-Adult Formation-

The formation program at Trinity Cathedral is designed to meet a variety of ages and needs, both within the growing congregation and in the wider world around us. The curriculum is designed to provide classes for people in all phases of spiritual discovery, whether they be long-term committed Christians or the curious or skeptical, tentatively exploring what this faith tradition is all about. There are large and small classes, classes at various times of the week, and classes led by both clergy and lay teachers.

The hope is that continuing Christian education for all ages will provide necessary resources of information, guidance, and reflection for people to live responsible and abundant lives in community in this complicated world and be able to answer God’s call to our unique ministry.

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Sunday Formation Opportunities

These offerings meet from 9-10am most Sundays during the academic year.

Adult Bible Study (Morrison Hall)

Each week, we will reflect on at least one of the scriptural texts appointed for the day, using a curriculum called “Feasting on the Word.” It draws from a wonderful new set of scriptural commentaries by the same name, which considers the text from a number of angles: What did the text mean in its original context? How is God speaking and acting through this passage? What does this mean for our relationship with God and other people? What are its implications for the Church and for the world? The Rev. Canon Russ Snapp will lead this class, along with others from time to time.

The Power of Prayer (Baker Parlor)

Becky Tucker will lead discussions of how God in Christ can make us whole as we connect with him through prayer. Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) will give particular guidance as to the frame of mind and heart that God intends for us. Through prayer, as we will see, relationships can be healed, for the benefit of the Church and the world. The class will actually practice the approach to prayer that it discusses.

Christianity and Current Events (Lounge of Cathedral House)

This class, led by Nancy May and others, chooses a current event or issue each week for discussion in light of our Christian identity and commitment. How, it asks, does (or should) being a Christian shape our view of and response to the world around us?

Living the Questions (Conference Room of Cathedral House)

This class, led by Jo Blatti and Robert Johnston, highlights difficult issues of Christian faith and life. This fall, they will spend eight Sundays discussing Bart Ehrman’s presentations on the early history of Christianity. Subsequently, they will take eight sessions to discuss Reynolds Price’s book, A Serious Way of Wondering.

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Weekday Formation Opportunities

Education for Ministry (EFM)

Tuesdays, September 7 – May 24, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., Parish Lounge. Contact Bill Cox 501-681-0353 or Hal Hedges at 501-663-4181

EFM is a four-year theological education program offered by extension from the School of Theology, University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee. Participants study the Old and New Testaments, church history, and theology. Study and theological reflection are led by a trained mentor in a weekly small group seminar.  Graduates of this program feel that it is the most comprehension adult formation program in The Episcopal Church.

Book Fellowship

Day and location:  to be announced. Contact Fr. Russ Snapp, rsnapp@trinitylittlerock.org or 501-372-0294

The Book Fellowship grows out of an earlier “singles group” who enjoyed gathering for both fellowship and book discussion.

Centering Prayer

Wednesdays, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Upper Mitchell House. Contact Beth Cooper at bpc4u@sbcglobal.net.

Centering Prayer is a method of prayer traditionally called contemplative prayer. It consists of responding to the Spirit of Christ by quieting our faculties to cooperate with the gift of God’s presence. It emphasizes prayer as a personal relationship with God. At the same time, it is a discipline to foster and serve this relationship by a regular, daily practice of prayer. Centering Prayer is drawn from ancient prayer practices of the Christian contemplative heritage, notably the Fathers and Mothers of the Desert, Lectio Divina, (praying the scriptures), The Cloud of Unknowing, St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila.

Book Study and Centering Prayer

Thursdays, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., Upper Mitchell House. Contact Beth Cooper at  bpc4u@sbcglobal.net.

This is another opportunity to learn the serenity and peace of centering prayer, with a twist.  The group will explore several books that deal with centering prayer, seeking to integrate what they learn into their own prayer lives.

Men’s Fellowship Breakfast

3^rd Thursday of each month, 6:30 – 7:30 a.m., location to be announced. Contact Dick Flowers at nlrflowers@yahoo.com

The men of the congregation are invited to join their peers for an early morning breakfast and spiritual discussion about current issues each third Thursday of the month at 6:30 a.m.  The location will be announced in the Sunday service bulletin insert and on our web site www.trinitylittlerock.org.