April 2018 Adult Forum

April 8 – “A Diverse (and Sometimes Fiery) Career”

Bethel member Suzanne Sebert will discuss her career path that included managing social service programs in Appalachia to working overseas with international-non-profit organizations. She also served for ten years as Assistant Commissioner in the New York City Fire Department supporting the families of those who lost in the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and those who died later of related illnesses. She is co-founder and board member of the Quest Scholarship Fund in St. Louis which enables high-achieving students from low-income minority families to study abroad.

Did you know that the Bible assumes more than two genders? This morning’s presentation will examine the complex ways in which the Bible categorizes bodies, what this meant in the world that produced the Bible, and how such knowledge can intersect with our own expanding understanding of gender.
April 22  “Working it Out: Gendered Division of Labor”
It can be easy to assume that the “traditional” gendered division of labor is universal across cultures, but the Bible presents a far more nuanced picture. From agriculture and childbirth to religious and political leadership we will explore the cultural expectations of the ancient world and the ways in which God interrupts that order within the biblical text.
April 29 “Beyond Binaries: Gendering God” 
When using expansive language for God, we sometimes run up against this question “But what does the Bible say?” This morning’s adult education time will go deeply into this question including the use of metaphor, the difficulty of translation, and how the complexity of gender in the Bible can inform our understanding of the divine.