Adult Study and Discussion Groups

Pastor's Book Study & Discussion
Deepen your understanding of God and what it means to be a Christian. Join Pastor Linda Butler and people from St. Timothys and other area churches to explore and discuss the ideas of contemporary religious scholars.

Part of our adult theological re-education program, the classes help us to grapple with faith questions and issues, and to grow in faith.

Classes are held most Mondays at 10:00 to 11:30 and Thursdays at 7:00-8:30 p.m. in the conference room.  Check our calendar for actual dates.  Everyone is welcome, including senior high youth and adults. 

Linda Butler is the discussion leader. Come and bring a friend. If you have any questions about the class, contact the church office, 266-0464.

During January we will wrap up our study of “Embracing Emergence Christianity: Phyllis Tickle on the Church’s Next Rummage Sale," a six week study by Phyllis Tickle with Tim Scorer

New study begins February 6 - “Speaking Christian: Why Christian Words Have Lost Their Meaning and Power - And How They Can Be Restored” by Marcus Borg

Modern Christians are steeped in a language so distorted that it has become a stumbling block to the religion, says internationally renowned Bible scholar Marcus J. Borg. Borg argues that Christianity’s important words, and the sacred texts and stories in which those words are embedded, have been narrowed by a modern framework for the faith that emphasizes sin, forgiveness, Jesus dying for our sins, and the afterlife. Here, Borg employs the “historical-metaphorical” method for understanding Christian language that can restore for us these words of power and transformation. For example,
- Redemption: now narrowly understood as Jesus saving us from sins so we can go to heaven, but in the Bible it refers to being set free from slavery.
- Savior: now refers to Jesus as the one who saves us from our sins, but in the Bible it has a rich and wonderful variety of meanings having nothing to do with the afterlife.
- Sacrifice: now refers to Jesus’s death on the cross as payment for our sins, but in the Bible it is never about substitutionary payment for sin.

Please call the office if you would like us to order a book for you.  

UMW Bible Study
All women are invited to attend the UMW Bible Study held monthly in the home of one of the members. Check Tims Tales (newsletter), the monthly calendar, or weekly announcements for details, or contact the church office.

Canterbury Forum
It's collaborative project involving more than a dozen mainstream and progressive religious communities in northern Iowa's Cedar Valley. Its purpose is to inform people about religious issues and to explore the relationship between religion and the broader culture - including science, history, and the arts. Discussion sessions are hosted by St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 2410 Melrose Drive, Cedar Falls.