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Past Adult Programming OfferingsThis page describes adult programming (once called Adult Religious Education) programs in past years.
2006Fall Classes: Evensong: Rev. Kathleen Ellis and Gregory Chandran will lead the next Evensong series of classes, where participants will explore individual life journeys through sharing thoughts, experiences, doubts, and current beliefs. While this class is open to all, it is especially designed for new members. There will be a limited enrollment, so sign up fast if you are interested! Please note that this class is an 8- week commitment, from October 3 to November 21. This class begins after FRED begins and ends after FRED ends. The Sermon on the Mount: Rev. Chuck Freeman will lead this eight-week discussion of Matthew, Chapters 5-7, the heart of Jesus’ spiritual and ethical teachings. This “sermon” is among the most renowned and respected in all of sacred literature. There would be no Gandhi or King without these scriptures. We will engage these teachings with our heads as a path to challenge and open our hearts to be transformed by them. Participants will be expected to read the text and do some homework and soul searching. The class will be closed after the second week. Please note that this class is an eight-week commitment, from September 19 to November 7. Conversations with God: Glenn McIntosh will be guiding participants through the profound and fascinating implications of the first “conversation” that Neale Donald Walsch had with “God” over ten years ago, as recorded in Conversations with God, Book 1. We will use this book as a tool with which to plumb our spiritual depths and gain a new perspective on who we are, what our purpose is, what the meaning of life is, and what God is. The first class on September 19 will be combined with the one-time “What is Spirtuality” discussion as part of Ages and Stages (see below). Then weeks 2-8 will be spent reading and discussing CWG, Book 1. It will remain an open, drop-in class, allowing you to attend Ages and Stages as the spirit moves you. Ages and Stages: This will be a series of eight drop-in classes (you can attend any or all of the classes offered) that will focus on spiritual issues at different times and areas of our lives. Here are the classes that will be offered on each of the eight weeks: September 19 – What is Spirituality?: Glenn McIntosh will offer a facilitated discussion that will help each of us define spirituality for ourselves. September 25 – Spirituality and Parenting: The Greatest Human Need: Esther Ford will present this class that will focus on how to help young people see themselves as significant by meeting the greatest human need. October 3 – Spirituality in Adolescence: Patty Bissar will lead this class that takes a look at adolescents and adolescence with a focus on spirituality. How are adolescents spiritual? October 10 – Empty Nesting: The Spiritual Prospect: Sylvia Davis and Mary McIntosh will discuss the time our children leave home as a spiritual opportunity. October 17 – Spiritual Presence in Relationship: How, Now, and Why: Jim Maxwell, LPC, will lead an exploration of the necessity of spiritual connection in relationships. For singles and couples. October 24 – Spiritual Aspects of Money: George Huntington will steer this discussion of spiritual purpose in how we use money today, tomorrow, and from the grave. The discussion will range from ethical investing to stewardship to wills and beyond. October 31 – Sexuality and Spirituality: At the Intersection of Sexy and Holy: Mary McIntosh will facilitate an exploration of the topic with a discussion of sacred sexuality. November 7 – War, Politics, and Spirituality: Election Day seems a good time to discuss this topic with a panel of former military Live Oak members Melissa Martinez, Chris Almond and Al Weber. Spring Classes: Evensong: Chuck Freeman and Sylvia Davis will facilitate this series where participants will explore individual life journeys through sharing thoughts, experiences, doubts, and current beliefs. While this class is open to all, it is especially designed for new members and is only open to 10 participants. Sign up fast if you are interested! This class is an eight-week commitment, from February 28 to April 18. The Story of Your Life: Kathleen Ellis will provide the opportunity to explore your spiritual growth through writing. This class is an eight-week commitment, from February 21 through April 11. Conversations with God Discussion Group: Glenn McIntosh leads a discussion of the books in the Conversations with God series written by Neale Donald Walsch. This is an on-going, drop-in group. Living the Welcoming Congregation: Carrie Stewart and others