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Quest is the new adult learning program at the Park Avenue Christian Church. It's been designed to stimulate your thinking about religion – your religion and the religion of others – and to inspire us to lives of joy, love, and understanding with all God’s children.
What we hope to do is create a safe and welcoming environment where your questions will be answered and your doubts respected.
    
Some of the notable lecturers and instructors of Quest. From left to right: Bishop John Shelby Spong, Dr. Jeanne Safer, Hussein Rashid, Dr. Deirdre Good, Rabbi Leonard Schoolman.
upcoming short courses
EXPLORING MYTHS AND FOLK TALES
Four Tuesday evenings at 6:30 pm
April 20, 27, May 4, 11
Registration Fee: $100.
Instructor: Rabbi Leonard A. Schoolman
The late Joseph Campbell entitled his most famous book A Hero With A Thousand Faces. His point is that every culture has its own myths and fairy tales. While they might seem different at first glance, they are essentially all the same.
Rabbi Schoolman, long a student of Carl Jung and his studies of the fairy tale, will lead a discussion of popular fairy tales and biblical legends, trying to seek their deeper meaning. The class will read and analyze various classic fairy tales.
The last session will be devoted to a discussion and analysis on the “Binding of Isaac” story in Genesis 22.
Rabbi Leonard A. Schoolman, Quest Director, studied at the Carl Gustav Jung Institute in Kusnacht, Switzerland and in Einsieldn, Switzerland. He was educated at Clark University and the Hebrew Union College, which awarded him a masters degree and a doctor of divinity degree. For 18 years, he worked at the national headquarters of the Reform Jewish Movement in North America.
INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM
Four Mondays at 6:30 pm
April 26, May 3, 10, 17
Registration Fee: $100.
Instructor: Hussein Rashid
Even the most sophisticated New Yorkers know little about Islam. What limited knowledge we do have comes through the media, where facts are often incomplete.
This introductory course will cover the principal beliefs of Islam, the differences between Sunnis and Shiites, the Muslim “Bible” the Qur’an, as well as the idea of jihad.
Class readings will be provided. Ample time will be provided for class discussion and questions.
Hussein Rashid is one of the most sought-after teachers of Islam in the metropolitan area. A native of New York, he earned his undergraduate degree at Columbia University. He is in the final stages of completing his doctorate at Harvard University. In addition to teaching at Quest, he is on the religion faculty of Hofstra University.
THE ART OF SPIRITUAL PARENTING
Three Friday mornings at 10:30 am
April 23, 30, May 7
Free to parents of the Park Avenue Christian Church Day School
Registration Fee: $60.
Instructor: Dr. Kathy Bozzuti-Jones
The word “spirituality” means different things to different people. Studies have shown that many parents feel called to explore the nature of spiritual living with their young children, sensing that this is an important part of a well-rounded life.
Creating opportunities for spiritual expression and growth in children, in the dailiness of life, is both easy and enjoyable. It also has benefits, such as helping children make sense of their experiences, strengthening family ties, and preparing parents for the “big questions” that children will inevitably ask. This will be the focus of the first set of discussions led by Kathy.
The group will also explore how families can live spiritually and ethically, that is, how they can foster compassion, under-standing of others, and an awareness of being part of the world family.
Discussions will be largely in a question and answer format; participants will leave with many ideas and resources to build a spiritual foundation that will sustain families in the crazy, busy New York world.
Dr. Kathy Bozzuti-Jones is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Smith College and the mother of a seven-year-old. After Smith, she earned her Ph.D. at Boston College, with special emphasis on exploring children's innate spirituality. She also studied at Boston University and the OneSpriit Interfaith Seminary in New York. She currently serves as the Director of Children, Youth and Family Ministries at St. Bartholomew's Church in New York and works with children in the St. Bart's Pre-School.
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