Consciously Creating a Compassionate World

St. Francis in the Foothills UMC

4625 E. River Road, Tucson, AZ 85718

(520)299-9063

Fall 2017

Consciously Creating a

Compassionate World

Do you have special knowledge, information, or skills that can contribute to the congregation’s spiritual development? Let us know! Contact the church office at 299-9063 for more information. Would you like to become a part of the Adult Ed team? We meet at 6:45 pm on the second Tuesday of each month, following the potluck dinner at 6:00 pm. We’d love to have you.

St. Francis Adult Education Team for 2017/2018: Art Aldag Pam Bisson Robbie Dick Elizabeth Fimbres Harvey Kemp Karen Kennedy Wendy Kreider Ed Leigh Dar & Betty Lundeen Dan Meyer Diane Wilson

Welcome

to the St. Francis in the Foothills, UMC Adult Education Program

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing there is a field. I’ll meet you there. ”

― Rumi

The Mission of the program is to promote the awakening of the divine spirit

within us as individuals and as a congregation.

To this end, courses, seminars and workshops are offered in four areas of learning and exploration:

Spiritual Formation Theological Exploration Social Justice Life Skills

“Spiritual Formation” focuses on the development of our personal resources

to live in accord with God’s love for us.

“Theological Exploration” helps us understand the depths of our faith and the meaning of our existence.

“Social Justice” instructs us how to carry forth the love of God in our world for our fellow humans and for the well being of the earth.

“Life Skills” provides tools by which to grow in spirit, mind, and body.

Youth and adults are encouraged to participate fully in the program.

Childcare will be provided during each Sunday class, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm

All are welcome here!

“We are here to awaken from our illusion separateness.”

― Thich Nhat Hanh

The Secret Life of Trees

with Nancy Wilkinson & Shannon Sullivan Sunday, September 10th & 17th

10:30 am in the Community Center

Using trees as a metaphor, we will explore how we can become more grounded and expansive. They shelter us, give us fuel and beauty.

How might we do the same? Through meditation, journaling, easy movement and art—this two session class will allow the time and

space to discover the wisdom of trees in our lives.

Luna Gale and Our Story

Sunday, September 24th 10:30 am in the Community Center

Judy Mitchell will speak of her experiences in fostering eight children with her partner, Robyn Moreland, under some

circumstances similar to those in the upcoming St. Francis Theater production “Luna Gale”. She will discuss issues of substance

abusing parents and establishing relationships between the children and their birth families during fostering and after adoption.

“Luna Gale” will be presented beginning on October 13th and run through October 29th. For more information, see

www.artmeetsheart.com/on-stage-next.html

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.

- Rumi

Film: Brother Sun, Sister Moon Sunday, October 1st


Director Franco Zefferelli’s dramatization of events in the life of St. Francis of Assisi from before his conversion experience through his audience with the pope, and including his friendship with St. Clare.

Film—Alive Inside Sunday, October 22nd


“Alive Inside” is a joyous cinematic exploration of music’s capacity to reawaken our souls and uncover the deepest parts of our humanity.

This film shows the wondrous effect that music from their youth has on patients with dementia. It is an uplifting and hopeful film. One can’t help but smile at the joy on the faces of people

who previously were showing almost no emotion.

The Reformation After 500 Years

Sunday, October 29th 10:30 am in the Community Center

This is the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, and retired United Methodist minister Harvey Kemp will remind us that Martin Luther

posted his 95 theses on the door of the Wittenburg Church and challenged the Church to change. By looking again at some of those

theses and by hearing the call of more recent thinkers such as Bishop John Shelby Spong and Matthew Fox, we will be challenged to post our own “theses” and

call the Church to change today.

Ending the Silence - Youth Health and Mental Illness

Sunday, November 5th 10:30 am in the Community Center

Judie Maikoff of NAMI will identify the signs of mental illness in youth and provide information on resources for treatment and support services in the community. This class will show previous discussions

with classroom students and will include information on suicide prevention, ways to remove the stigma around this issue and

create ways to talk about it.

“You are a function of what the whole universe is doing in the same way that a wave is a function of what

the whole ocean is doing.”

- Alan Watts

How to Separate Fact from Fiction In Today’s News

with Professor Kate Kenski University of Arizona


Dr. Kate Kenski, from the University of Arizona Department of Communications will address how to have a discerning eye and ear when reading or listening to

the news. What are the most reliable sources of factual information in the media today? What signals the likelihood that a news item is biased, inaccurate or

exaggerated? How are news stories created and used for political ends? Dr. Kenski’s specialty is Political Communication.

Come learn how to be a well-informed consumer of news stories.

Empowering Ourselves In Environmentally Sound and

Beneficial Actions with Barney Popkin, PhD, MS


Join us for this workshop on key local environmental issues to be identified by class

participants—such as Tucson as a heat island and the adverse health effects and practical mitigation measures. We will provide and model practical action plans and discuss practical aspects of

local, state and federal requirements for community consultations for decision makers to make wiser environmentally and socially impacting decisions.

“It’s not denial. I’m just selective about the reality I accept.”

- Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes)

Film: 13th - Racism in the U.S. Today. Sunday, December 3rd & 10th


Ava DuVernay’s galvanizing documentary about the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which reads, “Neither slavery nor involuntary

servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.”

The progression from that second qualifying clause to the horrors of mass criminalization and the sprawling American prison industry is laid out with

bracing lucidity using archival footage and interviews.

“13th” shall be shown in 50 minute segments over 2 Sundays to allow ample discussion time afterward.

Using TPD Crisis Intervention Officers to Prevent

Mental Health Crisis Sunday, December 17th


Officers from the Tucson Police Department will describe their Crisis Intervention Training, and how the community can benefit from contact with them. They will discuss ways to identify potential signs of a mental health emergency, when and who to call for assistance,

what to do until help arrives and what resources are available in the community to provide ongoing assistance.

Notes

Notes

Documents

Consciously Creating a Compassionate World