will go beyond the Welcoming Congregation program to continue and deepen the work started when Live Oak obtained our Welcoming Congregation status. This class is a five week series, from February 21 through March 21. Social Justice Forums: Beyond the PATRIOT Act: kc of the silverwood and Chuck Freeman will lead a discussion of this video. This will be a one-night only event on February 21. Weaving the Web of Life: Living and Legislating for Humans, Animals, and Our Earth: Sheila Kannappan and Doug Mar will facilitate this class that is a mixture of short videos and readings plus a moderated discussion aimed at reconciling our lifestyles with our values and spirituality. This will be a one-night only event on April 11. 2005The Adult Programming (AP) Committee is excited about a busy fall schedule of classes and ongoing events! The AP Committee is responsible for adult religious education and many of the other adult classes, groups, and activities that take place at Live Oak. Adult religious education is an important part of lifespan religious education and is key to the life of our church community. Look in the newsletter each month, the website, and our bulletin board (coming soon!) in the narthex for more information about upcoming classes and ongoing events! Here is a list of classes that will be offered this fall, as well as a list of the ongoing activities sponsored by AP. Fall Classes:Welcoming Congregation Workshop Series (Sept., Oct.): Ravi Chandran and the Welcoming Congregation Team will facilitate this opportunity to gain deeper insight into gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues and engage in thought-provoking discussion through a series of workshops. (See the Welcoming Congregations Workshops page or more details.) Developing Capable Young People (date to be announced) DCYP is a well-known program developed by Dr. H. Stephen Glenn, noted psychologist and author, and by Jane Nelson, Ed.D., former nurse and now educator and author. This class is designed not only for parents, but for educators, mentors, and others who are significant in the lives of young people. It is based on the principles of affirmation, empowerment, and healthy human development, which are also the basis for many of our UU principles. For more information, see this page. Evensong II (Sept., Oct.): Tere Kaulfus and John Iacoletti will lead this spirituality group. (See this page for more details.) Choosing Love (Oct.): This is a weekend retreat for couples, led by Jim Maxwell, LPC, who has facilitated the Men’s Retreat for us in the past. The Carloye/Huntingtons have graciously offered their ranch as a getaway location for couples to explore and enhance their relationship, away from it all, in beautiful Wimberley, Texas! (For more details, see this web page or contact Mary McIntosh, mcmcintosh@earthlink.net.) Luggage and Baggage (Oct., Nov.): Chuck Freeman and Sylvia Davis will lead a class that examines the things we bring with us on this journey towards spirituality and personal growth. For more information, see this page. Vegan Cooking with Nathan (Oct., Nov.): Nathan Ryan will lead a series of classes that will go from the very basics of learning to chop an onion to learning how to prepare an entire Thanksgiving vegan dinner. You will find that vegan food can be plenty tasty. For more information, see this page. Finding Spirit in the Holidays (Dec.): Do you often find yourself too busy during the holidays to appreciate that holiday spirit? Take a few hours out of your busy schedule to slow down and smell the cookies while we explore the true meaning of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Yule! Power of Myth Class Offered in May & June Live Oak is offering a six-week class focusing on the Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers television series, The Power of Myth, a fascinating study of comparative mythology and religion. We’ll meet Wednesdays from 7:00-9:00 pm, May 4-June 8, in the sanctuary. Each week we’ll watch one of the six episodes of the show and follow up with discussion of the topics covered. All are welcome and you do not have to commit to all six weeks. The episodes are: The Hero’s Adventure, The Message of the Myth, The First Storytellers, Sacrifice and Bliss, Love and the Goddess, and Masks of Eternity. The class will be facilitated by Leah Korn and Katherine Enyart. 