Trinity’s educational program is designed to provide a context where people of all ages may find a meaningful, challenging, and exciting program of continuing education that prepares us to live as faithful people in God’s world. Trinity also seeks to embody a generous, welcoming spirit in each learning space, and hopes that you will come and be a part of these places of growth! All church school classes meet at 9:45 a.m.
	Elective Classes
	Bible
	Contemporary Issues
	Christian Living and Spiritual Practices
	Perspectives on Literature, Art and Science
ELECTIVE CLASSES e Classes
Bible	Ongoing Classes
Imperialism and the Bible Teacher: Dr. Cameron Howard 6 weeks: January 8 - February 12 Room: B104-106	Common Ground
	Roots
	All-Church Classes
Nearly all of the books of the Bible came into being when the land of Judah was under some form of imperial domination. The political, social, and economic realities of imperialism affected all aspects of life in Judah, including religious observance and the production of texts. This series will use “empire” as a guiding concept for reading and interpreting the Bible. The first four sessions of the class will examine notions of empire in both the Old and New Testaments, giving particular attention to the Assyrian, Persian, Babylonian, Hellenistic, and Roman contexts. We will consider the ways in which both the style and the content of biblical texts reflect the socio-political realities in which those texts were composed. In the last two sessions of the class we will look at ways the Bible was wielded in the European colonization of Asia and Africa in the modern era, as well as ways it has been used to resist imperialism and foster decolonization. Throughout the series we will compare and contrast ancient and modern empires, as well as consider how Christian notions of biblical authority and of evangelism have or have not changed over time. Dr. Cameron Howard is Instructor of Old Testament at the Interdenominational Theological Center, a consortium of six denominational seminaries in Atlanta. She received her Ph.D. from Emory University in 2010. Last year she served as Visiting Assistant Professor at the School of Theology at Sewanee, the University of the South. She is a contributor to The New Interpreter’s Bible One-Volume Commentary and the forthcoming revised edition of The Women’s Bible Commentary. She is married to the Rev. Cader Howard, Interim Associate Pastor at Trinity. Their son Isaac will soon be four years old.	February 19

Contemporary Issues and Action
What Kind of Society Do You Really Want?
Coordinators: Sandra Mackey, Nancy Purdon, Philip Cave, and Charles Heinz
6 weeks: January 8 - February 12
Room: Williams Hall C

It has been a long tradition within Trinity’s adult education program to explore political issues during an election year. For the 2012 election, this class will move beyond specific issues of public policy to an examination of American society from the perspective of Christian theology and ethics. Among the questions to be explored are the relationship between American Christians in times of economic stress; whether the current pattern of income distribution in the United States is inequitable; does every American citizen have a right to health care; who is my brother in a multicultural society; and what are the ethics of taxation. Using a discussion format, each of these classes will be led by a theologian and/or ethicist. All those interested in a respectful and introspective discussion of the challenges facing American society are urged to attend.

Christian Living and Spiritual Practices

Hot Button Issues for Parenting Tweens (and Beyond)
Teacher: Sue Astley
6 weeks: January 8 - February 12
Room: B110

Join us as we identify and explore the hot button issues that confront us when dealing with our preteens and the early teenage years. We’ll explore topics such as homework, discipline, rules for technology use, bullying, making good choices, competition, body image and life skills. This will be an interactive, discussion-based class open to all parents (if your child is not a tween yet, he/she will be soon). Ideas for additional topics will be welcomed.

Perspectives on Literature, Art and Science

The Short Stories of Alice Munro
Teachers: Nancy Purdon and Lewis Wilson
6 weeks: January 8 - February 12
Room: B112

This course will offer an introduction to the work of contemporary short story writer Alice Munro. Munro has been a frequent contender for the Nobel Prize in literature, and inside her native Canada she is the three-time winner of that country’s highest literary award. Often compared with Chekhov and other great short story writers of all time, Munro writes only short fiction, but her stories are widely thought to have the emotional and literary depth of novels. She is known particularly for complex female characters and for her themes related to love and work and the limitations of both. Books will available for purchase January 1 and 8 outside Williams Hall.

ONGOING CLASSES

Common Ground

Speaking of Faith: Telling Our Own Stories
Teacher: Rev. Cader Howard
Room: B108

Common Ground is a class seeking to explore our faith with an open discussion-based format. Our typical format involves a moderator who introduces a topic and who then facilitates conversation. Our diversity of
ages and life experiences brings many views as we focus in on our topics. The central theme of the class is to explore how to live intentionally in our faith in the midst of multiple calls on our time, resources, and loyalty.

We discuss how to nurture our relationship with God and to claim God’s promise through our relationship with others. The class is open to any and all who are seeking deeper relationships and a deeper life with God. Many of our regular attendees have children or teens living at home, so often the conversation becomes particularly relevant to those family situations. Although we strive to build a class with regular participation, this is a great class for people who can only attend sporadically. Each week is usually a “stand alone” class and does not require previous attendance. We are also a good choice for those who find themselves showing up late or leaving early for choir or ushering. We may seem casual in our approach to church school, but together we seek new “common ground” with each other and our faith. Make your plans to join us in Common Ground.

Roots
(Formerly Drop Everything Drop In, a class for Young Parents and Couples)

The Prodigal Son in the 21st Century
Teacher: Bill Jordan
Room: A116

Looking for a way to make some connections here at Trinity? Want to
establish some “roots” in your church home? The Roots class focuses
on fellowship and the opportunity to delve into our faith through subjects
that are relevant to this particular season of our lives. Most participants
have young children or are expecting their first child, but all are welcome.

The Prodigal Son in the 21st Century – “A certain man had two sons…” begins this amazing parable. What can this teach us today? Are we like the prodigal son? Are we like the elder son? Are we both? Drawing on recent books about this fascinating story by Timothy Keller and Henri Nouwen (plus a little movie with Brad Pitt – and maybe the Rolling Stones thrown in for good measure), we will explore how Christ’s teachings in this parable can serve as the keystone for an understanding not only of basic Christian tenets of love and forgiveness, but how it can help us be the friends, parents, and servants God would want us to be.

ALL-CHURCH CLASSES

February 19

American History from a Christian Perspective
A presentation by Dr. Patrick N. Allitt

Do you ever wonder why the varieties of religion found in our country are so numerous and diverse? Join historian Professor Patrick N. Allitt in exploring the vital and diverse story of religious life in America from the first European contacts to the late 20th century. Examine religion not only as a set of formal beliefs, ideas, communal or institutional loyalties, and styles of worship, but also as an influence on life “beyond the pews.” Discover why the United States, unlike virtually any other industrial nation, continues to show so much religious vitality.

Patrick Allitt is Cahoon Family Professor of American History, an Americanist specializing in religious, intellectual, and environmental history. He graduated from Oxford, England, in 1977 and earned his Ph.D. in American History in 1986 from the University of California, Berkeley. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Divinity School (1985-1988) and has been at Emory since 1988. Author of six books, he is also the presenter of six lecture series with The Teaching Company on aspects of American and British history. His current research and writing project is a history of the intellectual and political opponents of environmentalism from the 1960s to the early twenty-first century.