NURSERY

Nursery care is available every Sunday.  During the program year (Sept. to June) there is nursery care beginning at 9:00 a.m. and continuing through the end of the 10:30 a.m. worship service.  During the summer months nursery care is available only during worship.  The nursery is overseen by Linda Chafin who has provided a loving environment for the youngest among us.

EDUCATIONAL MINISTRIES FOR CHILDREN
 

CHURCH SCHOOL, SUNDAYS, 9:00 A.M.

Elementary Class (grades K-5):
A multiple-intelligences approach to education will utilize literature, art, drama, music, computers, cooking, and other creative approaches to help the biblical stories come alive for children of varied age levels.  This year the class will focus on the prophets.

Youth Class (grades 6-12):
This class is taught by Rev. Susan Warrener Smith and offers Bible study enhanced by a combination of discussion, videos, music, and spiritual practices.  This year the youth class will focus on different styles of prayer as part of each class.  Additionally, in the fallthe class will discuss the struggles of the faith journey and will also study the life of the prophet Samuel.  The second half of the year will be integrated with preparation for confirmation for those who have not yet been confirmed.

Godly Play (ages 3-8)

This Program offers 2 classes, one for ages 3-5 & one for ages 6-8. (During June & July there is only a single class.)

Godly Play is a method of Christian education and spiritual direction for children. The goal is to teach children the art of using religious language — parable, sacred story, silence, and liturgical action — to help them become more fully aware of the mystery of God's present in their lives.

Godly Play meets in a "worship center" which is treated as "sacred space." Each session follows the pattern of the church's service with a time of preparation or getting ready, a time of listening and responding to the Word, sharing a "feast," and a time of saying good-bye and sending forth. Central to the experience is a Bible story told by the storyteller using a sensorimotor technique aided by the use of figures and equipment which engage the children's sense of sight as well as hearing. After the story is told, the storyteller and children use "wondering questions" to reflect on the story. Each child then chooses whether to respond to the story with art materials or "play" with the story materials. The feast is a time of fellowship and thanksgiving, paralleling the celebration of the Eucharist (i.e., Communion).

Normally the children are dismissed to Godly Play from worship following the "Children's Sermon" time (@ approximately 10:45 a.m.).  On Sundays when Communion is being celebrated in worship, the children begin in God;y Play at 10:30 a.m. and then come in to worship at approximately 11:15 a.m. to participate in the sacrament with their patents.  (This replaces the "feast" time in Godly Play.

ADULT EDUCATION, SUNDAYS, 9:00 A.M.

January 3 & 10
Isaac & Rebecca
The Rev. Dr. Mary Shields (IPC Parish Associate and past O.T. Professor at Trinity Seminary) will lead the class through the Biblical stories of Isaac and Rebecca.

January 17 — February 14
STEADFAST HOPE: THE PALESTINIAN QUEST FOR JUST PEACE

The Adult Sunday School class will be studying this book and accompanying DVD published by the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (USA).  Copies of the book were purchased by the IPC Mission Committee and will be provided in class.  Fact sheets and flash videos from the DVD are available on-line at the Network website.  (One of the authors of this book is the Rev. Jeff DeYoe, the Senior Pastor of the Worthington Presbyterian Church.)

Steadfast Hope challenges common myths and misperceptions about the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, presents a compelling snapshot of the present situation on the ground, and offers a guide to the challenges that lie ahead in the quest for peace.

Steadfast Hope summarizes some of the activities currently being undertaken by Muslim, Jewish, and Christian peacemakers working for justice and reconciliation. It also gives helpful guidance on how a local congregation can contribute to the cause of just peace for the people who share the Holy Land.

On either February 7 or 14, IPC elder Judy Lee will share her experiences in Egypt over the New Years holiday weekend as she traveled on behalf of the Mission Network and joined peacemakers from around the world in demonstrations advocating for a just settlement to the Gaza conflict.


Coming in Lent (Feb. 21 — March 28)
The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church's Conservative Icon by Marcus Borg & John Dominic Crossan
Eric Anderson (who co-led studies in the past 2 years on these authors' The Last Week and The First Christmas) will lead the class on a study of this new book by Borg & Crossan.  (Contact Pastor Skip Jackson to reserve a discounted copy of the book.)

From the "Product Description" of the book at Amazon.com:  "Borg and Crossan join once again to present a new understanding of early Christianity—this time to reveal a radical Paul who has been suppressed by the church.  Paul is second only to Jesus as the most important person in the birth of Christianity, and yet he continues to be controversial, even among Christians. How could the letters of Paul be used both to inspire radical grace and to endorse systems of oppression—condoning slavery, subordinating women, condemning homosexual behavior? Borg and Crossan use the best of biblical and historical scholarship to explain the reasons for Paul's mixed reputation and reveal to us what scholars have known for decades: that the later letters of Paul were created by the early church to dilute Paul's egalitarian message and transform him into something more "acceptable."

