Adults

Our adult classes offer a welcoming environment that allows everyone to come together to discuss many interesting topics and events. Review the adult education opportunities below for more information.

First Forums

Every Sunday First Central hosts a series of distinguished speakers to lead us in a critical examination of issues in our city, our country, and our world. We meet at 9:00 AM on Sunday mornings for coffee, and begin our discussions at 9:15 AM in the Fireside Room. Topics may include current politics, history, art, or a pressing social issue.

January 8, 15, 22: Genesis
Scott Hoyt will moderate round table discussions of three familiar stories: The Great Flood; the family affair of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar; and Joseph in Exile. The text references come from Bill Moyer’s book, Genesis – A Living Conversation.
 

January 29: Anniversary of Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Presented by Fred Nielsen, Professor of History at UNO
As part of our ongoing observance of the Civil War, we will explore Harriet Beecher Stowe’s great anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Stowe was the daughter of the most prominent Protestant minister in antebellum America; a vision of Uncle Tom’s Cabin came to her as she sat in a Congregational church in Brunswick, Maine. Even if Abraham Lincoln never actually greeted Stowe as “the little lady who started this great war,” there is no doubt about the impact of her novel, after the Bible, the best-selling book of the 19th century. This powerful, yet problematic, work remains a window into the religious, racial, and gender attitudes of the era.
 

February 5, 12, 19, 26: Working Out Your Faith
Led by Pastor Scott Jones
St. Paul invites us to work out our faith (he adds, “with fear in trembling”), and we’ll be doing just that (not the fear and trembling part exactly). This will be an opportunity to examine and articulate what you believe in the context of an open, engaging, diverse community. The goal of the series will be everyone constructing (in 2011 I hesitate to limit anyone to writing) their own credo or faith statement.

  • February 5: What are your sources of authority?
  • February 12: What do you consider holy?
  • February 19: Human beings are . . .?
  • February 26: Where are we going?

March 4: Focusing on Mission: Table Grace
Presented by Matt & Simone Weber
Table Grace is a non-profit downtown cafe which “nourishes hungry bodies and souls.” The menu is well balanced and there are no set prices – the diners are asked to donate what they can. Volunteers are always needed to work in the kitchen, which can be a fair trade for the meal or potential job training. The organization is looking for faith community partners who are interested in combating hunger in our neighborhood. The Webers will educate us about how First Central can help the Table Grace initiative.
 

March 11: The Green Church
Presented by Rick Brenneman
 
March 18: Citizens for Equal Protection
Today’s discussion on ‘Advocating for a More Inclusive Nebraska in 2012’ is led by Jeff Schamp, Executive Director for Citizens for Equal Protection. CFEP is a state-wide, nonprofit organization, founded in 1993, that advocates for equality and works toward the elimination of discrimination based on sexual orientation through advocacy and education. We seek to foster a community that accepts and values the diversity of its people. Our efforts include fighting discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in employment, housing and public accommodations. CFEP also facilitates efforts in support of same sex adoption and foster parenting, works against bullying, and monitors and reports hate crimes. We look forward to being able to present on CFEP's mission and talk about opportunities for additional advocacy in our community.
 

March 25: Planning Your Spring Garden
"...Let the earth teach you..." Job 12:8. Garden writer Jan Riggenbach discusses how nature can teach you what to plant, where to plant it, how to care for it and the nature of gardening itself.
 
April 1: Obtaining the consent of all human beings subjected to scientific research or experimentation: how what had been a moral imperative has become a legal requirement.
During the past thirty-eight years, U.S. federal law has increasingly required the consent of all human beings subjected to scientific research or experimentation.(i.e.from the National Research Act of July 12, 1974, through the 1991 “common rule" for Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects). Earlier, some publicly acknowledged experiments -- notably in the testing of drugs and bacteria and in forced sterilization -- had aroused opposition from some religious organizations but very rarely from social scientists or physicians. This Faith Forum features a brief survey of such experimentation and subsequent legislation to control it, followed by one participant's recollection and critical evaluation of Project SHAD undertaken by the John F. Kennedy Administration and involving some 17,000 U.S. servicemen in the most extensive testing of chemicals and bacteria upon unwitting citizens ever achieved in American history. As an officer on the USS NAVARRO (APA-215), Bruce Garver participated during May 1963 in phase "Autumn Gold" of Project SHAD during which the NAVARRO was one of five ships upon which A-4 aircraft sprayed bio-toxin Bacillus globigii, a relative of anthrax. Project SHAD was declassified in 2002 along with "Autumn Gold" whose purpose was disguised in 1963 as the testing of "a harmless gas." Bruce continues to support a strong national defense and holds the U.S. Armed Forces in high regard. He also insists that Americans exercise prudence, intelligence, sound judgment, and ethical concern in the conduct of foreign and domestic policy as well as in all scientific experimentation involving human subjects. Led by Bruce Garver, Professor of History, UNO.
 

April 15: Images of Jesus through 18 Centuries of Art
For nearly 2000 years artists have been portraying Jesus in great detail, even though no description of him appears in the Bible. This presentation will provide a brief review of how these interpretations varied with artist and era – from the simple symbols of the earliest Christians to the very personal expressions of present day artists. Dr. Joyce Wilson holds a Ph.D. degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is recently retired from Bellevue University where she taught art history for many years.
 

April 29: Art As An Expression of Faith
Each of our sanctuary banners captures an aspect of our religious heritage: joy, sorrow, anguish, relief, celebration. Bud Cassiday will share his experience of painting the banners which have decorated our sanctuary and explore ideas about the creative process and the intersections of doubt and belief and faith.

 

May 6: Life in a Buddhist Monastery
In the fall of 2009, Evan Milton traveled to Japan to study at the Bukkokuji Temple in Obama City. He will tell about his experiences there, including the austere lifestyle of the monks and what you can learn about yourself from meditating for hours every day.