ADULT LEARNING

A Place for You

Courses    Support Groups    Recovery Groups    Study Groups    Sunday School 

AHUMC is committed to offering a wide array of opportunities for education and encouragement.  The number of studies and groups that are available can even be a little overwhelming—so please let us help!

Courses
Support Groups
Young Adults
Recovery Groups
Study Groups
Sunday School
Courses

Beginning with Sunday mornings, AHUMC offers a number of different staff-led courses throughout the week. All of our courses are available for free to anyone who is interested. The only exception is that some courses do require the purchase of a book—and even that shouldn’t be an obstacle to participation as scholarship assistance is available. We hope you will consider joining at least one of the courses listed below.

 

If you have any questions or need any further information, please submit the form below

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Childcare

Common Space:
A Sunday Morning Dialogue

 

LEADERS:Chris Estus, Ryan Jacobson, Darrell Smith
DAY:Sundays - beginning Sept. 10
TIME:11 a.m.
LOCATION:W100 / 101

Join us for a weekly dialogue and exploration of the biblical stories—both the ones you know and love and the ones that seem to confound and confuse. This is not a lecture or a book study.  There is no homework or assigned reading.  Through active and participatory conversation, we will get to know each other and learn together as we wrestle with the questions that exist on the tips of our tongues and in the depths of our hearts.

Register
Course Book

Signs and Wonders: A Beginner's Guide to the Miracles of Jesus

 

LEADER:Donna Strieb
DAY:Tuesdays - beginning Sept. 12 
TIME:10 a.m.
LOCATION:W100 / 101

Pastor Donna Strieb will lead this exploration of the miracles of Jesus in their historical and theological context. For each miracle, we will discus not only how past witnesses would have understood the events, but also how today’s readers can draw meaning from Jesus’s words and actions. Using Amy-Jill Levine's book, we will examine:

 

  • Giving Sight to the Blind: Metaphors of Understanding 
  • Take up Your Pallet and Walk: On the Role of Caregivers
  • A Bleeding Woman and a Dead Girl: The Importance of Women’s Bodies 
  • Walking on Water and Stilling the Storm: Ecological Readings of the Gospels
  • The Feeding of the 5,000 (or more): The Centrality of Bead 
  • The Raising of Lazarus: Taking Death Seriously
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Course Book

The Very Good Gospel: How Everything Wrong Can Be Made Right

 

LEADER:Ryan Jacobson
DAY:Tuesdays - beginning Sept. 12
TIME:12 p.m.
LOCATION:AHUMC Parlor
  • Shalom is what God looks like.
  • Shalom is what God declared.
  • Shalom is when all people are treated equitably and have enough.
  • Shalom is when the image of God is recognized, protected, and cultivated in every single human.

 

Despite our anxious minds, divisions, and despite threats of violence, God’s vision of shalom remains: wholeness for a fragmented world. It is the vision set forth in the Garden and the restoration desired for every broken relationship. Shalom is the “very good” in the gospel.

 

Through careful exploration of the biblical text, particularly the first three chapters of Genesis, Rev. Ryan Jacobson will lead this study of Lisa Sharon Harper's work The Very Good Gospel.  Together, we will discover what shalom can look like today.

 

Childcare is available by reservation.

 

Lunch is available for purchase from Chefs Colin Bryant and Kaitlin Workman of Mission Bell.

Register
Course Book

Women's Ministry:

The Gifts of Imperfection

 

LEADERS:Priscilla MacDougall, Joanie Thames
DAY:Tuesdays - beginning Sept. 12
TIME:6 p.m.
LOCATION:AHUMC Parlor

Every day, we are increasingly bombarded with images and messages from society and media telling us who, what, and how we should be. These ideas can lead us to believe that if we could only be perfect and lead pristine lives, we'd no longer feel inadequate or stuck.

 

Join retired UMC pastor Rev. Priscilla MacDougall and Stephen Minister Joanie Thames as they lead a dialogue that will help unpack and replace those false, misleading beliefs that have caused us hurt. Using Brené Brown's book, The Gifts of Imperfection, course participants will explore how to cultivate the courage, compassion, and connection needed to fully embrace the life we do have.

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Mission Bell

Common Space:
A Lunchtime Dialogue

 

LEADERS:Chris Estus, Ryan Jacobson, Darrell Smith
DAY:Wednesdays - resuming Sept. 13
TIME:12 p.m.
LOCATION:AHUMC Parlor

Join us for a weekly dialogue and exploration of the biblical stories—both the ones you know and love and the ones that seem to confound and confuse. This is not a lecture or a book study.  There is no homework or assigned reading.  Through active and participatory conversation, we will get to know each other and learn together as we wrestle with the questions that exist on the tips of our tongues and in the depths of our hearts.

