Adults

Our adult classes offer a welcoming environment that allows everyone to come together to discuss many interesting topics and events. Review the adult education opportunities below for more information.

First Forums

Every Sunday First Central hosts a series of distinguished speakers to lead us in a critical examination of issues in our city, our country, and our world. We meet at 9:00 AM on Sunday mornings for coffee, and begin our discussions at 9:15 AM in the Fireside Room. Topics may include current politics, history, art, or a pressing social issue.

May 20:  Pratt Street Project
Presented by New Life Presbyterian Church.  Are you one of the folks who is concerned about the violence in Omaha and the growing trend of teen involvement?  Have you ever wondered how we as a faith community might be a part of influencing the young people before they become involved in gang and drug activity? Hear how this program changes lives through music, art and reading. Participants who are mentored and tutored through their formative years in this program are college entry material.
 
May 27:  no class
June 3:  Trails Across Nebraska
Presented by Merle McAlevy, member of First Central, and map collector extraordinaire.  A reprise of Merle's presentation at the All-Church Retreat, discussing the mapping and development of the immigrant trails across Nebraska.
June 10: Mapping the Midwest
Presented by Merle McAlevy.  Mapping the rivers, canals, railroads, wagon and automobile roads across the state of Nebraska, and their influence on economic development.
June 17: Internet Safety
Presented by Garret Higginbotham
June 24: A History of Pride
Presented by Michael Cich-Jones
July 1: 150th Anniversary of the Homestead Act
Presented by Bruce Garver, Professor of History, UNO.  This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and of the enactment of the Homestead Act, the Pacific Railroad Act, the Morrill Act.  The audacity of the 37th U.S. Congress in enacting this legislation appears almost as remarkable in retrospect as it did to those Americans who began to implement these Acts and the complementary Habeas Corpus Act of March 3, 1863, in the midst of the most devastating war ever fought in the western hemisphere.    The implementation of these three Acts and the destruction of slavery not only required Union victory in the Civil War but also contributed immediately to that victory by striking at the Confederacy’s dependency upon slave labor, enlarging the agricultural and industrial economy and tax revenues of the United States, tying the states and territories of the Far West to the Union, and stimulating an increase in immigration to the United States Within fifty years of 1862, Americans transformed the trans-Missouri West from a trackless wilderness into a region of commercial farms and industrializing cities.   Comparable achievements on both sides of the Atlantic required the advancement of free labor, civil liberties, compulsory elementary education, corporate enterprise, technological innovation, and state-assisted economic development.
July 8: The Battle Hymn of the Republic, by Julia Ward Howe, on its 150th Anniversary
Presented by Bruce Garver, Professor of History, UNO.  In writing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" during November 1861, Julia Ward Howe adopted the musical score of the Union marching song “John  Brown’s Body” to which she added lyrics in praise of the U.S armed forces who were carrying out God’s judgment in suppressing the Confederacy’s  efforts to destroy the Union and perpetuate slavery.  Her hymn very much embodied the aspirations and religious outlook of abolitionists and feminists of the antebellum era and also articulated many of the finer aspirations of American Puritanism.  Upon its publication in February 1862 in The Atlantic Monthly, the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” became one of the most popular Union songs of the Civil War in part because it explicitly likened the bloody suppression of the Confederacy to God’s punishment of the wicked at the Last Judgment.   .
July 15:  Amistad
Presented by Fred Nielsen, Professor of History, UNO
July 22: Native American Spirituality
Rick Brenneman, a member of First Central who follows a dual path of Christianity and Lakota Spirituality, will lead the first of more-to-come discussions introducing Native American spirituality.  The focus of this forum will be the connectedness between the spiritual self and the many aspects in nature as designed by the one Creator.  This will be followed by a future discussion on the relationship between the individual's spirit and Tunkasila (Grandfather, the Creator, Wakan Tanka, the Great Mystery, God) and helper spirits, and a third on the Seven Sacred Ceremonies brought to the people by the White Buffalo Calf woman.
July 29: TBA
August 5: Atonement: What Does the Cross Mean?  The Historic Models
What can we believe about the death of Jesus and its role in salvation?  Various models for understanding the cross developed in the history of Christianity.  Rev. Dr. Scott Jones will survey the three main views, and their strengths and weaknesses.
August 12: Atonement: Violence, Suffering, and Liberation
20th and 21st century theologians have responded to human experiences of violence and suffering by developing new understandings of God's acts of liberation.  Rev. Dr. Scott Jones will give an overview of recent developments, including attention to nonviolent, black, and feminist theologies.
August 19: Atonement: The Cross for Us
What can we believe about the cross?  Rev. Dr. Scott Jones will attempt to answer that question by bringing together new perspectives on the Bible, real world experience, and guiding theological principles.
August 26: Update on Archival Review of First Central Congregational Church Historical Records
UNO history intern Bethany Proskel will share interesting historical information she has discovered during her research this summer.
September 2:  no class
September 9 - 23: Coping With the Cost of Health Care: How Do We Pay for What We Need?
Rising costs make it increasingly difficult for people to afford health insurance at all, but even those who can afford coverage often cannot keep up with all the costs of a major illness.  How can we get the health care we require in the face of rising costs?  Join us as we explore these questions using a study from the National Issues Forum, a non-partisan organization that provides materials for locally sponsored public forums for the consideration of public policy issues.  The forums provide a way for people of diverse views and experiences to seek a shared understanding of the problem, and to search for common ground for action.  These sessions will be led by Adam Steffen, a member of First Cetnral, with years of experience in the health insurance field.
September 30:  The 2012 Election
Presented by Kent Kirwan, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at UNO