You are welcome at Audubon Park Church no matter where you are in your faith journey. We offer a variety of classes and small groups to meet you where you are, and provide a community in which you can learn and grow.
Check out these opportunities to learn and grow with us this spring!
WOVEN BOOK STUDY
with Pastor Geoff | In-Person & on ZOOM
tuesdays @ 6:30pm, February 6 - March 26*
Most Christian parenting books approach faith as a wall, constructed brick by brick, as adults tell children what to believe and how to behave. But what if it’s our job as parents to instead help our kids get to know God and discover that God can be trusted? And what if faith is not constructed brick by brick, but rather woven strand by strand?
With the help of Woven by Meredith Miller, we’ll explore how we can nurture the kind of faith that can flex and grow, be broken and repaired. This is the sort of faith that can stand up to the life a child will live, the doubts they will encounter, and the questions that will come up along the way.
Woven is more than just a parenting book. We’ll explore how we can nurture the kind of faith that can flex and grow, be broken and repaired. This is the sort of faith that can stand up to the life a child will live, the doubts they will encounter, and the questions that will come up along the way.
Required book: Woven: Nurturing a Faith Your Kid Doesn’t Have to Heal From by Meredith Miller ($27 if you order it from the church by January 28, but also available for $14 as an e-book from Amazon)
Join us in-person at church (or click here to join us on Zoom) on Tuesdays at 6:30pm.
THE BOOK OF REVELATION
with pastor geoff | IN-PERSON & on ZOOM
wednesdays @ noon, FEBruary 7 - april 17
Whether you love it, hate it, or avoid it like the plague, the last book of the Bible’s influence permeates our cultural, political, and religious landscapes. From the so-bad-they’re…still bad actually…Left Behind series, to conspiracy theories about microchips and barcodes, to all-too-real political discourse and actions, John’s visions in Revelation reach far beyond anything their ancient author could have imagined.
But what did John imagine? Who was he writing for and why? And what’s the deal with all the hideous horned beasts?
Join us as we seek to uncover the real-world contexts behind this ancient apocalyptic text. A world occupied by an oppressive empire, a marginalized people, and a God committed to justice. Where a beast overthrown was a declaration of authority and a falling star was a statement of evil’s demise. Where symbols gave voice to resistance and visions provided a glimpse of hope. A world utterly and entirely ancient.
Only when we understand Revelation’s ancient contexts can we begin to find meaning for our own.
Recommended Book: Revelation for Normal People by Robyn Whitaker ($17 if you order it from the church by January 28)
Join us in-person at church (or click here to join us on Zoom) on Wednesdays at Noon.
Join church member and author Sarah Hulse as we explore the faith and religious themes in some great literature. You can join us for one month or all four. Just read the book and come prepared to discuss with us. Books are $15 each from the church.
FEBRUARY: Atticus by Ron Hansen | An older Colorado rancher goes to Mexico after being told his adult son has died by suicide, but once there, he comes to believe he doesn’t know the full story. A literary mystery that can also be read as a retelling of the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
MARCH: Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa | This short novel is about a formerly incarcerated cook, a woman who grew up with Hansen’s Disease, and a lonely teenager, all of whom befriend one another in modern-day Japan. Explores the importance of community and the imperative to love one’s neighbor, especially those who might be ostracized in some way.
APRIL: Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry | Novel about a now-elderly woman’s life on a rural farm, with reflection on her relationships with her neighbors and with her children, who mostly choose lives away from the community in which she lives.
MAY: Revival Season by Monica West | As her father’s healing ability seems to wane, Miriam (whose father is the pastor of an African-American baptist church) comes to believe she has the ability to heal; this creates a lot of stress in her church and family, as they teach that this is not a spiritual gift given to women and girls.
Join us at the church on the 4th Wednesday of each month from February - May, at 7pm. This class meets in-person only.
THE SUM OF US BOOK STUDY
with Pastor Geoff | IN-PERSON & on ZOOM
tuesdays @ 6:30pm, April 9—May 7
Heather McGhee’s specialty is the American economy—and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. From the financial crisis of 2008 to rising student debt to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a root problem: racism in our politics and policymaking. But not just in the most obvious indignities for people of color. Racism has costs for white people, too. It is the common denominator of our most vexing public problems, the core dysfunction of our democracy and constitutive of the spiritual and moral crises that grip us all. But how did this happen? And is there a way out?
In unlikely places of worship and work, McGhee finds proof of what she calls the Solidarity Dividend: the benefits we gain when people come together across race to accomplish what we simply can’t do on our own. The Sum of Us is not only a brilliant analysis of how we arrived here but also a heartfelt message, delivered with startling empathy, from a black woman to a multiracial America. It leaves us with a new vision for a future in which we finally realize that life can be more than a zero-sum game.
Required book: The Sum of Us - What Racism Costs Everyone And How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee ($27 if you order it from the church by March 31, but also available for $14 as an e-book from Amazon)
Join us in-person at church (or click here to join us on Zoom) on Tuesdays at 6:30pm.