The offerings below were for 2008/2009 and are examples of Adult Education opportunities at IPC.

Oct. 19 & 26 & Nov. 2
Stewardship of Creation (Leader: Greg Hitzhusen)
Responding to environmental degradation has becom a central moral concern for Christians and for people of all faiths.  This series addresses three critical elements that shape Christian engagement with environmental stewardship—first, the origins of religious environmentalism; second, spiritualities of creation care and how they illuminate the hopeful and life-giving traditions of our faith that sustain the work of "tending the garden"; and third, the social-political dimensions of the faith-environment movement.
     — Greg grew up at IPC.  He has a Ph.D. in Environmental Ethics and Natural Resources Policy. He is the Executive Director of Ohio Interfaith Power & Light and a Lecturer in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at OSU.

Nov. 9 & 16
Spiritual But Not Religious (Leader: Rev. Dr. Linda Mercadante)
Many people call themselves "spiritual but not religious."  In fact, this group now represents one-third of Amaericans, with numbers even higher in the 20-40 year old age group.  We may think of the "SBNRs"as the "unchurched," or even as those "allergic" to religion.  In fact, they are very often the person next to us in the pew, our friend, neighbor, or even our own children.  Dr. Linda Mercadante, professor of theology at The Methodist Theological School of Ohio and an ordained Presbyterian minister, has spent the past year doing in-depth interviews with a wide range of people who identify themselves as "SBNRs."  In session one, we will learn more about the spiritual climate of America today which produces such a growing cohort, as well as what they believe, practice, and promote.  In the second session, Dr. Mercadante will discuss her interviewees, their specific spiritual jurneys and beliefs.  In both sessions, she will discuss why we should care, as well as what this means for the future of our church and society.

Nov. 23 through January 11
The First Christmas (Leaders: Eric Anderson & Jeremy Carroll)
This class will be a book study of The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach about Jesus' Birth by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan along the lines of the study this past Lent of their book The Last Week.  From the book flyleaf:  "As they did for Easter in their previous book… here they explore the beginning of the life of Christ, peeling away the sentimentalism that has built up over the last two thousand years around this most well-known of all the stories to reveal the truth of what the gospels actually say.  Borg and Crossan help us to see this well-known narrative afresh by answering the questions, 'What do these stories mean?' in the context of both the first century and the twenty first century."  (Books are available from Rev. Skip Jackson for the bargain cost of $10 for hardcover copies.)

January 18 & 25
Living the Questions v.2.0 DVD series (led by Rev. Skip Jackson)
"Taking the Bible Seriously"  &  "Creation Stories"

February 1 & 8
Issues of Darwinian Evolution and Faith (led by Dr. Susan Fisher, Chair, OSU Entymology Dept.)
Dr. Fisher teaches Freshman Biology at OSU.  When she polls her classes, she routinely finds that 50-60% of the students reject Darwinian evolution, believing instead that humanity came into being roughly 10,000 years ago pretty much as it is today.  Dr. Fisher will help us to explore common misunderstandings of Darwin's theory as well as ways evolution is consonant with contemporary understandings of theology.

February 15 & 22
Iraqi Partnership Network Report (led by Emily Schorenstein)
Emily will report on peacemaking efforts in the Middle East.

March 1, 8 & 29 & April 5
Creation Stories in Scripture (led by The Rev. Dr. Mary Shields, IPC Parish Associate)
Creation stories speak to us of meaning in life.  The Bible begins in Genesis with two different creations stories, and there ar emany more scattered throughout scripture.

March 15 & 22
Living the Questions v.2.0 DVD series (led by Rev. Skip Jackson)
     "Creative Transformation"
     "Out into the World: Challenges Facing Progressive Christians"

April 19
"The Gospels from a Jewish Perspective" (led by Rabbi Lenny Sarko)

April 26 - May 17 & May 31
Book Study of "The Misunderstood Jew" (led by Rev. Skip Jackson)
This class will involve reading and discussing the book, The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus, by Amy-Jill Levine.  We hope that late in the study Rabbi Sarko will join the class and help us expand our exploration of the Jewishness of Jesus.

WEEKDAY STUDY GROUPS

All interested women are invited to participate in this biweekly gathering of women which includes prayer, study, discussion, and sharing.  Location: Susan Smith’s office.  Starting in February, the group will be readingNight on the flint river: An Accidental Journey in Knowing god by Roberta C. Bondi.  For more information contact Rev. Susan Warrener Smith (294-3796).

Location:  The home of Susan Smith.  Kerygma Bible study of The Acts of the Apostles. The study will be led by Susan Smith and Gail Rinehart.  Study will be followed by coffee and bagels, sharing and devotions.  For more information contact Rev. Susan Warrener Smith (294-3796).