Presbyterian Christianity holds that thinking and questioning are essential parts of an honest faith and a life-giving relationship with God. PCUM's adult learning and education ministry focuses on congregation-wide educational events, multi-week classes that address living as Christians in today's world, and a dynamic weekly Bible Study program that meets every Sunday morning at 8:30 am.
Most recently, the pastoral staff has led adult ed classes such as:
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Book Discussions hosted in participants' homes;
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Community-wide explorations of race and racism's influence on our nation's justice system, particularly incarceration, sentencing, and the use of the death penalty.
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Lenten Bible Studies;
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Interfaith discussions with a neighboring synagogue on issues of racial justice;
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a discussion-based study of God's voice in contemporary short fiction;
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an Advent class focusing on the Gospel birth narratives;
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a discussion of God's Presence and the theological implications in contemporary film;
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a study of the best-seller What Jesus Meant by Pulitzer-prize winning author Garry Wills.
Congregation-wide educational offerings at PCUM have featured guest speakers on topics ranging from innovative anti-poverty initiatives, environmental stewardship, the history of stained glass in Christian architecture (with special focus on the outstanding stained glass in PCUM's sanctuary), and the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s role in Palestinian/Israeli peace efforts.
All PCUM’s adult educational offerings focus on content, faith-development and relationship-building — with a particular emphases on becoming more confident Bible readers and on relating we discover to living abundantly in today's world.