NUMC Adult Faith Formation Schedule 2026
The schedule focuses on the Hope for Creation pilot project involving several upper Midwest UM congregations in shared study, prayer, and design of climate action ministries. Other classes focus on Missions and Justice initiatives.
MISSIONS
1/04: Habitat for Humanity, Lynn Gryc & David Wolf
HOPE FOR CREATION 2: DISCOVERING YOUR PLACE IN CREATION
1/11 - 2/01: 4-Week Series Lead by Tim Goodwin
SOCIAL JUSTICE
2/08: (hosted by MICAH) Tales from Bethlehem; Conversations in Minnesota
Ruben Slomianski is a Jewish American whose family members include people who died as a result of the pogroms of the early 20th Century and the Holocaust, and also now includes family members who suffer under occupation in the West Bank. He is an artist and advocate for human rights and justice for Palestinians, and he has been active with Jewish Voice for Peace Twin Cities Chapter and MN-BDS for several years. What is daily life like for Palestinians in the West Bank after October 7, 2023? Is Anti-Zionism Anti-Semitic? What is BDS - Boycott/Divestment/Sanction - and how is it relevant to us in Minnesota? How do we navigate the competing media narratives and complicated conversations that we need to have about Israel and Palestine?
Ruben will discuss his perspective as a Jew raised in a Conservative Jewish household in the 1950s, and his trajectory to becoming part of a Palestinian family through a joyous marriage between his daughter and a Palestinian man raised and living in a refugee camp in Bethlehem. He will talk about his recent trips to Bethlehem, and he will explore these questions and ways for our community to work together to affect positive change.
2/15: (hosted by MICAH) Film: The Present
We will screen the Oscar nominated film The Present and have a discussion.
HOPE FOR CREATION 3: PRAY, FAST, AND ACT: A JOURNEY TOWARD ECOLOGICAL CONVERSION
2/22 - 3/15: 4-Week Series Lead by the Creation Care Team
An invitation to clearer moral vision and greater self-honesty exploring common moral assumptions, what complicates them, and concluding with discernment practice. Led by Chuck Huff, PhD
MISSIONS
3/22: Haiti Partnership - Love as Child, led by Mary Twitchell
3/29: Operation Classroom, led by Lorie McBride
HOPE FOR CREATION 4: RESURRECTION AND "GREENING" WITH READINGS FROM HILDEGARD OF BINGEN
4/12 - 5/03: Four-week exploration of the unique person, spirituality and teachings of Hildegard of Bingen, A German Benedictine abbess, mystic, musician, early naturalist and holistic teacher. Led by Dr. Almut Furchert