Adult Education and Spiritual Formation

Adult Education & Spiritual Formation at Calvary​

Our faith community has a commitment to adult education and spiritual formation.  We believe a part of fostering our faith includes not just loving God with our whole heart, strength and soul, but also with our minds. 

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Phone: 415-346-3832

Upcoming Adult Education & Spiritual Formation Events

Bible Studies

Calvary offers a number of Bible studies for those interested in studying the Lord’s Word, and engaging in thought-provoking discussions about Scripture, faith, prayer, and other similar topics. Group Bible study is an excellent way for people to discuss God’s teachings and what they hold for us in our day-to-day lives and relationships.

Men’s Bible Study, Mondays at 8 AM.
Contact David Barnes at davidbarnes@calpres.org

Women of Calvary Bible Study, Third Thursdays at 6 PM.
Contact Rev. Joann H. Lee at joannlee@calpres.org

The Calvary Young Adults group holds Bible Studies throughout the year.
Contact calvarysf.young.adults@gmail.com

Calvary also has church-wide Lenten Bible studies. Please refer to the events calendar for more information on this year’s study.

Sunday Morning Seminars

Calvary offers Sunday morning classes to feed the brain as well as the spirit. We regularly welcome esteemed speakers that offer both one-time classes and discussions as well as multi-week series. This is a great opportunity to meet other people with similar interests! 

Online Adult Education Resources and Event Recordings

Talking with Kids About the Order of Worship in the Bulletin.

If I visited Calvary for the first time and had not been to church before, I would want someone to help me understand what I was doing throughout the order of worship. This blog provides an example of how some churches annotate their bulletins so children, youth, and adults can learn more about why we choose to read, sing, pray, and listen at certain times during the worship service. Harvey Browne Memorial Presbyterian Church (www.hbpres.net) in Louisville, Kentucky offers a model of how to explain the order of worship. Being transparent about how we worship together is in line with our reformed tradition. We can read and interpret the Bible ourselves, as well as worship and say prayers with our own bodies. Many years ago, a priest would do all of this while the congregation sat or stood. It is important for parents to share with their children that all people have the freedom to contribute to a worship service. By singing, listening, praying, and sharing, we get to know each other and witness each other’s talents and inspiring work. Fellowship and education events are only part of the ways that we form our faith together. Participating in worship is what binds us together each Sunday, so that we can support each other at or outside of church during the week.

Support Trans Kids

Calvary Presbyterian Church continues to support transgender youth and adults. March 2023 is Transgender Awareness Month. We show our continuing support through messages such as, “Trans Lives Matter,” “Believe Trans Kids,” “Support Trans Kids,” and “Protect Trans Kids.” This blog will offer some insight into Presbyterian and San Francisco organizations that actively support and advocate for LGBTQI+ people. I hope that you will take time to read through these resources. There is hope. So many inspired people of all ages are working together for freedom, safety, and love. Now that I am raising two teens I have come to more clearly understand the context and reality that LGBTQI+ youth live in every day. It is crucial to support the growth and development of transgender children and youth who sense that their “gender identity does not correspond with, or sit comfortably with, the sex they were registered at birth.” That is the definition of transgender offered by Twinkl, an education website for children ages preschool to 8th grade. See more definitions at the end of this blog. Transgender children, youth, young adults, adults, and senior adults do not want to be "othered" as they are children of God. We want to believe, support, and protect them, so that they can live safely and freely without fear and shame. When adults do not see or support children or youth as they are, the risks of gender dysphoria and youth suicide increase. God created all of us in Their image. May we have the courage to send out Jesus’ message of love and acceptance to ourselves and all people.

2022 Annual Report

Lent 2023: Coins and Jesus

Lent is a time for you and your child to prayerfully reflect and reconnect with God. Taking a walk to observe changes in nature can reveal the Lenten story. The seed grows in the darkness into a flower blooming in the light. Jesus walks in the wilderness, experiences a harrowing last week on earth, and then is risen at Easter. If you would like to read Lenten children's stories with your child, check out "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle and "Make Room: A Child's Guide to Lent and Easter" by Laura Alary. You are invited to join us on a Lenten journey to deepen our faith and deepen our community as we walk towards Jerusalem in search of new life and resurrection. Calvary's Lenten theme is "The Currency of Christ: A Devotion Through Coins in the Bible. Using excerpts from Jill. J. Duffield’s book Lent in Plain Sight: A Devotion through Ten Objects, we will explore the ways the imagery of coins is used again and again in scripture. In the Bible, coins are precious items to be found when lost; they are sometimes given to God in offering or used as a means to cheat innocent victims. Coins were used to test Jesus and to betray Jesus. Coins symbolized more than just currency in Jesus’s day, and money (in the form of coins, cash, checks, credit cards, and NFTs) continue to play a large part in our own society. How might coins help us experience the holy in our everyday lives? How can these ordinary objects serve as a means of grace or a connection to the divine?"

The Inclusivity of a Church-Wide Art Show

It is my hope that the senior adults who submitted poems, paintings, and fiber art will be witnessed by children, youth, young adults, and adults, but also share their wisdom and encouragement with those folks. I look forward to our second church-wide intergenerational art show. Our first show was entitled “Processing the Pandemic” where works created during or about the pandemic made up the exhibition. In 2023, we encourage artists to show their work under the inclusive title of “All Things New.” This does not mean that the art has to be new, but rather something that is fresh in mind or ready to be witnessed by others. Join us this Sunday, February 12, 2023 at 11:15 am in the Lounge. “All Things New” exhibit will continue until April 12.

2023 Small Group Lenten Bible Study

Contact the Adult Education and Spiritual Formation Team

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