Adult Formation

🗓 Winter Forum Series: The Gospel of Matthew

Join the clergy for a conversation about our lectionary year as we navigate through the Gospel of Matthew. How does this particular gospel shed light on our understanding of who Jesus is? What does this have to tell us about who we are called to be today? 

January 8 | The Gospel of Matthew: An Overview
with the Rev. George Adamik

January 15 | MLK Weekend: Nurturing Beloved Community
with the Rev. Javier Almendárez-Bautista

January 22 | Matthew: Introduction and the Holy Family
with the Rev. George Adamik

January 29 | Matthew: The Beginning of Jesus’ Ministry
with the Rev. Javier Almendárez-Bautista

February 5 | Matthew: The Beatitudes
with the Rev. George Adamik

February 12 | Matthew: Healings, Signs, and Sayings
with the Rev. Javier Almendárez-Bautista

February 19 | Matthew: Jesus’ Trial, Death, and Resurrection
with the Rev. Javier Almendárez-Bautista

🗓 Advent Forum Series: Joyful is the Dark (2022)

Join the clergy for a conversation about the season of Advent and the contrasting emotions it brings. What does it mean to experience the joy of Christmas while acknowledging the sorrows that accompany it? How do light and darkness play a role in the story of our faith?

December 4 | Light & Darkness in Scripture
with the Rev. Javier Almendárez-Bautista

December 11 | St. John of the Cross and the Dark Night of the Soul 
with the Rev. George Adamik

December 18 | Joy and Sorrow in Advent
with the Rev. Javier Almendárez-Bautista

🗓 Sunday Forums this Fall: The Symbols of the Faith (2022)

The sacraments of the church are tangible, palpable things: they are meant to be visible signs of God’s spiritual grace. They would be sadly lacking if we couldn’t feel them – if they weren’t things that we could taste and see. Join the clergy of St. Paul’s for an introduction to the core symbols of our faith. Think of it as a way to familiarize ourselves with the things we take for granted in the liturgy: just why is water so important to baptism? How, of all the things we could eat, did bread and wine become so essential to the core convening ritual of our faith? 

September 18 | WATER 
“And darkness covered the face of the deep…” (Gen 1:2)
with the Rev. Javier Almendárez-Bautista

September 25 – Ministry Fair (No Forum)

October 2 | BREAD 
“Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (Jn 6:35)
with the Rev. George Adamik

October 9 | WINE
“But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.” (Jn 5:38)
with the Rev. George Adamik

October 16 | OIL 
“You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” (Ps 23:5)
with the Rev. Javier Almendárez-Bautista

October 23 | FIRE 
“Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them…” (Acts 2:3)
with the Rev. Javier Almendárez-Bautista

October 30 | Confirmation Sunday and Bishop’s Forum
with the Rt. Rev. Mary Gray-Reeves

November 6 | Annual Meeting 
No Forum

November 13 | Rector’s Forum: Leadership at St. Paul’s 
with the Rev. George Adamik

November 20 | Resilience: Childhood Trauma, Prevention, and Hope 
with the St. Paul’s Resilience Ministry

🗓 Sunday Forums in May: Living into Easter Resurrection (2022)

Join us at St. Paul’s this Easter season as we explore how we are called to live into Christ’s resurrection in our world today. Fr. George will provide an overview of the Gospel of Luke—the gospel we are exploring Sunday after Sunday this church year. The Racial Justice Planning Group (RJPG) is also excited to bring two speakers to our Sunday forums: Jack Holtzman, from the Fair Housing Project, and Sara Smith, from North Carolinians Against Gun Violence.

May 1 | Discrimination and Fair Housing: A History
Jack Holtzman, Co-Director, Fair Housing Project, Legal Aid of NC

May 8 | The Gospel of Luke, Part I
The Rev. George Adamik

May 15 | The Gospel of Luke, Part II
The Rev. George Adamik

May 22 | Gun Violence in North Carolina
Sara Smith, Organizing Director, North Carolinians Against Gun Violence

Selected recordings from past forums:

Lent 2022
Scripture and Midrash: “What is his name, what shall I say to them?” (Ex 3:13) with Rabbi Raachel Jurovics, PhD, Rabbi-in-Residence, Episcopal Diocese of NC
Scripture and Illustration: the Psalms with the Rev. Canon Earnest Graham
Scripture and Poetry with the Rev. Javier Almendarez-Bautista

Winter 2022
The Daily Office with the Rev. George Adamik
Praying the Psalms with the Rev. Alice Graham Grant
The Lord’s Prayer with the Rev. Javier Almendarez-Bautista
Seek and You Will Find: A Conversation with Rhonda Mawhood Lee with the Rev. Javier Almendarez-Bautista & the Rev. Rhonda Mawhood Lee, Ph.D.

Advent 2021
The Song of Zechariah with the Rev. Javier Almendárez-Bautista
The Song of Mary with the Rev. Javier Almendárez-Bautista

Fall 2021
Episcopal 102: What does it mean to belong to the Episcopal Church? with the Rev. George Adamik

Spring 2021
Family Promise: Helping Families Find Safe, Affordable, Permanent Housing with Carey Phelps, Development & Volunteer Manager, Family Promise

Lent 2021
The Liturgical Year in the Jewish Tradition with Rabbi Ariel Edery, Beth Shalom, Wake County

Fall 2020
Anxiety in the Midst of the Pandemic with Phillip M. Bass, MDiv, ThM, MA, LCMHC, NCC
Resilience – Childhood Trauma/Prevention/Hope with St. Paul’s Resilience Ministry
Faithful Citizenship: Where Do We Go From Here with the Rev. Javier Almendarez-Bautista & Aleta McClenney

These and other recordings are available on St. Paul’s YouTube channel.

Daytime Book Group’s News:

Daytime Book Group

Posted: February 21, 2022

The Women’s Study Group has changed it’s name to Daytime Book Group, to be more inclusive. They meet the second Tuesday of each month at noon via Zoom.

Women’s Study Group (July 13)

Posted: June 24, 2021

The Women’s Study Group will meet again via zoom at noon on Tuesday, July 13, to discuss this marvelous book, Love is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times, by our own Presiding Bishop Michael Curry.

Women’s Study Group (first part of 2021)

Posted: February 9, 2021

The Women’s Study Group will continue meeting on each second Tuesday at Noon via Zoom during the first part 2021. They usually alternate between fiction and non-fiction and read a wide variety of books of interest to women.