2004Adult OWL is Coming! Adult OWL is Coming!Our Whole Lives (OWL) is the Unitarian Universalist sex education curriculum. Adult OWL is a safe and sex positive class that focuses on human sexuality in a much broader sense than anatomy and physiology. The class focuses on human sexuality in the context of values, relationships, spirituality, diversity, and more. In our culture today, sex is something that is seldom discussed openly and honestly. It is discussed more typically as idle chat around the water cooler or as a joke. But there is something freeing and life-affirming about discussing sexuality honestly in an open and accepting environment. Sometimes it is magical … This class will meet on Sundays from 2:00-4:00 pm, for a total of 14 sessions, beginning January 9, and running through April 24 (except for March 13 and 27). The instructors encourage each of the participants to commit to attending each of the 14 Sundays scheduled. We understand that emergencies come up and certain events planned in advance cannot be avoided. Please check your calendars to be sure you are able to attend at least 80 percent of the classes. The safety of the group depends on a committed group. To register, look for posters with registration forms on the bulletin board in the narthex. There are also registration forms on a table in the narthex. Please give the form and the $20 per person registration fee to Mary McIntosh, John Iacoletti, Patty Bissar, or George Huntington (OWL instructors). There are only 18 slots for this class, so sign up soon if you want to be assured a spot! If you have any questions, contact Mary McIntosh at 350-1118 or mcmcintosh@earthlink.net . What is an Adult OWL?A grown up baby OWL? Actually, OWL stands for Our Whole Lives. OWL is a positive, comprehensive, life-span sexuality education program developed by the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is based on the values of self-worth, sexual health, respect, responsibility, compassion, right relations, justice, and inclusiveness. At Live Oak, we have used this curriculum with our young people (both middle school and high school) and with adults. Live Oak is honored to have four specially trained leaders to teach this class: Mary McIntosh, John Iacoletti, Patty Bissar, and George Huntington. Between them they have hundreds of hours of OWL teaching experience. Using values, communication skills, and spirituality as starting points, this program explores sexuality issues of interest to adults of all ages. The exciting curriculum fosters greater understanding of healthy sexual relationships, affirms diversity, and helps participants accept and affirm their own sexuality throughout the life cycle. This class for adults is a 12-week commitment. The class will meet on Sunday afternoons. They will begin on Sunday, January 9, and end in April. Here are some comments from members of the last class: I learned quite a bit about myself and how I view sexuality. The class was a great starting point for conversations with my partner. It helped us learn more about each other. Because of this class, I am even more comfortable with sexual diversity than before. I liked the open discussion and found it quite freeing. If you have any questions about this class, contact any of the teachers. Registration will begin in November. Mark your calendars now! Relationship as a Sacred PathSpiritual traditions from Paganism to post-Modernism teach us that all relationships are sacred. We are in relationship with everything. That’s what this life is – relationship with everything. But it’s easy to lose the sense of the sacred in our modern, busy world. Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche writes, “We may have many friendly relationships that are nurturing and helpful. Those relationships support us and fulfill us as humans. But if we have no sacred relationship to the environment, to people, and so on, it means the sacred aspect of our lives hasn’t been accessed. And if we spend time in relationships characterized by mistrust, anger, disrespect, and so on, every part of our lives is affected. Sacred relationships are defined not only in terms of how we relate to others. Relating to sacred relationships brings us to the deepest sense of ourselves, to what is sacred in us.” How can we develop the sense of the sacred? Chuck Freeman and Mary McIntosh (with the help of Jenny Carloye) have developed an enlightening and lightening (fun) way to begin to approach sacred relationships. We will play with Myers-Briggs (a Jungian-based personality test) and we will explore the nature of relationships with ourselves and in community. Please join us on two Tuesday nights, October 28 and November 4, from 7 to 9 pm in Room 203. To register, contact Chuck at chuck@soultalkradio.com. EVENSONG: An 8-Week Series of GatheringsIn this series, participants will explore individual life journeys through sharing thoughts, experiences, doubts, and current beliefs. Each week, we will follow an order of service, with the central event being a sharing time. We will be listening attentively and without interruption to one