New Sunday Morning Adult Class: The Language of Faith

We're off to a great start this fall semester for adult Sunday School. About 15-20 of us have enjoyed working with Tai Amri for Peace Training these past few weeks. We've done a lot of deep breathing and holy sharing with one another. Our next class begins on Oct. 1st and we'd love to have you join us! 

Dave Smit will be leading a seven-week class on "The Language of Faith." Class is each week at 9:30 a.m. and there are options available for all ages (the nursery is open and Sunday School is available for ages three and up). Grab a cup of coffee and join us!

October 1 through November 12 (seven weeks)
The Language of Faith
Led by Dave Smit
Ever hear the slogan, “Take people for what they mean, not for what they say?” It turns out the slogan is right. We understand each other in complicated ways that cannot be accounted for primarily by the words we use. The context in which we use words may be more important than the words themselves.
In this class, we’ll examine how we talk about what matters to us, following the procedures of Hermeneutics, or the theory and practice of interpretation. We can call it Hermen, for short. We’ll begin by studying how we rely on context to understand each other’s everyday speech and writing, then move on to examine how we bring our own background and experience to written texts. With this as a framework, we’ll delve into how to effectively use terms such as “good” and “bad,” and “right” and “wrong,” how to appropriately interpret sacred texts, and how to share our faith with others who may think our beliefs and values are very strange. We’ll explore ways to make our judgments seem reasonable to people who disagree with us and our faith sensible to those whose beliefs are very different from our own.