Adult Education

We hope to foster teens’ and adults’ spiritual development in a variety of ways, such as learning new ways of studying biblical texts, rereading familiar Bible passages to find new comfort and meaning, and exploring ways of bringing Christ’s teaching to bear on our daily lives.

We may occasionally use the Christian education hour for topics and discussion involving the whole congregation, when noted in the bulletin. Classes are organized in such a way that no week is a prerequisite to the following week’s class. Please join us!

SUNDAY CHRISTIAN EDUCATION HOUR:

Christian education classes are held in the Christian Education building’s library Sunday mornings from 11:00 a.m. to noon during the academic year following our fellowship time. You can also attend on Zoom by staying in the Zoom worship service.

Thursdays, January 8 and 15, 7:15 to roughly 8 p.m. in the Parlor. An informal gathering after Thursday Night Dinner to read a chapter or two and then discuss Hannah Reichel's "For Such a Time as This: An Emergency Devotional."

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL IN JANUARY.

Sunday, January 4. "A New High School for Trenton." Members Genevieve King and Bart Kartoz will discuss a new education initiative in Trenton. Genevieve is the development and advancement officer for a new charter high school and Bart is on the governing board.

Sunday, January 11. Jen Ayling, second-grade teacher at Carroll A. Robbins Elementary School in Trenton, will return to us a year later to discuss the successes of our church's mission project to her class and the continuing challenges faced by her students and their (mostly immigrant and Latino/a) families.

Sunday, January 18. Dr. S. Reza Husain, a post-doctoral research fellow at Princeton University, will come talk to us about the history and religious cultures--including Christianity--of Central Asia.

Sunday, January 25. We invite everyone to attend the W.H.A.M. Lay Leaders event, "Will You Be My Neighbor," at Meadow Lakes (Hightstown, NJ), from 2-4 pm. The presentation will consist of two short videos about how the community in Oswego, NY learned to live with the immigrants in their midst, followed by a discussion facilitated by Rev. Rory. Light refreshments served.

Note: The Annual Meeting of the Congregation and Corporation of the First Presbyterian Church of Dutch Neck will be held on Sunday, February 1, 2026, immediately following the regular 9:30 am worship service in the sanctuary.

MORE ADULT EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AT DUTCH NECK

All are welcome at the Centering Prayer Group, which meets from September through June on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month at 7:15 PM via Zoom. For the Zoom link or any questions, please contact Julie Donaldson.

Men’s Bible Study meets every Wednesday morning, 7:00 AM.

The Women’s Book club reads a new book each month and discusses it on a Monday or Tuesday evening at 7:30. Our discussion on Monday, January 19 on Zoom at 7:30 will be about Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win by Jo Piazza.

Retreats: Men’s Retreat at Johnsonburg Camp & Retreat Center in Frelinghuysen February 17 - March 1, 2026. All Church Retreat at Johnsonburg, April 17 - 19, 2026. Women’s Retreat at St Joseph By the Sea in Mantoloking October 23 - 25, 2026.

Resources from our classes

Faith and Civic Engagement

The Barmen Declaration (German Confessing Church in 193s)

Reclaiming Jesus: A Confession of Faith in a Time of Crisis (February 2018)

President Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation (October 1863)

Disability Justice in the Church

Amy Kenny’s My Body Is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church

The Golden Rule

Ken Howard’s collection of the Golden Rule in Various Faiths and Belief Systems

Facing Racism

The vocabulary of racism/anti-racism, led by Lulu Huber . Read the slides for the class.

PCUSA’s church-wide anti-racism policy, “Facing Racism: A Vision of the Intercultural Community.”