Freedom School
Fall Trimester | October 14th – November 18th
Registration for the Fall trimester is now open.
ADULT COURSES
This second part of the curriculum on the “African Bible” will focus on the people that constitute the scope of the Old and New Testaments: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. Specifically, it will concentrate on how people and population demographics shaped the Northeastern African world where Jesus (Jeshua) appeared. For the background, we will use Luke-Acts throughout this study because they represent a particular perspective of “salvation history” that is unique among those writings about Jesus (Jeshua): birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and the emergence of the early “Christian” movement.
Dr. Will Coleman & Rev. Kamaria Byrd-McAllister (Virtually)
In many academic settings, the life and times of Jesus are approached forensically as scholars attempt to distinguish between recoverable historical facts and faith claims that lie beyond historical investigation. In the Church, Christians approach The Gospels for inspiration, instruction, and life application. For these reasons, many have made enemies of scholarship and faith. Together, we will explore how the communities that produced The Gospels attributed to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John combined biblical interpretation with oral tradition and supernaturalism to paint the diverse portraits of Jesus that we have today.
Rev. Dr. Carol Lynn Patterson & MIT Angela Pearson
Seminar Room
Job’s story of tragic loss and abundant blessings is familiar to many Bible readers. Too often, we forget about Job’s wife. She suffered the same problems while trying to support a husband going through a “Dark Night of the Soul.” This course is for you if you are living with loved ones who are coping with a range of medical, mental, and social crises. It can be challenging to connect our faith to the facts associated with life-altering events. We struggle to sense the presence of God when dealing with a loved one’s critical medical condition; our children developing learning differences; or our spouses being depressed. This pastoral care and counseling course will help us cultivate spiritual practices to help us navigate our “everyday” through urgent issues.
Dr. Arthur Pressley
Chapel
YOUTH COURSES
11 am – 12:30 pm (Hybrid)
Recent studies have shown that our world, especially for young people, is becoming increasingly individualistic. We tend to emphasize individual significance and accomplishments instead of communal success and well-being. Ujima, the third principle of Kwanzaa focuses on Collective Work and Responsibility. Ujima is about building and maintaining our community together and making our community’s problems our problems so we can solve them together. This trimester, our scholars will focus on Ujima and the importance of togetherness as outlined in the Biblical text and exemplified in African-American History.
