, who concentrated on world religions at Harvard Divinity School (M.Div., 2000), will lead the program.

    To read the complete program description,Click here.

    For the program reading list, Click here.


RETREAT CENTERS

We are blessed to have several wonderful retreat centers nearby. While we do not endorse the centers listed below, at least one person we know has recommended them. If you visit one and have a great time—or not—please let us know. If you know of other venues, please let us know that, too. We’ll keep building the list for those times when you seek a place for silence and reflection.

  • Adelynrood Retreat & Conference Center, Byfield, MA — www.adelynrood.org
    • 978-462-6721 x 19 — Owned and operated by The Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross.

  • The Alcyon Center, Desert Island, ME — www.alcyoncenter.org — 207-244-1060
    • Grounded in prayer and the desire for ways to meet the spiritual hunger of the times.

  • Healing Soup, Rockland, ME — http://healingsoup.com/index.php — 207-594-1232
    • UCC Minister and owner’s mission is to provide custom-developed retreats for people seeking deep rest to restore their spiritual core.

  • Kairos Spiritual Life Center, Worcester, MA-www.allsaintschurchworc.org/kairosCenter.html
    • 508-752-3766 x 19 — A ministry of All Saints Church, Episcopal. Grounded in a contemplative spirit and in the belief that God is present in all times and people.

  • Living Water Spiritual Center, Winslow, ME — www.retreatinmaine.com — 207-872-2370
    • Sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph to serve those who seek to grow spiritually.

  • Mary Joseph Spiritual Center, Biddeford Pool, ME — www.mariejosephspiritual.org
    • 207-284-5671 — Owned and operated by the Congregation of the Presentation of Mary, offers a spiritual harbor for refreshment of spirit, mind and body.Your browser may not support display of this image.