What’s Religious Education All About at FCCO?
In short, providing experiences to develop vitality, authenticity, and encounter in our faith journeys. We strive for ongoing faith development through multiple, weekly “Dialogue” opportunities, small group focused on assigned themes and topics.
Each “Dialogue” group provides structure and experiences offering opportunities to:
- articulate and share our struggles in faith, as we construct—or reconstruct—the faith-truth in our lives
- name and claim the shape of our callings and challenges in the community and the wider world
- increase biblical literacy through exposure to the finest and most current biblical scholarship. As progressive Christians “we don’t take the Bible literally; we take it seriously.
- examine the role of the church in faithfully representing the Gospel in the face, not only of competing doctrinal, ecclesiastical, and institutional purposes, but also compelling societal needs
- engage informed exploration of other faith traditions with emphasis on how they inform our Christian faith
- develop tools for understanding the power of metaphor and myth to image truth in our sacred scriptures
- engage contemporary issues of a moral marketplace in a faith and justice-oriented discussion that supports both our reflection and action-supported response
How It Works…
Each “Dialogue” group develops safety to explore and express personal experiences, questions, struggles, and offers opportunity to witness the work of others in developing integrity and authenticity in faith. Attendance is consistently high and discussion is lively. Groups are facilitated by various leaders in the congregation. Group themes may include specific relevant topics, book studies, and often include DVD-supported content chocked full of wisdom shared by theologians, ethicists, and other faith leaders.
Interested? Check out the Archives of our previous offerings below!
Archive of Previous Adult Religious Education
Book Studies
- The Eight Points of Progressive Christianity, ed., Fred Plummer
- Saving Jesus From the Church, Robin Meyers
- Eternal Life; A New Vision, John Shelby Spong
- Living Buddha, Living Christ, Thich Nhat Hahn
- Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
- Spiritual Defiance: Building a Beloved Community of Resistance, Robin Meyers
- Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, Marcus J. Borg
- Stages of Faith Development, James W. Fowler
- A New Christianity for a New World, John Shelby Spong
- Jesus Before the Gospels, Bart D. Ehrman
DVD Series
- The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers
- The Jesus Fatwah: Loving Your [Muslim] Neighbor As Yourself
- Saving Jesus Redux
- Painting the Stars: Science, Religion, and An Evolving Faith
- Eclipsing Empire: Paul, Rome, and The Kingdom of God, with John Dominic Crossan and Marcus J. Borg
- First Light: Jesus and The Kingdom of God, with John Dominic Crossan and Marcus J.Borg
- Living the Questions, An Introduction to Progressive Christianity