another. This group will meet Monday evenings from 7-9 pm at Live Oak, from September 13 to November 1. Participants are asked to make every effort to attend all 8 sessions. Here is our plan: • September 13: Beginning Together: Show and Tell Evensong is a good way to explore personal beliefs and possibilities and a great way to get to know a group of people. There is no fee for Evensong. Registration is limited to 20 participants. We look forward to beginning! If you have any questions, please contact either Tere Kaulfus or John Iacoletti. RaceThe Center for the Healing of Racism in Partnership with Live Oak UU presents a one-day workshop utilizing the video: RACE – THE POWER OF AN ILLUSION with dialogue facilitated by Center and Live Oak members following each episode of the video Saturday, May 29, 10 am to 5 pm at Ventana del Soul, 1834 East Oltorf (corner of East Oltorf and Burleson, off I-35) What if we suddenly discovered that our most basic assumption about race – for instance, that the world’s people can be divided biologically along racial lines – was false? And if race is a biological “myth”, where did the idea come from? How do our institutions give race social meaning and power? Race – The Power of an Illusion is a groundbreaking three-part video that challenges and reveals how the myth of race took hold and retains its power. It was first aired on PBS in the spring of 2003. Episode 1: The Difference Between Us Episode 2: The Story We Tell Episode 3: The House We Live In This workshop is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Live Oak UU members and friends please contact Sylvia Davis at 301-3537 or sylviadavis@austin.rr.com or use the sign-up sheet on the Live Oak bulletin board, leaving your name and contact information. 2003"WHAT WILL UU DO WITH JESUS?”To follow up on the sermon Chuck and Janelle Curlin-Taylor presented last month, we will have a four-week discussion series. All sessions will meet in the Live Oak sanctuary from 2–4 pm. Sunday afternoons, Feb. 16-March 9. Chuck Freeman and James Hamilton will be facilitating. To learn more, click here. 2002We Gather TogetherRead about the new Adult RE class on Worship that starts in mid-October! NEW DISCUSSION SERIES TO START AND OTHER ADULT RE FOR FALL 2002Discussion class on the morality of two hot issues: abortion and the death penalty. The class will meet Sunday evenings at 7 PM for an hour or so on Sept. 8, 15, 29, and Oct. 6 at Live Oak UU Church. Classes will include presentation of conservative and liberal positions on each issue and discussion of key concepts such as the nature of personhood, rights, justice, parenthood, etc. You'll get the most out of it if you can make most of the sessions because each session will presuppose the presentations and discussions of the earlier ones. Please, hostile debaters, name-callers, aggressive proselytizers, and politicians are not welcome - we're interested in understanding positions on these issues so come willing to talk AND listen. The class will be led by Win Phillips, who back in the 1800s used to teach philosophy at Trinity University, and has an M. Div. degree from the Big Apple and a real Ph.D. in philosophy from a famous IVY. He may not know what he is talking about, but at least you can't blame it on a lack of education. In
addition to our classes for young people, there are lots of opportunities for
Adult Religious Education coming up at Live Oak. Martin Bryant’s
Spiritual Literacy 101, an e-mail based class with meetings only monthly,
begins the first week of September. The startup meeting for this class
exploring spiritual classic texts was Aug 25, but it’s not too late to join
or to follow the discussions. Interested?
To sign up send an e-mail to readult-request@wildflowerchurch.org.
Type the word SUBSCRIBE
in the subject line. On October 13, a 6-week series
on Worship created and led by Jenny Carloye and our Rev. Chuck will begin.
This experiential class will explore what worship is, what it means to us, and
the many ways people worship together. It is scheduled to meet from 2-4pm on
Sundays. Contact Jenny at jcarloye@austin.rr.com
or Chuck at chuck@soultalkradio.com
to get more information or sign up! The exciting couples retreat envisioned
by Jenny and Patty Bissar has been postponed to Spring, since the flurry of
activity in early Fall made it impossible for many people to attend who wanted
to. When new dates are set, we’ll publicize them so all who are Then
there are the district events. A weekend exploring multiculturalism, our
attitudes about it, and how to welcome other cultures into our
congregations will be September 27-29 in Okalahoma City, Okalahoma. I will
lead this fun, intensive experience with Andrea Lerner, DRE at First UU-Austin.
