FORMATION:
Adult Education
2025 Fall Session
Sunday Morning Classes
After grabbing some refreshments in the Fellowship Café, join one of our Faith Formation classes.
All are welcome!
A Journey Through Ecclesiastes: Everything is Not Enough
Session House | Patrick Ryan
September 14 - 28
Ecclesiastes is one of the Bible’s most honest and surprising books in the Bible. It’s a book for people who have tried, strived, and still come up empty. It speaks honestly about life’s frustrations, setbacks, and fleeting joys—yet it refuses despair. It names the frustration and limitations we feel when our work, pleasure, and wisdom don’t satisfy, while also teaching us how to live with joy, humility, and reverence in a world that often doesn’t make sense. This 3-week class explores the book’s description of life as hevel (fleeting, elusive, like smoke), that we might discover what’s worth celebrating, and learn how to live in reverence of God, who is the center, reality, and wisdom underneath, above, and around it all.
Jesus and the Twenty-First Century: Navigating Today’s Big Issues Faithfully
Session House | Anna Pinckney Straight
October 5 - November 23
The people in the times of Jesus likely could not imagine many of the things we encounter daily in 2025. And yet, much of what was at the center of events in the 1st century (fear, hope, faith, division) are the same. Looking to what Jesus taught and faithfully lived, what does it mean to be faithful in the 21st century? In this class we will engage in conversation around some of the big issues facing us—not with a goal of solving or convincing a neighbor to come around to our point of view, but instead will be asking what is God's path and how do we put that first? Anna Pinckney Straight will be facilitating this conversation, but the topics will be set by those who are attending—what are the issues at the forefront of your hearts and minds in your lives and in our community, nation, and world?
The Present Word
Session House Parlor
Taught by George Evans
The Present Word is an in-depth Bible study for adults that dives deep into God’s Word, studying the Bible over a six-year period and focusing on a specific theme each quarter. The Present Word is a study of Scripture that leads to discovery of its deeper meaning and relevance for today.
The fall quarter (September - November, 2025) invites us to discover and appreciate how God, through prophets and other leaders, gave help and guidance to the people of Judah so that we may come to see the hand of God in our own lives and all human affairs.
Unit I, “Isaiah and the Renewal of the Temple”
Unit II, “Jeremiah and the Promise of Renewal”
Unit III, “Ezekiel and the Exile of Judah”
Book Study
Owl Room | Dick Betts & Lana Brunk
September 14 - November 23
This group finishes their reading of Seeing Gray by Adam Hamilton. America is polarized, with ever-hardening positions held by people less and less willing to listen to one another. No one agrees on what to do about it. One solution that hasn’t yet been tried, says Adam Hamilton, is for thinking persons of faith to model for the rest of the country a richer, more thoughtful conversation on the political, moral, and religious issues that divide us. Hamilton rejects the easy assumptions and sloppy analysis of black and white thinking, seeking instead the truth that resides on all sides of the issues, and offering a faithful and compassionate way forward.
Sunday Afternoon &
Mid-Week
Every Wednesday
from 12:00 pm–1:00 pm
Life of Prayer: The
Practice of Contemplative
Living
Owl Room and on Zoom
Led by Patrick Ryan
Led by the Rev. Patrick Ryan and guided by a seasonal book, this group journeys together along a way that Jesus taught in hopes of nurturing a greater awareness of the spiritual dimension in our lives. During Session IV we continue reading The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom in an Age of Outrage by Richard Rohr.
A summary of The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom in an Age of Outrage by Richard Rohr: How do we live compassionately in a time of violence and despair? What can we do with our private disappointments and the anger we feel in such an unjust world? In his most personal book yet, Richard Rohr turns to the writings of the Jewish prophets, revealing how some of the lesser-read books of the Bible offer us a crucial path forward today. Drawing on a century of biblical scholarship and written in the warm, pastoral voice that has endeared Rohr to millions, The Tears of Things breathes new life into ancient wisdom. It paves a path of enlightenment for anyone seeking a compassionate way of living in a hurting world.
