January 13 - February 20, 2008
(Please consult individual course descriptions for times and starting dates.)

Theme Courses marked with this symbol (at left) are directly related to the theme for the 2007 - 2008 year Changing Times...Changing Seasons, which focuses on Daniel 2:21.

Bible

B119 • New Testament Part I: The Gospels
Randolph L.C. Weber
Sundays, 9:30 am - 10:45 am
January 13 to February 10

Church History

CH106 • History of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church
Eric C. Daniels, Charles Dougherty, Dale W. Hansen, Mary Rose Main
Wednesdays, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm (January 23, 30, February 13, 20)
Sunday, 1:00 pm (February 17)

This class will encompass the history of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church (FAPC) from its founding in 1808 until this year, its bicentennial year, and will be taught by various individuals with expertise in different aspects of this history: the history of the church itself; the architecture of the Cedar, Duane, and 5th at 19th Street churches; the senior pastors; the history of music at FAPC; and the architecture of our current church at 5th Avenue and 55th Street, viewed from both the interior and exterior of the church.

Handouts will be provided.
 
CH219 • Religion in the City: Exploring New York
Dale T. Irvin
Sunday , 11:15 am - 12:30 pm
January 13 to February 10

One of the most remarkable aspects of New York City is its vibrant religious life. This course will open up some fresh windows upon this urban religious experience. We will explore how religion is integrated into the overall fabric of the City through its diverse peoples and cultures, look at some of the diverse forms Christianity in particular is taking today, and seek to discern what the future of religion might be in New York. Come prepared to learn about the City in new ways.

Selected readings will be provided at the first class.

CH220 • Revivals and Awakenings in America: From the Puritans to the Second Great Awakening
James H. Moorhead
Mondays, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
January 14 to February 11 (4 weeks)

Throughout American history, periodic revivals have both reinvigorated churches and created controversies within them. Awakenings have also played a major role in addressing the social and cultural issues of their times. This course traces these themes from Puritanism through the Great Awakening of the 1740s. The course concludes with an examination of the Second Great Awakening, a collection of diverse revivals usually dated from around 1800 to the 1830s when raucous camp meetings flourished and evangelists inspired some and infuriated others by employing controversial techniques and by associating revivalism with the antislavery cause.

Book: William G. McLoughlin, Revivals, Awakenings, and Reform, University of Chicago Press. 1978, $19.

CH222 • The Marriage of Faith and Power
Nancy Gibbs
Tuesday, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
February 12

We will discuss the opportunities and risks that arise when religious figures are drawn into political life, with a focus on the unprecedented presidential ministry of the Rev. Billy Graham. What do the powerful need from a pastor? What are the challenges of a ministry that provides both public blessing and private witness? What temptations do both politicians and pastors face when they form an alliance? What has changed over the last fifty years in the way faith and politics are knit together in American life?

Literature and the Arts

LA101 • Creative Writing
Emily Dunlap
Second and Fourth Tuesdays, 4:00 pm - 5:15 pm
January 8, 22 and February 12
Continuation of the course begun in Term 1 (see here).

Class is limited to 12.

One fee for the year: One material fee is charged whether entry is in September or April.
 

LA240 • If Music Be the Food of Love, Play on: How Music Changes Lives
Eugenia Oi Yan Yau
Wednesdays, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
January 16 to February 13

This class will explore all kinds of music that surround us locally as well as globally. Discussions will focus on how music moves and changes through time and place, and how it connects with human experiences such as ritual, politics, and identity.

Class Size: 20

Practical Theology

PTCL121 • How Christians Vote
Michael C. Coniaris and Karinne M. Hernandez
Mondays, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
January 14 to February 11 (4 weeks)

As the Iowa Caucus kicks off the race for the presidential nomination, this class examines Christian voting patterns. What are the main issues of Christian voters? Which candidates are they likely to vote for? Are there other factors in play that determine their worldview? What trends come into play when considering their vote? What are the candidates doing to cater to them? This class will use academic research and polling data to help answer these questions.

PTCL212 • Speaking the Truth in Love: Giving and Receiving Feedback and Criticism
Daryl Hall
Saturday, 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
January 26

This practical skills course explains how you can tell people the truth and maintain a wonderful relationship. The course covers: What is effective feedback; When should feedback be given; How to give feedback effectively; How to request changes in behavior that empowers the person hearing the request; How to receive and manage feedback; and How to foster God’s ministry on earth with feedback. This course will include case studies, discussion, and skill practice, including skills learned in PTCL211. Please bring a brown bag lunch; coffee and tea will be provided.

Class size: 20

PTCL213 • Conflict Management: Caring Conduct + Creative Resolution
Daryl A. Hall
Saturday, 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
February 9

“Conflict” conjures up unpleasant feelings, the possibility of unhappy outcomes, and relationships that are permanently damaged. Like many other day-to-day living skills, conflict management skills can be learned so that the outcomes provide mutual advantages to all parties involved. This course will use case studies, discussions, interactive exercises and skill practice. Outcomes from the course include identifying: Common causes of conflict; The pluses and minuses of conflict and fighting; Your preferred conflict management style; Eight steps to managing conflict; and Five conflict management responses (analysis of situations for applicability). Please bring a brown bag lunch. Coffee and tea will be provided.

Class size: 20

PTCL258 • Women’s Winter Sabbath
Katherine C. Dunn
Friday, January 18, 6:00 pm - Saturday, January 19, 4:00 pm
Stony Point Conference Center in Stony Point, NY

This overnight retreat will provide women with a Sabbath experience of rest and renewal, as we study and reflect together on the Book of Ruth and explore themes of friendship and covenant. Bible study, worship, and times for personal meditation and reflection will all be a part of our retreat experience, as well as opportunities to get to know and interact with other FAPC women in a fun and relaxing environment. Be sure to sign up early.

Retreat Size: Limited to 60

In addition to the registration fee there is a $5 retreat incidental fee as well as the following fee for housing. Rooms will be reserved on a first come, first served basis. Fees: Gilmore Sloane House, $110 each (double occupancy) and $140 (single occupancy); Lodge, $ 90 each (double occupancy) and $ 115 (single occupancy)

PTCL291 • A World in Need: Health Care and Human Rights
Holly Atkinson, Oliver Fein, Joseph J. Fins, Daniel W. Fitzgerald, Antonio M. Gotto Jr., Pablo Rodríguez del Pozo, Carol Storey-Johnson
Saturday, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
February 2

Poverty has been called the world’s biggest health problem. What is the role of doctors, who have the privilege of serving society, in response to such problems? This interactive workshop will explore questions of physician responsibility and medical ethics, with emphasis on the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Caribbean. Is health care a human right? Are the principles of medical ethics universal or culture-specific? What responsibility do pharmaceutical companies have in making medicines available to the world’s poor? Is there an obligation to provide quality health care in regions of armed conflict? What role should physicians play in protecting refugees and victims of torture? You will be able to discuss these and other pressing issues with Dr. Gotto, Dr. Fins, and a panel of Weill Cornell experts.

Theology

T340 • Using Science to Study Religion
Andrew Rick-Miller
Tuesdays, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
January 15 to February 12

What’s going on in the brain when we pray? Is faith good for our health? What can we learn about virtues like forgiveness and altruism by studying them with the tools of science? What do we know about the origins of a religious sense in humans? Increasingly, science is being used as a tool to help us study religion. In this course we will look at some ways scientists are investigating religion. No scientific expertise is required.

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