 

Lunch is available for purchase from Chefs Colin Bryant and Kaitlin Workman of Mission Bell.

Register
Yoga Waiver

Community Yoga:
Flow & Restore

 

LEADER:Dave Williams
DAY:Wednesdays - beginning Sept. 13
TIME:5:30 p.m.
LOCATION:CLC

Whether you have practiced Yoga for years or are looking to try something new, join us for this free weekly hour with Black Swan-licensed instructor, Dave Williams. Beginning September 13, we will meet for 7 weeks of warm-up, restorative flow, and cool down in the CLC at AHUMC. The space is carpeted so please feel free to bring your own mat or towel and a water bottle.

 

Childcare is available by reservation and dinner is available for purchase from Chefs Colin Bryant and Kaitlin Workman of Mission Bell.

Register
Course Book

The Good and Beautiful God:
Falling in Love With the God Jesus Knows

 

LEADERS:Jason Adams and Janet Weatherston
DAY:Wednesdays - beginning Sept. 13
TIME:6 p.m.
LOCATION:AHUMC Parlor

We all have ideas that we tell ourselves about God. Some are true―but many are false. Those ideas can shape not only who we are, but how we live. In his book, The Good and Beautiful God, Theologian and author James Bryan Smith declares the most important thing about a person is what they think about God. 

 

Senior Pastor Jason Adams and Outreach Pastor Janet Weatherston invite you to put your ideas to the test to see if they match up with what Jesus revealed about God. Together, we will journey through a process of spiritual formation that includes specific activities aimed at making the good and beautiful God real in our body and soul as well as our mind.

 

Childcare is available by reservation and dinner is available for purchase from Chefs Colin Bryant and Kaitlin Workman of Mission Bell.

Register
Course Book

Done With the Crying: Help and Healing for Parents of Estranged Adult Children

 

LEADER:Linda Baumheckel
DAY:Wednesdays - beginning Sept. 13
TIME:6:30 p.m.
LOCATION:E223 The Map Room

Rev. Linda Baumheckel will lead this dialogue that seeks to help parents break free from emotional pain—and move forward in their own lives.

 

Utilizing Sheri McGregor's book, Done With The Crying, the latest research, and insight from more than 9,000 parents of estranged adult children, we will learn how to plan ahead, prepare for emotional triggers, and prevail over setbacks and pain.

 

In this encouraging and comprehensive 8-week dialogue, we will cover the phenomenon of estranged adult children from families who never expected a son or daughter to cut ties and walk away.  Gain understanding and practical help while learning that hope can remain. We don't have to stay stalled, forever waiting. We can move past the disbelief and distress. Take charge. Reclaim ourselves and our lives.

 

Childcare is available by reservation during the meal and Wednesday evening courses and activities.

 

Each week, Chefs Colin Bryant and Kaitlin Workman will offer “specials” as well as the entire Mission Bell menu, featuring both vegan and gluten-free options just in case you need to change things up.

Childcare
Mission Bell

Community Dinner

 

WEEKLY SPECIAL:View Menu
DAY:Wednesdays - resuming Sept. 13
TIME:5 - 7 p.m.
LOCATION:AHUMC Atrium

Join us for this time of connection and, hopefully, convenience—as we share the table together on Wednesday evenings. Whether you are going to one of our Wednesday evening courses, Taizé Worship, choir practice, or you just want someone else to do the cooking and cleaning, we hope to see you!

 

Childcare is available by reservation during the meal and Wednesday evening courses and activities.

 

Each week, Chefs Colin Bryant and Kaitlin Workman will offer “specials” as well as the entire Mission Bell menu, featuring both vegan and gluten-free options just in case you need to change things up.

Support Groups
Young Adults
Recovery Groups
Study Groups
Sunday School

 

THE NEW HAPPY on "Curiosity"

 

We think that the best thing we can do is have all of the answers.

But what would it look like if we were more interested in the questions?

 

Try using one of these phrases to tap into the curiousity and humility of the beginner's mind:
 

  • "I don't know. What do you think?"
  • "I value your insight and knowledge. Can you share more about that with me?"
  • "How are you feeling about this, right now?"
  • "I was thinking about [topic] and remembered it's something in which you are interested. Will you tell me a bit about it?"
  • "Do you have any suggestions for how I can learn more about that?"
  • "How would you approach this?"
  • "What was it like when [event] happened for you?"
  • "How can I help you?"

—The New Happy

LET US KNOW HOW WE CAN HELP

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We cannot do life alone.
God is relationship and we come from God. We live within community—we need it and it needs us.