May 2019 Adult Faith Formation Opportunities...
 
Adult Faith Formation Sundays

Please note some changes of date, time and location for sessions this month.  The "Centering Through Faith" and "Conversations About Science and Religion" sessions are meeting on Sunday, May 5 and will have later start times than usual. This will allow people to attend an Informational Meeting about the current status of the denomination and our congregation's response if they wish to do so; this informational meeting will be in the Sanctuary beginning at 11 am.  

Childcare is available during these Sunday sessions in the A Room, Ground Floor.   Everyone is welcome!

First Sunday, May 5 - Centering Through Faith 
11:45 am - 12:30 pm, Calkins Hall
"Centering ourselves when we are anxious."
Amy Kennedy will offer suggestions and facilitate a discussion of strategies to calm ourselves when we face stressful situations. Come and learn new strategies or share a practice or prayer that works for you!  Sign up is not required, but is helpful.  You can sign up here:    http://tinyurl.com/centering-practicing-calm  

* Sunday, May 5 - Conversations About Science and Religion
Begins at ~11:30 am, Wesley Lounge
"Exploring our questions about the intersection of our faith and technology."
Join us on at 11:30 am in the Wesley Lounge when the Conversations About Science and Religion group will discuss questions individuals have raised from this year's topic of Religion in the Age of Technology. Deb Nicholas, Paul Carson and Brian Fowlkes will facilitate this session.   *Please note that this is a change of usual Sunday, time and location for this group.

Second Sunday - No meeting this Sunday due to Mother's Day, see rescheduled date for Conversations About Science and Religion above, May 5.

Third Sunday, May 19  -  Vital Conversations
Begins at 11 am, Calkins Hall
"Intersections of Oppression and Experiences in Ferguson, Missouri"
Racism, classism, homophobia - when these oppressive social categories mix together, they become a storm of violence, similar to that in Ferguson, Missouri during the shooting of Michael Brown. Join Becky Dean as she leads us in a discussion featuring Dr. Pamela Lightsey, who explores intersectionality-the overlapping of social categories including race, class, and gender-in the context of her life as a clergywoman, a lesbian, and an African-American woman. In her video Intersections of Oppression and Experiences in Ferguson, Missouri, Dr, Lightsey uses her own history and experience as a lens for analyzing and understanding the racial strife in Ferguson, Missouri.

Fourth Sunday - No Disability Awareness Talk this Sunday due to Memorial Day Weekend.
Introducing...Soul Centers

How goes it with your soul? Do you need a little space in your day? If you find yourself at the downtown church, check out our new Soul Center corners; there is one in the chapel and one in the second floor nook. Enjoy recently donated crosses, and if you wish, read some of the meditations. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and simply be!

Also, rock your soul in the rocking chairs at both Green Wood and
downtown in the Wesley Lounge - these are provided with meditations that you may choose for reflection while you rock, or simply use your rocking time to relax and breathe. It is truly a moving way to pray!

The Soul Centers and rocking chairs are available when the church is open. Questions? Contact Debbie Houghton in the office.
Weekday Offerings 
 
Brown Bag Bible Study - through May 28
Tuesdays from 12 noon to 1 pm Downtown Chapel
Join us on Tuesdays to read and talk about different books of the Bible. We will be study the book of Galatians. We will be using Elaine Heath's book,  God Unbound: Wisdom from Galatians for the Anxious Church.  See Summer offerings later in this email to learn about the Brown Bag Bible Study in July.

Earthkeepers
Third Mondays at 7:30 pm  Downtown Asbury Room
The  Earthkeepers Group meets on the third Monday, this month on May 20th, and all are welcome! We discuss issues of the environment and climate change, social justice related to those issues, and what we can do to help. Contact person: Marilee Woodworth   marileewoodworth@ameritech.net

Sisterhood Potluck - Sisterhood Reboot!
Saturday, May 4, 6:00 pm at Green Wood

We are a group of adult women who attend First United Methodist Church. Our goal is to create a fun, safe and welcoming place to promote female friendships in the church and beyond, educate ourselves about women's issues, participate together in the mission work of the church, and support each other along our faith journeys.

Join us for a Spring potluck after the Saturday night Green Wood worship service on May 4 at 6 pm. We will be gathering to follow up on our revived Sisterhood "communications" strategy discussed on April 6, to get updates on our 2019 Flygirlz trip, and to play some fun games together. All adults from the church are welcome. Please see the Sisterhood page on our website and click on the Signup Genius Link to let us know what you will bring: https:// www.fumc-a2.org/sisterhood-reboot

Interrupting the School to Prison Pipeline
Saturday, May 18, 9 am - 12:30 pm at Green Wood
Co-Sponsored by Bethel AME and FUMC UMW

Our United Methodist heritage reflects a history of commitment to social justice and social action. Institutional structures that oppress people are instruments in defying the will of God. The gospel breaks down the barriers of race, religion, and class. Commitment to social justice can best be represented in the church's historic opposition to social evils such as slavery, inhumane prison conditions, and child labor.

What would it feel like to be a student experiencing an expulsion hearing? Or the parent of a student? How would this process look if we redesigned it from a Christian perspective? How do we balance community needs and individual needs? Can we implement restorative justice rather than punitive justice?

You're invited to explore all of this and more in a workshop on Saturday, May 18, from 9 am-12:30 pm at Green Wood. Guest speaker Peri Stone- Palmquist, LMSW, MPP, Executive Director of Student Advocacy Center, will teach us more about advocating for public policies that benefit students and offer volunteer and giving opportunities. Refreshments and a light lunch will be served. Advance registration encouraged 734-662-4536. Cosponsors: Bethel AME and FUMC UMW. Questions? Contact Wendy Everett, wendy@fumc-a2.org
Upcoming Summer Offerings 
 
Brown Bag Bible Study - The Parables
Tuesdays, 12 - 1 pm, July 1 - 30

The parables of Jesus are well known, beloved, and used to teach us all, from toddler to grandparent.  Join us this summer as we read the parables in a 5-week Brown Bag study, running from July 1-July 30.  We will be using both Amy-Jill Levine's book,"Short Stories By Jesus,"  and J. Ellsworth Kalas's book, "Parables from the Back Side"  to ask questions about these old stories.  Join us in the Chapel, everyone is welcome!

Summer Book Study
"Inspired" by Rachel Held Evans
Monday evenings June 24 - July 29 at Green Wood
6 pm - Bring sack dinner to eat in community
6:30-7:30 pm - Book Discussion
 
"If the Bible isn't a science book, instruction manual, or position paper, then what is it? New York Times bestselling author Rachel Held Evans invites readers on a journey of rediscovery as she explores the magic of the Bible, engaging the old, familiar stories in new ways that honor the past and enlighten the present.

Drawing upon recent scholarship and literary analysis, Evans creatively retells our favorite Bible stories, explaining their contexts and possible interpretations, and then connects these ancient stories to our present-day ones."

"Readers are invited to fall in love with Scripture all over again without checking their intellect--or their imaginations--at the door."

quoted from www.rachelheldevans.com

Chapters include origin stories, deliverance stories, war stories, wisdom stories, resistance stories, gospel stories and fish stories. 

Join us on Monday evenings! We'll gather at 6 pm when you can bring a sack dinner to eat with others in community followed by discussion from 6:30-7:30 pm facilitated by Any Kennedy and Debbie Houghton.
First United Methodist Church of Ann Arbor | 734.662.4536 | www.fumc-a2.org
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