Agape Class

Potluck in July

Burritos y Mojiots as Wes and Summer's house, July 11 at 5pm.

The Holbrook Wadle Family will be providing the fixins for the burritos and mojitos during our July Potluck Party. Bring any sides, desserts, or beverages that go along. Hope to see you!

Evite here: http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?inviteId=ZCYJAUNLEJGQZYCONGTS&li=iq&src=email&trk=aei6

Summer Lessons: Foundations Study!

Don't forget to buy and read The Shack by William P. Young. We will discuss The Shack's theology for the next two weeks (June 28 and July 5). Our discussion leaders are Ann Smith, Hollis Owens and Ana Mares. 

Staring July 12, we will begin the Foundations study. Books are available in class for $20 (we planned one book per couple, but if people want their own, let us know and we'll order more).  We need leaders for the sessions. James and Britta will start us off, and they picked an exciting topic for our first lesson: The Afterlife! James and Britta reviewed the teacher's guides and the CD of PowerPoint presentations and they're very good, so teaching should be easy. Email back your preference of a date (and topic, if you desire) to teach.  We need everyone to teach lessons. Try to sign up for 2 lessons, as each chapter in the Participant's guide lasts two weeks. The teacher's guide even tells you when to stop week one and where to pick up for week two. 

7/12: Foundations: The Afterlife, Part 1a - James and Britta Stanton 

7/19: Foundations: The Afterlife, Part 1b - James and Britta Stanton 

7/26: Foundations: The Afterlife, Part 2a - * need teacher* 

8/2: Foundations: The Afterlife, Part 2b - *need teacher* 

8/9: Foundations: The Bible, Part 1a - *need teacher* 

8/16: Foundations: The Bible, Part 1b - *need teacher* 

8/23: Foundations: The Bible, Part 2a - *need teacher* 

8/30: Foundations: The Bible, Part 2b - *need teacher* 

9/6: tba (Does anyone want to teach the Foundations introduction? There is a teaching guide and slides to go with it.) 

9:13: Andrew Forrest speaking, part I. 

9/20: Andrew Forrest speaking, part II. 

Let us know if there is a specific Foundations study you want to teach after September 20th and what date. We've also got calls in to Kathryn Ransdell, Jay Cole and Tom Downing asking them to teach our class in the Fall.

Upcoming Lessons: June & July

June 21 (Father's Day): Brian Owens will teach about Juntos Servimos, a mission opportunity for all of us.

June 28 and July 5: Ann, Ana and Hollis will teach about the book The Shack by William P. Young.  It's a bestseller, it's fiction and it is widely available in bookstores.  Pop into Barnes & Noble or your local bookstore, buy it and read it.  It's a quick and easy read and will lead to some great discussion for our class.

Later in the summer, we're putting together some speakers and we're embarking on a new book study series.  The class chose the study Foundations by Warren and Holladay (from the church that wrote A Purpose Driven Life).  Books will be availble in class on 6/28 and 7/5 and they are $20/couple (which covers your book and splits the cost of the leaders' guides).  The study comes with two leader guides (with a CD PowerPoint presentation) and has 26 available lessons.  We'll split them into groups and tackle topics when there is interest in each topic.  The topics are:

1. The Bible 2. God 3. Jesus 4. The Holy Spirit 5. Creation 6. Salvation 7. Sanctification 8. Good and Evil 9. The Afterlife 10. The Church 11. The Second Coming

More information about Foundations:

Discover the key that can: 
•strengthen beliefs to change behavior
•lessen your day-to-day stress level
•increase your security in an insecure world
•help you raise your kids with a right perspective on life
•increase your love for and trust in God

Many Christians today live their lives, plan their schedules, and use their resources completely disconnected from what they say they believe. This spiritual disconnect is the cause of so much of the stress and problems in our lives. Foundations is a fresh, innovative curriculum about the essential truths of the Christian faith and how these truths are to be lived out—in your relationships, your character, and your work. Rather than just teaching doctrinal knowledge, this course shows you how to apply biblical truths and implement them in your everyday life.

Upcoming class discussion - Talking About My Generation - Part II

All,   In preparation for this Sunday's "Talking About My Generation - Part II", I'm sending a summary and excerpts from the books that most of this is based on. The first part builds on the discussion we began during the May 17th class while the latter reviews future predictions for our generation in midlife and elder years.

Other attached material you may be interested in reading (if time allows) includes:

-Article on "Workplace Wars", Ladies Home Journal (sent to me by Britta) covers the dynamics of Boomer, Gen X and Milliennial interaction in the workplace.

-Excerpt on Gen X: midlife to elderhood

-Excerpt on Millennials: adulthood to elderhood (there may be some folks in the class more on the "cusp" of Gen X/Millennial)

-Excerpt, Part II from "X Saves the World"

Hope everyone is having a good week! Sue

 __________________________________________________________
Agape Sunday School Classfor couples, engaged or married.

Visit us at: http://agapeclass.typepad.com  First United Methodist Church, downtown Dallas. We meet Sunday mornings at 9:45 in Room G01 (off the Dining Room).

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Garage Sale THIS SATURDAY June 6th

Weather is looking good for this coming Saturday. So the 3rd annual Agape yard sale is on. Please let John Szklarski know if you can volunteer and what time you can arrive.

We plan to open up at 7am so we need some folks to come set up around 6am.

The shed is full but we can make some arrangements if you need us to store stuff before Saturday. We will not be home on Friday night. We're still grilling hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch so please join us if you can.

