Adult Programs

Adult Study

The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud

by Armond Nicholi

Sunday mornings at 8:45
January 5 through March 2

In the fall of 2024, we read The Language of God, a book by Francis Collins, a physician and scientist, about how one might reconcile the scientific and the religious world views.  The book we will be reading this winter, The Question of God, is likewise by a physician, Armand Nicholas, who is a psychiatrist.
 
 
In this book, a series of questions about God and human life are addressed by comparing and contrasting what two highly influential, widely written and read authors, C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud, had to say.  In a sense, this book has four contributing authors:  first, Freud, who was fairly consistent throughout his long and active literary life, and created through his many works much of what popular culture thinks of as being the modern understanding of the human psyche.  The next two contributors are both Lewis:  in his early years had an irreligious mindset not dissimilar to that of Freud, but he underwent a thoroughgoing, almost Pauline conversion to Christianity, so that Lewis’ early and later writings amount to two distinct contributions, which the later Lewis himself compares and contrasts.
 
 
The final contributor is Nicholai, who supplements the other authors’ writings with information on their circumstances and observations by their contemporaries of the impact of these worldviews on their lives.  This book overall can be regarded as an empirical record of the effect of Lewis’ and Freud’s writings on society, and of the effect of their beliefs on their own lives: how they found love and dealt with loss.  It does not purport to tell us whether one or the other view of the world is right, or how or even whether their substantially differing beliefs can be reconciled, but rather to show us how these different beliefs led two remarkable individuals to live their lives.
 
 
Steve Black-Shaffer will facilitate the group discussion each week. Please let him know if you have any questions. Books have been ordered and may be available as early as Sunday, December 29. Contact Stacey in the church office, if you would like to participate and need a copy of the book.

Small Groups

Crawford has several active small groups that meet weekly for conversation and devotion.  All are welcome!  If you are interested in a group (or groups!) please contact the church office at office@crawfordumc.org or 781-729-5056 for more details.

Women’s Prayer Group

Tuesdays at 7:00 am in the parlor. Please join us for prayer and devotions using the Upper Room. (Copies available at the church)

Men’s Group

Tuesdays, 8:30 a.m., various locations.  Please join us for prayer, devotions, and coffee.

Thursday Morning Small Group

Start your Thursdays with a cup of coffee with friends over Zoom at 8:00 am!

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 862 7549 1525​, Passcode: 1PsfYF