
The Adult Learning and Spiritual Enrichment Team (ALSET) is pleased to announce our offerings for spring 2023! Please register for classes using the form below. For Zoom courses, the link will be emailed to you by the facilitator.

February 1, 8, 15, 22, and March 1
Wednesdays – 7:00 pm on Zoom Facilitator: Julie Konrardy
Brene Brown’s book looks at the power of storytelling, connection, and vulnerability. In an age in which our nation and our world is so deeply divided along political, racial, religious, regional and other divides, what does it mean to truly connect in a meaningful way?

February 12-April 30
Sundays – 10:45am-noon – in-person/Zoom Hybrid
Facilitator: Stacey Edwards
Book $14.00 – available at church
This 12-week study immerses the participant in the New Testament. Disciple Fast Track, an adaptation of the original, bestselling Disciple Bible Study, provides a viable option for busy people seeking comprehensive engagement over time with the entire biblical text. Participants read a manageable 3-5 chapters of the Bible daily in preparation for the weekly meetings, which last approximately 75 minutes. Class meetings begin with a video followed by discussion.

Wednesdays at 10:30 am
In-person at church Facilitator: Pastor Karen Bruins
This study will use the devotional book, Good Enough: 40’ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection, as the basis for our worship this Lent. Author Kate Bowler is an author, professor at Duke Divinity School, host of the podcast “Everything Happens”, and at the age of 35 was diagnosed with stage 4 colon Cancer. Kate is the author of New York Times best sellers: Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved, and No Cure for Being Human (And Other Truths I Need to Hear). You can learn more about Kate at www.katebowler.com.
Meeting Dates: On Wednesdays at 10:30am / March 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29
Meeting Options: In-person, with hybrid a possibility if requested
Meeting Options: In-person, with hybrid a possibility if requested

March 2, 9, & 23 (skip Mar 16)
Thursdays at 7pm / at church
Facilitator: Stephen Venable
The instant her phone rang, Reverend Sharon Risher sensed something was horribly wrong. Something had happened at Emanuel AME Church, the church of her youth in Charleston, South Carolina, and she knew her mother was likely in the church at Bible study. Even before she heard the news, her chaplain’s instinct told her the awful truth: her mother was dead, along with two cousins. What she couldn’t imagine was that they had been murdered by a white supremacist. Plunged into the depths of mourning and anger and shock, Sharon could have wallowed in the pain. Instead, she chose the path of forgiveness and hope – eventually forgiving the convicted killer for his crime.
In this powerful memoir of faith, family, and loss, Sharon begins the story with her mother, Ethel Lee Lance, seeking refuge in the church from poverty and scorn and raising her family despite unfathomable violence that rattled Sharon to her core years later; how Sharon overcame her own struggles and answered the call to ministry; and how, in the loss of her dear mother, Sharon has become a nationally known speaker as she shares her raw, riveting, story of losing loved ones to gun violence and racism.

Science & Faith Book Study
March 5 – April 23
Sundays at 11am-noon / Zoom only
Facilitator: Don McClung, Chris Dozier and Paul Glewwe
Please purchase a book via your favorite book seller. This 8-week study dives into the anthology Belief: Readings on the Reason for Faith. Renowned physician and geneticist, Francis S. Collins, defends the reason for faith in this provocative collection. Collins guides us through the writings of many of the world’s greatest thinkers — philosophers, preachers, poets, scientists — both past and present, including such luminaries as C. S. Lewis and Augustine, and unexpected voices such as John Locke and Dorothy Sayers. It is a brilliant, wide ranging and powerful series of readings on the possibilities, problems, and mysteries of faith.
United Women in Faith Book Group
UPCOMING BOOK FOCUS AND MEETING DATES
Date: The first Thursday of the month at 7:00p. The group has been meeting via ZOOM. Sign up through the form below.
Facilitator: Julie Konrardy
Join this group of interesting and diverse women of all ages. The group focuses on one book per month. The book list is developed by the group itself.
Date: The first Thursday of the month at 7:00p. The group has been meeting via ZOOM. Sign up through the form below.
Facilitator: Julie Konrardy
Join this group of interesting and diverse women of all ages. The group focuses on one book per month. The book list is developed by the group itself.
Feb 2: This Here Flesh by Cole Arthur Riley, led by Julie Konrardy
Mar 2: The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande
Apr 6: Lightning Strike by William Kent Krueger
May 4: The Measure by Nikki Erlick
June 1: The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare
If you are interested in participating in one of the above ALSET offerings, please complete the form below and click the submit button.
If you have questions, concerns, ideas for classes, or if you are interested in supporting ALSET, either as a committee member or a group facilitator, please reach out to Stacey Edwards, ALSET chair, by clicking here.