At Central, we believe that Christian education is a lifelong journey. In addition to gathering for worship, adults are encouraged to participate in classes on Sunday mornings.
Classes are offered every Sunday at 9:45 a.m. with a variety of topics from Bible study, to current issues, to theological questions. Ongoing adult classes with rotating leadership provide learning and fellowship opportunities. Special studies are also offered throughout the year. Each January Central’s adult classes meet together for Winter Studies and during the summer months for Summer Series to focus on a specific topic.
January 6 | Central Youths and Adults at the Front Lines: Stewart Detention Center and Frontera de Cristo
In January, 2017, several youths and adults from Central Presbyterian Church visited the Stewart Detention Center in south Georgia. In the summer of 2018, another group of Centralites (including some who had gone to Stewart) journeyed to Frontera de Cristo, a Presbyterian border ministry located in the sister cities of Agua Prieta, Sonora (Mexico) and Douglas, Arizona. In this session, Centralites who took part in these trips will share thoughts on what they saw and did, and how their lives have changed through their experiences. Discussion leader: Lydia Catterall
January 13 | The Dilley Project: Trying to Provide Legal Representation to Every Woman and Child at the South Texas Family Residential Center
The South Texas Residential Center in Dilly Texas is the largest detention center in the Country that houses women with children seeking asylum. The Dilley project is at its heart hundreds of attorneys from all over the country who fly in in groups of 15-25 week after week in an attempt to make sure every single women and child held at Dilly is given legal representation through their first immigration hearings: The Credible Fear Hearing. I am fortunate enough to have been one of those attorneys and will share my personal experience with the Dilly project, and try and share one part of the experience of these brave women as they tackle the ever changing legal battle of seeking asylum in the USA. Discussion leader: Peggy Schiller
January 20 | The Atlanta Transit Angels
Central member Bobbie Paul introduces two Atlanta Grandmothers for Peace – Joan DeWitt and Grace Hawkins – who are key organizers with Atlanta Transit Angels. These “angels” are part of a national movement of impassioned women volunteers who welcome and support families of asylum seekers such as those traveling through Atlanta at the Forsyth Street bus terminal. Learn who these refugees are, where they come from, how they have been allowed into the U.S., and what minimal supplies and outreach are needed to help them as they begin navigating life on this side of the border. Discussion leader: Bobbie Paul
January 27 | Immigrants in our Church Family: People in the Central Community who Came to us from Other Countries
They are people you have seen and probably know. They are a diverse lot, sharing in common the fact that they were born in other countries: China, Germany, Ethiopia, Hungary and El Salvador. Some have been in the USA for decades, others for just a short time. All have stories to tell of coming to the United States and becoming part of the community in our church, our city and our country. In hearing these stories, we can be reminded of the experiences of our forebears who came to the USA from other parts of the world. What has changed? What remains the same? Discussion moderator: Robert Catterall
Believing and Belonging: Two-Week Class for Visitors and New Members
Do you have a friend or neighbor who you have been wanting to invite to church but have not known how? Or have you been sitting near a visitor in worship? Invite them to the Believing and Belonging class, a two-week class for visitors and new members. The class will be taught by Anna George Traynham, with coffee and donuts provided by the Invitation committee. We will explore what Presbyterians believe, how those beliefs inform our life at Central, and what it means to belong in today’s world of competing interests.
The next class will be February 24 and March 3, 2019.
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