While education takes place, (hopefully!), most every Sunday via the sermon and liturgy, special educational opportunities are offered over the course of each year. These vary in length from one to eight sessions, are usually held on Sunday evenings, and are open to all members in the surrounding communities.

Over the past years the adult education program has included:

Six to eight-session discussions of such books as—

·        “The Astonished Heart” by Robert Farrar Capon

·        “Beyond Belief” by Elaine Pagels

·        “The Heart of Christianity” by Marcus Borg, (our current Lenten program)

Various programs focused on spiritual growth and journeying—

• A six-session look at the lives of five Women Mystics
• “Journey in the Spirit”, an exploration of different “tools” that can aid in taking spiritual journeys, such as Meditation, Walking the Labyrinth, Stations of the Cross, and the creation and use of Anglican Prayer Beads
• A weekend Women’s Retreat titled, “Weaving in the Spirit”

And psychological/spiritual process courses, (based material from the Educational Center in St. Louis) —

·        “The Velveteen Rabbit”

·        “The Three Little Pigs”

• The first guest speaker was Bill Davis who spoke about his work in Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and his later involvement in an AIDS Education program, also in Africa.

• Our second speaker was Joseph Hirt, a Holocaust Survivor who spoke about his eight-month incarceration in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp when he was 17 years old, his escape from the camp, and his danger-filled journey with his family through Italy and eventually to the United States.

Please feel free to come to any future programs, (that will be advertised on the Web in advance), whether or not you are a member of Ascension, or of any church at all.