There are several opportunities at Walnut Creek UMC for study and learning. In addition to weekly studies, we also do studies based on a book or designed around the pastor’s sermon series. There are also several special seasonal studies throughout the year, including the season of Lent and the season of Advent.
For more information on all of our studies, please contact the front office.
Spiritual Formation Class – Sundays at 1:00 p.m.
The Spiritual Formation class is currently meeting via Zoom on Sundays at 1:00 p.m. for an hour. We are currently studying Sacred Resistance, A Practical Guide to Christian Witness and Dissent, by Rev. Ginger Gaines-Cirelli, the senior pastor at Foundry UMC in Washington DC.
More about the Sacred Resistance, A Practical Guide to Christian Witness and Dissent group study
In the midst of polarized communities and nations, religious leaders across the theological spectrum are seeking help with how to respond and lead in troubled times. The need for courage to speak out and act is ever-present, because every generation faces a new set of fears and troubles.
Author Ginger Gaines-Cirelli pastors a church in the heart of Washington DC, adjacent to the White House, which actively works to bring justice and help for marginalized communities, refugees and immigrants, and the endangered earth. She inspires and leads this work through preaching and by organizing and developing strong leaders, deeply rooted in a well-developed theological understanding. Pastoral warmth and compassion characterize the recommended practices.Sacred Resistance addresses these questions, among others:
- When Christians see that something is wrong in our nation or community, how and when should we respond?
- When we see multiple instances of ‘wrong’, how do we choose which ones to address?
- How can pastors and other leaders faithfully take risks without violating relationships with the congregation or denomination?
- What historical, biblical, and theological safety nets can be relied on?
- How can we take care of ourselves and one another, so that our ministries and lives are sustained?
UMW Book Study – Mondays at 3:00 p.m.
The United Methodist Women of WCUMC sponsor a book study, open to all via Zoom, on Mondays starting at 3:00 p.m. for an hour. We study books of spiritual or social significance. After a study on exploring the book Finding Peace in an Anxious World by Erin James-Brown, we are now studying John Lewis’s book, Across That Bridge.
More about the Across That Bridge study group
In Across That Bridge, Congressman John Lewis draws from his experience as a prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement to offer timeless wisdom, poignant recollections, and powerful principles for anyone interested in challenging injustices and inspiring real change toward a freer, more peaceful society.
The Civil Rights Movement gave rise to the protest culture we know today, and the experiences of leaders like Congressman Lewis, a close confidant to Martin Luther King, Jr., have never been more relevant. Despite more than forty arrests, physical attacks, and serious injuries, John Lewis has remained a devoted advocate of the discipline and philosophy of nonviolence. Now, in an era in which the protest culture he helped forge has resurfaced as a force for change, Lewis’ insights have never been more relevant. In this heartfelt book, Lewis explores the contributions that each generation must make to achieve change.
Bible Study, the Book of Job – Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m.
Is God impulsive and unpredictable? Does God ever cause evil to happen? If not, how can evil be explained if God is good and has unlimited power and authority? The Bible tells us that there was no one more pious, blameless and upright than Job… and yet God allowed him to be terribly tested by the Satan, the one called the Adversary. Join with us Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. for a Zoom study of the book of Job. All are welcome!
Seasonal Study on White Fragility – Thursdays at 7:00 p.m.
This book study is lead by Walnut Creek UMC Senior Pastor, Colin Kerr-Carpenter. White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin DiAngelo, is a New York Times best-selling book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality.
More about the White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism group study
Encouraged by the Black Lives Matter movement, we are at a precipice in addressing and overcoming our racism so that we can be about building the kin-dom of God in our day and time. In this “vital, necessary, and beautiful book” (Michael Eric Dyson), antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and “allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people’ (Claudia Rankine). Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.
Bead and a Prayer – Fridays at 1:30 p.m.
Come and discover the holiness of your everyday life! Bead and a Prayer Study Group is currently meeting via Zoom on Fridays at 1:30 p.m. The current book is entitled Liturgy of the Ordinary–Sacred Practices in Everyday Life, by Tish Harrison Warren.
More about the Liturgy of the Ordinary–Sacred Practices in Everyday Life study group
In the overlooked moments and routines of our day, we can become aware of God’s presence in surprising ways. How do we embrace the sacred in the ordinary and the ordinary in the sacred? Framed around one ordinary day, this book explores daily life through the lens of liturgy, small practices, and habits that form us. Each chapter looks at something―making the bed, brushing her teeth, losing her keys―that the author does every day. Drawing from the diversity of her life as a campus minister, Anglican priest, friend, wife, and mother, Tish Harrison Warren opens up a practical theology of the everyday. Each activity is related to a spiritual practice as well as an aspect of our Sunday worship. Come and discover the holiness of your every day.