Adult Sunday School Classes meet each Sunday morning at 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM, September through May, in the Chapel building. All classes welcome visitors, guests, and new members.
January 8 - February 19, 2023
The Seekers Class: The Pilgrim’s Compass by Paul H. Lang
The Pilgrim's Compass shepherds readers through a metaphorical pilgrimage to consider one's life a journey for faith formation. Using this book as a guide to help Christians consider their journey as they walk through the four stages of intentional faithfulness, disciples will encounter God, wrestle with God, be wounded as will God, and be reborn as a new person with a new name. The Pilgrim's Compass encourages individuals to embrace the ancient practice of pilgrimage both as metaphor for the daily walk of discipleship and as an intentional journey of faith, which uses prayerful travel to assist an inner transformation.
Some Midwinter Morsels
We will read and discuss five of the shortest books of the Bible. Each was topical when written and addresses a particular moment in time, a very long time ago. Why were they important then? Are they important now?
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Haggai on God's choice (OT, Minor Prophet, 2 chapters, 1 week)
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Joel on the Kingdom of God (OT, Minor Prophet, 3 chapters, 2 weeks)
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Second Letter of John on Heresy and Ladies (2 John) (NT, General Epistle, 1 chapter, one week)
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Third Letter of John on Hospitality (3 John) (NT, General Epistle, 1 chapter, one week)
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Letter of Jude on Prophecy (NT, General Epistle, 1 chapter, one week)
On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts by James K. A. Smith
Popular speaker and award-winning author James K. A. Smith has spent time on the road with Augustine, and he invites us to take this journey, too, for this ancient African thinker knows far more about us than we might expect. This book shows how Augustine can be a pilgrim guide to a spirituality that meets the complicated world we live in. Augustine, says Smith, is the patron saint of restless hearts - a guide who has been there, asked our questions, and knows our frustrations and failed pursuits. Addressing believers and skeptics alike, this book shows how Augustine's timeless wisdom speaks to the worries and struggles of contemporary life, covering topics such as ambition, sex, friendship, freedom, parenthood, and death. As Smith vividly and colorfully brings Augustine to life for a 21st-century audience, he also offers a fresh articulation of Christianity that speaks to our deepest hungers, fears, and hopes.
February 26 - April 2, 2023 (Lent)
The Seekers: Sermon on the Mount by Amy-Jill Levine (DVD)
In Sermon on the Mount, Dr. Amy-Jill Levine takes a detailed and colorful overview of Matthew 5-7, collectively known as Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. Through Dr. Levine’s engaging method of biblical interpretation, learners will come away with a solid understanding of the Sermon on the Mount in its full historical and theological context.
For Doubters, Skeptics and Cynics: A Lenten Study of Ecclesiastes
The writer of Ecclesiastes -- Qohelet, the Preacher -- speaks in a register that does not often appear in the Bible: philosophical grappling with a world apparently beyond comprehension, and a God who too often seems absent. Reading through Qohelet's questions, answers, and musings should give us plenty to think about as we pass through the Lenten season where we remember Jesus' 40 days of testing in the wilderness.
Seculosity: How Career, Parenting, Technology, Food, Politics, and Romance Became Our New Religion and What to Do about It by David Zahl
Seculosity makes the case that being religious is alive and well in modern society. While American organized religion may be declining, the desire to fill the void with everyday life pursuits is another form of worship. In our striving, we chase a sense of enoughness. But it remains out of reach. Human effort and striving is causing burn out, depression, and anxiety. Even our leisure activities, such as dating and movie watching, become to-do list items and once accomplished we’ll hope to feel contentment with ourselves. Seculosity takes a thoughtful yet light-hearted tour of "performancism" and its cousins. Author David Zahl challenges the conventional narrative of religious decline claiming society has become religious about busyness and accomplishments. Zahl unmasks the competing loyalties our lives revolve around in a way that is approachable, personal, and accurate. Eventually, Zahl brings readers to a fresh appreciation for grace -- the grace of God in all its countercultural wonder.
April 16 - May 21, 2023
The Seekers: Do I Stay Christian? by Brian McLaren
Do I Stay Christian?, addresses in public the powerful question that surprising numbers of people—including pastors, priests, and other religious leaders—are asking in private. Picking up where Faith After Doubt leaves off, Do I Stay Christian? is not McLaren's attempt to persuade Christians to dig in their heels or run for the exit. Instead, he combines his own experience with that of thousands of people who have confided in him over the years to help listeners make a responsible, honest, ethical decision about their religious identity.
Hate Mail: Paul’s fiery letter to the Galatians
Paul's Letter to the Galatians is short -- only 149 verses -- but Paul packs in a lot of thinking and not a little vitriol. As one of his first two letters (scholars argue whether it is first or second), Paul writes a letter to the Galatians, clearly still hot under the collar from an explosive encounter with Cephas, the Apostle Peter. Who do you think won when they faced each other? Who won the argument from our vantage point 2,000 years later? Who do you think should have won? As we pass through the Season of Easter, the time of celebration of the Good News, what is Paul's vision of it?
Humble Roots led by Hannah Anderson
Feeling anxious and worn thin? Can't seem to find the peace you long for? Join author Hannah Anderson for a 6 -week study based on her book, Humble Roots: How Humility Grounds and Nourishes Your Soul. Anchored in the teachings of Jesus, the class will also explore how different natural world phenomena invite us to come low and find rest in our Creator.
Discover RCPC
This class is intended for those new to our faith community who wish to learn more about how we make our life together in Christ. It is a great way to meet other new people in the church and listen for how God might be calling you to participate more deeply in our life together.
Presbyterian Women
Presbyterian Women is an organization for ALL women of Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church. Traditionally and currently our morning meetings occur during the months of September through May on the second Tuesday of every month from 10:15 AM-12:45 PM in the Fellowship Hall. Women gather to sign cards for shut-ins, collect donations for Turning Point, and leave a least coin offering for worldwide missions. The business meeting starts at 10:30 followed by a Bible study led by Ruth Marple. This year the Bible study curriculum is called What My Grandmothers Taught Me: Learning from the Women in Matthew’s Genealogy of Jesus. This study will examine the lives of women whose stories may have impacted Jesus, such as Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. The morning ends with a time of fellowship over a delicious lunch provided by Lisa Goad. In addition to the monthly morning meetings, a nighttime or weekend event is planned each month for all women to allow bonding and fellowship with the women of the church who work, have small children at home, or cannot attend morning meetings. Those events are advertised each month.
Men of the Church
A men’s group has been meeting for several years from September through May for about an hour per week. Typically, the group is reading a book and taking time each week to check in with one another. Although most of the group attends RCPC, we have had others join us as well and they are welcome. This past year and beginning this year, we have been and will continue to meet by zoom so that we can safely gather until such time as the Covid-19 virus is less of a threat.
Adult Small Group Bible Study
The Small Group lessons are based on the Sunday sermons and scripture. Being a part of a small group is an experience rich in personal connection and spiritual growth. In small groups we discuss what is shared in worship, therefore the experience of worship is more deeply ingrained into our minds and hearts. As we contemplate it all together the concepts take root and our faith grows!