Every Wednesday
from 5:00 pm–5:30 pm
Wednesday Evening
Contemplative Worship
Chapel (Ministry Center, 1st floor)
Led by Patrick Ryan
This worship service is an opportunity for a mid-week pause in our busy lives to ponder God’s living Word presented to us in Scripture. This half hour is sacred time to sit at God’s feet and listen for God’s still, small voice. Contact patrick@firstpresnb.org with your questions.
Third Sunday of the Month
from 4:00 pm–5:00 pm
Calvin and Hops
(Men’s Beer and Theology)
Brewery 99, 1030 Pollock St.
Calvin and Hops is an informal monthly gathering of men (not limited to Presbyterians) to discuss theology and the life of faith. Led by Ken Wilkins, we have a beer (beer-drinking not mandatory) and usually some salty snacks brought by one of the group members. We’re reading through Presbyterian theologian Shirley Guthrie’s Christian Doctrine, which has introduced thousands of Christians, seminary students, and theologians to the tenets of the Christian faith. Contact church@firstpresnb.org for more information.
Monday Evenings
from 7:00 pm–8:30 pm
Beginning September 8th
Women’s Bible Study
on Zoom
Encounters, wonders, teachings, and mysteries—these are how we glimpse the life of Jesus in the four Gospels. You are invited to join the Monday Evening Women’s Bible Study as it starts up again on September 8th from 7:00 pm–8:30 pm on Zoom as we explore the book Into the Mess and Other Jesus Stories: Reflections On The Life Of Christ by Debie Thomas.
The book can be ordered from multiple online sources. For questions about the group please contact Leslie Pinkston, Marice DeBruhl, or Wendy Moeller. Call Wendy Moeller for the Zoom link.
Presbyterian Women
Gatherings each month for Bible
study and fellowship, special
events, retreats, and so much more.
Presbyterian Women Circles at First Presbyterian include Bible Study and so much more. We get together once a month for Bible Study, fellowship, and to enjoy the spiritual support of other women. We also have luncheon gatherings four times a year and all the women in the church are invited to attend. Our monthly service projects range from a sock tree to infant layettes. There is a Circle and a time for everyone.
Peer Support Groups
Mid-Week Opportunities
Every other Thursday beginning on
January 16 - 6:30 pm–7:30 pm
Presbyterian Men
Session House Parlor
Despite having friends, family, and co-workers around each day, most men don’t get to talk about what’s on their minds. Men often lack healthy role models to learn from. Imagine a circle of brothers that listens not only to what you say but can hear the truth beneath your words. Imagine having companions that remind you of your commitments, help clarify your vision, and provide tools for action. Imagine a circle of men that holds you in prayer and supports and challenges you in your journey toward greater Christlikeness. Presbyterian Men offers this community to all men who wish to join.
Third Monday of the Month
12:00 pm–1:00 pm
Rebuilding: Divorce
Recovery Group
Chapel, 1st Floor Ministry Center
Rebuilding: Divorce Recovery Group is just the right balance of a shoulder-to-cry-on and a kick-in-the-pants to support you as you get through this confusing and often painful process and begin putting your life back together after a separation or divorce. You need not have attended before, nor do you have to commit to attending every month. Contact Patrick Ryan (patrick@firstpresnb.org) with questions.
Second Tuesday of the Month,
12 pm–1 pm
Grief Support Group
Chapel, 1st Floor, Ministry Center
Grief certainly doesn’t work like we expect it to. In so many situations, those who have lost a loved one have to endure awkward and sometimes hurtful conversations, even with those who love them. Grief is one of those things that many who have not endured it do not know how to talk about. With readings each month, the Grief Support Group is a small group and a rare space to share our grief honestly and be heard and understood as we do so.