Thanks John Szklarski johnszklarski@sbcglobal.net 214-370-9720 5527 Worth St

Programming update: May 31 & June 7 CHANGES

Upcoming lessons:

May 24 - Social & Class meeting.

May 31 - 5th Sunday Mission speaker, Andrew Forrest, Associate Pastor of Christ’s Foundry Church. **MEET IN Wesley Hall!**

June 7 - Sue Hounsel, Talking About My Generation, Part II.

Talking about My Generation Part I - lesson materials

All,

 
In preparation for this Sunday's "Talking About My Generation - Part I", I'm sending a summary with a few discussion questions and excerpts from the books that most of this is based on. 
 
The inspiration for the topic came from a recent book that reflects on Generation X coming of age, Jeff Gordinier's "X Saves the World - How Generation X Got the Shaft but Can Still Keep Everything from Sucking". To get free shipping on Amazon I bought another book, Generations 1584 to 2069 which I skipped around with as it was a bit academic. Besides the subject matter interesting me as someone with a social science/public policy undergrad - some of our class discussion was touching on our generation venturing into work/life balance in a deeper way that previous generations, a different approach to parenting, and other common challenges that may tie into a generation focused lesson.
 
FYI - here is a link to the book, if you're interested.
 
If you're short on time, check out the summary. Download Gen X Discussion Summary_Part I for Agape Class 5-17-09

If you have more time and/or interest, there are excerpts from the books attached. The juiciest material is from the Gordinier book (there also happen to be some cuss words in there, hope no one is offended). 

Download Generations_13ers_Youth_thru_Rising_Adult

Download Generations_Overview

Download X_Saves_the_World_excerpt_Part_1

 
I tried to think of more discussion questions but got stumped but I'm confident that with our group a lively discussion will unfold.
 
Look forward to seeing you Sunday!
Sue

May Pool Party Potluck

May 30th at 3p.m. at the Blankenships. Pool Party Potluck. Evite here.

Garage Sale Postponed!

Due to weather concerns the Yard Sale has been postponed until Saturday *June 6th*. If you had volunteered to help tomorrow, please send John S. an email confirming you received this message.

Garage Sale! May 16 DONATIONS NEEDED

Don't forget to bring items to John and Jennifer's house for our annual Agape Garage Sale on May 16 at 7:00 a.m.  They're accepting items now - they'll store them until the sale.  Donations needed!  They'd like donations before Friday.

Programming Notes: May 2009

May 10: Kevin Rice & Paula Moore study of Romans 

May 17: Sue Hounsel teaching Talking About My Generation, part I 

May 24: Class Social & Planning Session

May 31: Sue Hounsel teaching Talking About My Generation, part II

News

Saturday, April 25, at 5:00 p.m. is our potluck at Early and Jessica Denison's home - 4412 Emerson Ave; Dallas, TX (#214.252.1632). Come and enjoy the Bar-B-Q!!

Sunday brint items for Nathan Moore (who is in Iraq) to be sent Monday. If you're unable to be at Sunday School, bring them to the potluck. Items are:

Healthy snacks for Nathan Toys for dogs Candy/pen/paper/notebooks/coloring books (etc.) /soccer balls for children

May 9 is our service project - White Rock Lake Beautification

May 16 - garage sale at the Szklarski's home

Service Project

Our next project is Saturday, *April 11* with the Dallas Ramps Project. This project lasts from approximately 8 a.m. to noon (approx). Those of us who participated last time had a great time and I hope that we will have even more volunteers this time around. I need to provide Dallas Ramps with a headcount this week, please let me know if you are interested. I know that Joe and John are in. Let me hear from all of the other ramp builders. --Kevin

Easter Egg Hunt & Agape Fundraiser!

Hello Agape,

As you all know, the Easter Egg Hunt is scheduled for this Sunday from 12:15-3:00 at Exall Park (located downtown not far from the church). Here are the directions: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=32.7931843+-96.784723

We are collecting $10 from families who want to have their pictures taken with live bunnies. Abel Sanchez from the Voyages class has graciously offered to be our photographer. Here is a list of our volunteers so far: 11:30 - 12:15 - Brian Owens and Kevin Rice (table and background set-up) 12:15 - 1:00 - Michele Blankenship, Katherine Bowen, Kristen DeLeon 1:00 - 1:30 - Ginny Wilson, Paula Moore, ? 1:30 - 2:00 - Sue Hounsel, Britta Stanton, ? 2:00 - 2:30 - ?

If you have not already volunteered, we need help in the time slots with a question mark. Also, we need someone to bring some pretty potted flowers to place around the bench we are using. Summer, any thoughts on this??

Brian and I will be putting together a sheet for families to fill out when waiting to get their picture taken. This will make it easier for us to get pictures in the correct hands. Abel and I will be talking this week about those logistical details.

Am I forgetting anything? My head is cold...

Hollis

This Sunday - playdate

For guys and their kids: This Sunday we'll have a playdate at the Stanton's house. Basketball watching provided and, weather permitting, a trip down the street to nearby Preston Hollow Park. 3p - 6p. We'll have snacks in case the kids get hungry or want dinner. For the ladies (and not for kids!): This Sunday we'll get together for some girl time. A movie has been suggested (nearby theaters include Studio Movie Grill on Royal; Northpark AMC and Angelika at Mockingbird Stn.). Also on the table: group manis or pedis at Hollywood Nails. Ladies, please reply to Britta (brittae@yahoo.com) with your interest and I'll start an email thread of what we should do.