Adult CHRISTIAN FORMATION & EdUCATION

Join us on Sundays at 9:15 a.m. in the Parish Hall. All adults are welcome. Masks optional.



Hunger for Home - Final class on March 26

Christ Church is one of three churches across the country which has been chosen for an exciting new adventure: a multi-sensorial journey into food in the Gospel of Luke.  Using the recently published book Hunger for Home, we will explore the important role of food and hospitality – and home – in our Christian vocations.  Our guide will be one of the book’s authors, Matt Croasman, who will present short videos and guides for small-group discussion.  Needless to say, breakfast will be a pivotal part of this six-part series!  Please write Posie Mansfield to let her know a) that you can be one of the participants and if possible b) that you can contribute through bringing food, cooking and/or setting up/taking down the breakfast setup.


Upcoming Adult Formation Dates:

April 2, 9 - No Formation Hour classes on Palm Sunday or Easter


April 16 - Jim Zingarelli presents Christ Church: Art & Architecture as a Liturgical Tool

What is significant at Christ Church about the sanctuary space, the stained glass, the chalice & ciborium?  How can the architectural design, stained glass narratives, and other sacred objects contribute to our liturgy and overall worship on any given Sunday?  This presentation will offer some historical information on why the 1961church looks the way it does and why this is still significant for our communal worship today.  


April 23 - Jeanne Maurand & Jim Reynolds


April 30, May 7 - Tom Kelly presents Four Key Monasteries

April 30 - Part I: Montecassino and Saint Benedict

The mother house of Benedictine monasticism stands today where it always stood, but it has been destroyed and replaced several times. We’ll take a tour, starting with St. Benedict and his Rule, and rebuilding after World War II.

May 7 - Part II: Solesmes and Saint Gregory

Pope St. Gregory I is the legendary founder/inventor/composer of the traditional Gregorian chant. When monasticism was revived after the French Revolution, the monks of Solesmes sought to find out the truth.


May 14, 21 - The Rev. Joyce Scherer-Hoock presents Theological Themes in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

In most protestant Sunday Schools the typical approach to Christian Education is to merely recount Bible stories from Genesis through Jesus. The content of The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is a meta narrative encompassing rich, Christian themes that are tightly woven through three levels for children ages 3- 12. At its core, this method is a deeply scriptural and theological way of offering the Gospel. But it is not just children who can benefit from the atrium. In addition to being theologically rich, this method is highly visual and it speaks to our world today, offering adults the opportunity to review, re-frame, and unify their own faith. This two-session class will use materials from the Christ Church atriums to illustrate the following themes: Sacred History & the meaning of time, Incarnation and Globalism, Liturgy and the Bible, Moral Formation and the human vocation.  Christians in any walk or stage of life: parents, professors, plumbers, and preachers will have their faith stretched and strengthened by attending. Come and be surprised and delighted.


The Rev. Joyce Scherer-Hoock  discovered the Episcopal church and the Book of Common Prayer during her time at Gordon-Conwell seminary and was subsequently confirmed and married at Christ Church. Christian Formation for all ages has been a central part of Joyce’s ministry and her recent retirement from parish ministry after serving as rector at St. Andrew’s in Ayer is allowing her to develop online courses for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.  She especially enjoys building bridges between Roman Catholic and Protestant lay people in her CGS Formation courses. Before ordination she taught high potential learning-disabled adolescents at Landmark School. Joyce and her husband Robert (MTS ’79) have two grown daughters, a Shetland Sheepdog, a miniature horse, and a goat. They live in Topsfield, MA.





Other Learning Opportunities

  • Parish-wide Book Study

    Every year, the Archbishop of Canterbury chooses a book for Lent.  And for the 2023 Lenten season, Archbishop Justin Welby has chosen Failure: What Jesus Said about Sin, Mistakes and Messing Stuff Up by Emma Ineson.  Archbishop Welby had this to say in the Foreword of the book: "[Bishop] Emma Ineson, having previously written a book on ambition, has now written a superb book on failure.  She is humorous, realistic and absolutely not judgemental.  She faces the issues of failure, perceived, deceived, and real.  She brings us face to face with God who knows what a failure is and is not, and whose gracious love overwhelms the greatest failures.  God set a different scale for measuring success and failure, and the Bible is above all a story of failure redeemed, failure forgiven, failure overcome in resurrection and merciful judgement.  This is a very good book."


    In-Person Group: on Thursdays, for 6 weeks beginning on February 16, 2023 at 6:15 - 7:30 p.m.  RSVP to Father Patrick.

  • Stephen Ministry Training

    Christ Church offers a 50 hour Stephen Ministry training course each year. The class meets twice per month September - June. Participants are prepared to offer confidential, Christ-like support and care to those in crisis - whether it be from job loss, divorce or loss of a loved one. Click here for more information and a list of training topics.


    If you would like to learn more, please contact: Mother Susan

  • "Going Deeper" Spirituality Groups

    We have been following the Renovaré (renewal) curriculum which has led us into rich discussions of our varied spiritual backgrounds and has prompted the sharing of new ways to come closer to Almighty God.


    To learn more, please contact: Mother Susan


    MATERIALS:

    A Spiritual Formation Workbook: Small Group Resources for Nurturing Christian Growth, by James Bryan Smith. (Available through Amazon)

  • Centering / Contemplative Prayer

    All those interested in learning about and/or practicing Centering Prayer together with a group are invited to meet on Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m. in the Preston Cutler Room.  Come once in a while or every week to practice this prayer for 15-20 minutes.  The goal of Centering Prayer is to open ourselves to God by surrendering our own thoughts and listening for God in silence. 

    To continue your practice throughout the week get the Centering Prayer Mobile App.

    Facilitated by Mother Susan.