ADULT EDUCATION AT BETHEL
Adult education at Bethel features a one-hour Adult Forum, a welcoming, inclusive gathering of people who want to learn about and discuss a wide range of topics. Among our interests are Christian life and faith, including personal life and faith journeys and spiritual growth; contemporary social and ethical issues; Christian history and tradition; understanding the Bible; and non-Christian religions. Session leaders come from a variety of backgrounds and include members of Bethel and visiting scholars and experts. Those attending and leading the Adult Forum at Bethel engage with one another through open, respectful, questioning conversation.
The Bethel community has a commitment to excellence in Christian education. Over the years, the Adult Forum has also provided the venue for examining our congregational worship life, critiquing and supporting many of Bethel’s areas of mission—care for creation, non-violence, and inter-faith dialogue—and for growing together in spirit, community, and faith.
Adult Forum has returned to the traditional Sunday morning schedule at Bethel, 8:30AM coffee and pastries in the Fellowship Hall with the presentation beginning at 8:45AM.
February 11: “Meet the Finance Board”
Speaker: Kristina Stierholz, Bethel Member:
What does the Finance Board oversee? How do their activities affect the day-to-day operation of Bethel? How does the Board’s work interface with congregational members? How can you participate?
February 25: “Environmental Justice”
Speaker: Beth Gutzler, Metropolitan Congregations United
Congregations United for over three years, and a community organizer with the S.A.V.E. Foundation before 2020. I combine my undergraduate degree in psychology with my master’s in business administration in my position as Lead Environmental Justice organizer. I have put my faith into action throughout my adult life in a variety of ways from EJ policy change and advocating for the use of restorative practices to running great restaurants while I was raising my five children. As a trainer, leadership development is the key to building great congregations and communities.
March 10 “What might Bethel’s land acknowledgement look like?”
Speakers: Gail Heyne Hafer and Brenda Light Bredemeier, Bethel Members
We will draw from ELCA resources and other organizations to discuss what we would like to see in a land acknowledgement for Bethel. Who should be acknowledged? What would be important components? How might our land acknowledgement serve as a call to action?
March 17: “A People’s History of the Land Where Bethel Lives”
Speaker: Angela Cooper
Angela Cooper, a Native speaker from Cahokia Mounds, will describe the socio-cultural history of the St. Louis area from the time the earliest humans resided here through the time of the modern Nations from whom European-Americans took the land. She will tailor her presentation to our process of developing Bethel’s land acknowledgement.