Adult Studies

Do you desire to find purpose and meaning in your adult spiritual life?  Whether one is taking new steps from adolescence into adulthood, building family or vocational milestones in the daily walk of midlife, or reflecting upon life experiences within the later years, what remains constant in our Catholic faith Tradition is the loving and merciful invitation from God to follow Jesus Christ.

Adult studies at St. Luke’s aims to provide learning, reflection, and sharing opportunities in both large and small group gatherings to help adults grow in relationship with Christ. Such opportunities range from Bible Studies that enrich your understanding of Sacred Scripture, to Catholic teachings that help us better appreciate essential and mystical components of our rich Catholic Tradition, to casual small group gatherings that allow participants to gain practical life application from the mass readings, classic and modern Christian literature, and all sorts of spiritual topics related growing in Christ.

Meeting together in this way not only builds our knowledge of God but strengthens our faith, brings transformation to our spiritual lives, imparts a sense of community among participants, and ultimately enables us to be close to God and an encouragement to those around us.
Please consider joining no matter what adult stage of life you are at. While the amount of offerings vary throughout the year, new ideas for adult studies at St. Luke’s are ever growing.
For further questions or information email

Tony Joseph - Adult Studies Leader at  anthony1joseph1@gmail.com

GATHER to PRAY for St. Luke’s

Jesus says:
 “ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

St. Paul says:
"Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer andpetition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints."

What a blessing it is to call St. Luke’s our church with its wonderful community offering time, talent, and treasure. Together we are the hands and feet of Christ.  He has given us His Holy Spirit to guide us and keep us close to the heart and will of Jesus.  Prayer is essential to everything we do. It keeps us Christ -entered, guided, protected, and in touch with His Holy Spirit.

St. Luke’s Adult Studies welcomes you to pray for St. Luke’s parish, its people, priests, programs, protection and path to growing in the love and mercy of Jesus Christ. This gathering will occur throughout the year and is on a drop in basis with no registration necessary.

The Evening Program consists of:

• Greet participants in St. Luke’s Church Foyer (entrance)
• Transition to main church for corporate prayer as a group that will involve:
• Praise and Worship
• Thanksgiving
• Petition and Requests
• Silence and Contemplation
• Closing

Wednesday Evenings

   Scripture and the Tradition of the Catholic Church provide an abundance of wisdom, though it can often be challenging to apply it to our lives. In this study, Jeff Cavins and Thomas Smith examine biblical wisdom as it relates to daily life. Drawing on the wisdom literature of the Bible—Proverbs, Wisdom, Sirach, and Ecclesiastes—Wisdom will teach you how to actively seek out sound guidance and increase your sense of peace in navigating life. In everything from friendships to finances, from making decisions to attaining peace of mind, Scripture offers a vision for happiness and well-being. With this program, you will learn how to gather, gain, and grow in wisdom, and you will experience the joy it brings to your life.
In this program, you will:

• Discover what wisdom is (and what it isn’t!)
• Learn new habits for increasing wisdom in your daily life
• Gain confidence, through role models and practice, in living according to God’s vision

Facilitator	Peter Flynn  - petergflynn@gmail.com
Time & Place	7:00-8:30PM - Parish Center Room 23
Dates	October 21, 2019 to December 16, 2019
Materials	Cost is approximately $25.00. More details when you register.

Facilitator	Sharon Wilkins - sharon47wilkins@gmail.com
Time & Place	9:30-11:30AM - Parish Center Room 23 and 25
Dates	October 24, 2019 to December 19, 2019
Materials	Cost is approximately $25.00. More details when you register.

The Activated Disciple Challenge will help you to become more like Christ as you cultivate eight characteristics that are the most important in the life of a disciple.
 
Session 1 – Love
Session 2 – Forgiveness
Session 3 – Humility
Session 4 – Patience
Session 5 – Selflessness
Session 6 – Kindness
Session 7 – Attentiveness
Session 8 – Contrition

Each one hour small group session includes two 7 minute video talks, a review of the Sunday gospel reading, and conversation in response to a few discussion questions about how the each session’s virtue can be applied realistically in everyday life.  This is a great way to grow deeper in your faith, connect with other adults, and prepare your heart for the week ahead.

Sunday Mornings

Facilitator:	Tony Joseph - anthony1joseph1@gmail.com
Time & Place	10:15 - 11:15 AM - Parish Center Room 23
Dates	September 22, 2019 to November 17, 2019
Materials	No Cost or materials needed.

Understand the Entire Bible
 
 The Bible Timeline study program takes you on a guided journey through salvation history. Presenter Jeff Cavins will show you how fourteen of the Bible’s narrative books tell the biblical story from beginning to end and give you the keys to understanding the amazing story woven throughout Scripture.   In this revolutionary approach to Bible study, The Bible Timeline divides the Bible into twelve color-coded time periods that make it easier to follow its narrative thread. Using a unique color-coded chart, you will learn the major people, places, and events of the Bible and discover how they all come together to reveal the remarkable story of our faith.  Through its 24 sessions, The Bible Timeline will teach you how to read and understand the Bible and introduce you to the wonderful narrative of the Bible in a way that will transform your life.

Facilitator	Rosemarie Kellett - rosemariekellett@gmail.com
Time & Place	9:30 - 11:30AM - Parish Center Room 23
Dates	September 25, 2019 to May 27, 2020
Materials	Cost is approximately $43.00. More details when you register.

Untold Blessings

Our Ultimate goal is to be a saint.  It is our greatest calling and what our Creator desires for us.
 
In this study, Bishop Robert Barron paints the beautiful and mysterious image of what it takes to be a follower of Jesus Christ. He lays out three intriguing paths to holiness:

1. Finding the Center

2. Knowing You're a Sinner

3. Realizing Your Life is Not About You

 
The session structure is a  30 minute video followed by discussion.
No fee, materials, or structured pre-work or homework for these sessions. 

Facilitator	Kathleen Gorczyca at kgorczyca@aol.com
Time & Place	6:30 - 8:00 PM - Parish Center Room 23
Dates	October 3, 2019 to November 21, 2019
Materials	No Cost or materials needed

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, or RCIA, is the process by which new people are initiated into the Catholic Christian community. People in the program, referred to as candidates, come from other Christian traditions or may have been baptized Catholic, and others, the catechumens, are unbaptized. Their journey of faith can be an inspiration to the rest of the faithful at St. Luke’s parish. Our candidates and catechumens are visible signs of our faith community, Christ’s Church, growing and becoming enriched.   For more infomation on this program please click here.