Facilitator:  Steve Clark

Sundays at 9am

April 11 through June 6

If you’ve ever wondered about the history of the Congregational faith and how it evolved from the Mayflower to today, join us as we read and discuss The Congregational Way of Life by Arthur A. Rouner, Jr.  Our pastor Chapin Garner reads this concise, inspirational book each year before Annual Meeting.  Why?  Because it illuminates the religious and democratic principles that set us apart from other faith traditions, helped pioneer Massachusetts, and helped transform America.  In a casual, interactive format, we’ll discuss the book as it takes us from history to His story: the ongoing relationship unique to our faith that we trust not in hierarchies of men but instead that “Christ alone is the power of the Church. Christ is the ruler of each Congregation.”

Facilitator: Jack Barrows

Sundays at 9am

April 11 through June 6

This course is a nine-week introduction to the foundations of Islam.  Starting with the life of Muhammad, our study will extend through the expansion of Islam into a major world force. We’ll use the PBS video, "Islam: Empire of Faith," and the book, Islam: Past, Present, and Future by the theologian Hans Kung. Participants are not required to purchase either the book or the video.

Facilitators: Melissa Boynton and Julie Gillis

Sundays at 9am

May 2 through June 6

Throughout the six weeks, we will read and discuss this thought-provoking and insightful book by John M. Drescher, who says, “These are years of primarily happy companionship between children and parents. No longer as dependent as a preschooler and not yet as independent as a teenager, the child between ages 6 and 12 is a malleable being, inclined to imitate his or her own parents, looking for the safety of parental love. While all stages of development are significant, middle childhood is especially crucial in the development of the inner life which prepares the child for the rest of life.” One reader wrote, “Teaches you to raise children with authority and boundaries (of the loving kind) so that children will feel secure and loved as children, and grow to be the kind of adults that the world needs: dependable and valuable, and with values.”

Facilitator: Betsy Brink

Wednesdays 7-8:30pm

April 14 through May 12

In a 1958 letter, Southern writer Flannery O’Connor claimed, “All of my stories are about the action of grace on a character.”  Theologians, literary critics, and readers alike have debated the merits of that statement for the subsequent fifty-plus years.  In light of O’Connor’s assertion, we’ll read and discuss six of her short stories, and share our own thoughts about the presence and action of grace – in the lives of O’Connor’s unique characters and in our own lives.  One story per week will make for light (and hopefully compelling!) reading in preparation for our class discussions.

Facilitator: Debbie Spratley

9am Sundays -- continuing

Read and discuss scripture in an informal setting.  Church School 101 is an opportunity to sit with others every Sunday morning and explore the scripture reading that will be used in Sunday morning worship.  We explore the history of the text, what it might have meant to the people of the time, and, most importantly, how it might speak to our living today.  No preparation necessary.  The ultimate Sunday morning drop-in course.

Facilitators:  Tammie Garner, Eloise Clawson, and Bill Larson

Sundays at 9am; Room 1, UCC Norwell

February 21 through March 28; drop-ins welcome!

Join the Mission and Outreach and Adult Christian Education ministry teams as we journey together through On That Day, Everybody Ate: One Woman's Story of Hope and Possibility in Haiti by Margaret Trost, in which a grieving widow finds purpose in her life through a “reverse mission” experience that leads her to feed the hungry and feed her own soul.  We will use the book as a backdrop to discuss the history, politics, and socioeconomic conditions surrounding the country and people of Haiti, then and now.  Just as Ms. Trost developed the mission “What If” through her experience in Haiti, we, too, will ask what our response as a Christian community should be to our troubled and impoverished neighbor in crisis.

Purchase books after Ash Wednesday service (2/17 at 8pm) or at the first class.

Facilitators:  Dick Broholm and Michelle Glidden

Sundays at 9am; Church Library, UCC Norwell

February 21 through March 28

As with money and sex, thoughtful conversations about the issues surrounding end-of-life decisions are difficult. Most of us avoid thinking about them or talking with family until it is too late and decisions are then often driven by fear, guilt, ignorance, or persons in position of “authority.” This course is designed not only to bring factual knowledge and information, but to create a spiritually supportive and comfortably safe place for that conversation well before decisions have to be made under duress.

Facilitators: Leigh Williamson and Wendy Bawabe

Wednesdays at 9:30am; Church Library, UCC Norwell

February 24 through March 31

Grow in your understanding of the journey taken by Jesus' followers and its significance for us today as you delve deeply into the relationships between Jesus and the disciples. Learn principles that will help you on your own journey of transformation when you discover how their lives were transformed. Learn what your priorities should be as you try to live God's way, how to cope with pressure and failure, and how the Lord can transform us into people who play their full part in God's plans for the world.

Facilitator: Ann Finnie 

Wednesdays 6-6:30pm; Church Library, UCC Norwell

February 24 through March 31

Starting the Wednesday following Ash Wednesday, join in for a half-hour of guided meditation and prayer around the journey of lent.  Drop-ins welcome.

Church School 101 for Adults

Facilitators: Debbie Spratley 

Sundays at 9am ongoing; Staff Study, UCC Norwell

Read and discuss scripture in an informal setting.  The ultimate Sunday morning drop-in course.  Church School 101 is an opportunity to sit with others every Sunday morning and explore the scripture reading that will be used in Sunday morning worship.  We explore the history of the text, what it might have meant to the people of the time and, most importantly, how it might speak to our living today.  No preparation is necessary; just drop in.