9:15 a.m. in Parish House Parlor

One of the initiatives for Christian Formation at Johns Memorial Church is its adult Sunday school program. The class meets Sunday mornings at 9:15 a.m. in the Parish House parlor for an hour before the 10:30 a.m. church service.

A moderator guides the discussion over a host of topics organized into units that thematically parallel the church seasons. These topics reflect social concerns, spirituality, theology, church history, and ethics, to name a few broad categories and are organized into units. Units covered thus far have included Christian perspectives on hospitality, friendship, personal prayer,and food and hunger.

Often, each unit, which lasts several weeks, concludes with a special activity or worship service as a culminating event.

Education for Ministry (EfM) is sometimes called “the layman’s version of a seminary education” and has been offered since 2009. Designed by the University of the South, EfM consists of an in-depth, non-denominational study of the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament gospels and kerygma, a history of the church and its doctrines, theology and ethics, theological reflection.

EfM is a four-year program of study, but we ask student commitment for only one year at a time, meeting two and a half hours one day each week (currently Monday evenings) except during the summer. A mentored approach to education, no canned lectures; students teach each other and take the initiative in homework and classroom studies, as well as theological reflections.

A promise: your life will be changed (as well as enriched) if you complete this course. Intense conversation, enlightening conversation, energetic conversation, argumentative classmates (in a good way!), and spiritual deepening is guaranteed.

The Rev. Bill Blottner and Very Rev. Chris Cunningham serve as co-Mentors.