If you’re interested in attending, contact me at mkisaacs@io.com. Next
on the district calendar is the October 11-13 Leadership Development
Conference (LDC). At this exuberant event, youth and adults spend a
weekend learning to work together in leadership roles. And finally there’s the SW
District Fall Conference at First Jefferson UU in Fort Worth November
8-10. District conferences have workshops, worship, good food, and energizing
connection with other UUs from around the SW conference – like adult
rallies, come to think of it, but with less sleep deprivation! Limited scholarships are
available for adult religious education events. Contact me with any questions.
And do plan to take advantage of some of these opportunities if you can!
Beginning
Sunday, August 25th
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Spiritual Literacy 101: The Ancients - An Adult Religious Education
Workshop for Live Oak Church
The Tao Te Ching. The
Bhagavad Gita. The Book of Job.
The Psalms. Although these ancient spiritual works are all more
than two thousand years old, they have each significantly
influenced the major world religions and our global spiritual life. This
fall, Live Oak Church will sponsor a unique adult religious
education offering to introduce these four works in a guided reading
discussion group. This workshop will be
similar to other adult religious education in some ways – we’ll all read
these works and discuss them--but it will offer a few unique features: -
Much of the discussion and curriculum will be conducted over e-mail, "meeting"
two or three times a week at your convenience.
The moderators will be sending e-mail reminders every few days to all
participants about what the group is reading (generally between three and
eight pages per day). Each reminder will also contain alternative translations
of some of the passages, commentary, and other study aids.
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The workshop will be offered simultaneously to all three Austin UU churches,
with moderators at each congregation. The workshop will also be open to
others not currently involved in a UU church in Austin or even
necessarily living in Austin. Live Oak’s moderator will be James
Hamilton. -
The workshop will also feature monthly gatherings at each of the Austin
churches so that you can meet some of your correspondents.
These five meetings will also feature relevant messages not easily
delivered through e-mail, as well as music and coffee.
The first meeting at Live Oak will be on Sunday,
August 25th at 9:30 am, room to be announced.
(Yes, it is the same time as the early service but it's only once a
month!) -
The workshop will introduce these four ancient religious texts through
the eloquent, interpretive translations of spiritual translator and
poet Stephen Mitchell. Mitchell’s translations are easy to read, and
they offer a rich poetic aesthetic and deep spiritual vision.
Mitchell’s controversially interpretive and modern translations are
also widely available. The workshop is free! If
you are willing to buy or borrow four paperbacks, read a few deeply
satisfying spiritual pages per day, and read and talk about it over e-mail, then
you are ready. The workshop will
begin on Sunday, August 25th, and end in mid-December.
For more information, contact Martin Bryant at MBryant@io.com, James
Hamilton at jacobus8@juno.com, or Mary
K. Isaacs at MKIsaacs@io.com,
or check out the website (which includes information on how to order the books
online): http://www.io.com/f1bus/Spirit101.html.
Here is how to subscribe to the mailing list: To
subscribe to the mailing list,
simply send a message with the word 'subscribe' in the Subject: field to the
-request address of that list To:
readult-request@wildflowerchurch.org To
send email to the mailing list, write to the following address: To:
readult@wildflowerchurch.org To
unsubscribe from the mailing list,
simply send a message with the word 'unsubscribe' in the Subject: field to the
-request address of that list To:
readult-request@wildflowerchurch.org 2001NOT YOUR GRANDMOTHER'S BIBLE STUDY & DISCUSSION GROUP7 pm, 1st & 3rd Sundays of each month, Live Oak UU Church
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Copyright
©2006, Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Church.