Adult Education Hour Topics

Contact the office or check the church bulletin to confirm actual dates and topics.

• The Gospel of John: December 2021 – January 2022
• The Kingdom of God: September – November 2021
• Summer 2021 – Summer book series theme:  “learning to pray”
• Old Testament: September 2020 – May 2021
• Summer 2020 – Summer book series theme: “how to approach the Bible”
• Being Lutheran: January – May 2020
• Psalms: September – December 2019
• Summer 2019 – Summer book series theme: “living as disciples of Jesus”
• A Year in the Church: April – May 2019
• Evangelical/ism?: December 2018 – March 2019
• Background of the New Testament: September – November 2018
• Summer 2018 – Summer book series theme: “spiritual changes in America and how it affects the church”
• The Early Church: April – May 2018
• Genesis: December 2017 – March 2018
• The Ten Commandments: September – November 2017
• Summer 2017 – Summer book series theme: “how to read Scripture in light of contemporary issues”
• The Gospel of Matthew: May 2017
• Estate Planning: April 2017
• The Lord’s Prayer: March 2017
• The Reformation: January – February 2017
• The Apostles Creed: October – December 2016

• In January 2022, we bid farewell to Pastor Ryan and family. After over 5 years with us, he accepted a new call at a church in Wisconsin. Each of our pastors during our history have helped to lead us to God and to shape our journey of faith. All of our pastors are a part of our Zion story, just as we are a part of what God is doing in them after their time with us. God speed to Pastor Ryan and family. He will be missed. We look forward to the next pastor God has in store for Zion!
• On October 5, 2021, Zion entered into a long-term lease with Family Promise of San Joaquin County to convert our under-utilized education building into their day center. They will renovate our building to allow it to meet the needs of the homeless families who are a part of their program. Though we no longer use the building for ministry purposes, this long-term partnership advances the mission of both Zion and FPSJC. We are excited to see what great things God has in store for our building and this partnership. You can see the Facebook announcement at this LINK and you can watch a video of the lease signing at this LINK. To God be the glory!
• In August 2020, after years of hosting special services and holy days together, Zion joined with the Episcopal Church of St. Anne to share a pastor. Pastor Ryan became part-time at Zion and part-time at St. Anne’s. This allows the two churches to split employment costs while pooling resources to continue to serve the Stockton community. The ELCA and the Episcopal Church have been full communion partners since 1999, in which they agree on common faith confessions and are able to share clergy. You can read more about full communion partners at this LINK.
• In May 2020, Zion member Cal Henderson turned 100! The church organized a drive-by birthday celebration due to COVID-19 and the inability to get together in person. We drove by and honked and his family passed out cookies. The Stockton Record picked up the story and made a post about it. You can view it at this LINK.
• In December 2019 our church was featured on the nightly news about our work to address the homelessness epidemic in San Joaquin county. We are one of many houses of worship joining together to support the launch of the Family Promise program in 2020 which supports homeless families. You can see the news article 1 at this LINK and news article 2 at this LINK.
• In March 2019, Dr. David Gillette, Physical Therapy Professor at the University of Pacific, gave a seminar on “active aging” to our church. He discussed the importance of movement as we age and offered resources to the congregation to support a healthy lifestyle. Many members signed up to be a part of Dr. Gillette’s latest research study on motor performance and motor learning using a balance app for a smart phone.
• The weekend of October 28-29, 2017 was a big weekend in the life of Zion. On Saturday evening we held an Oktoberfest where we celebrated the 75th anniversary of our church. There was plenty food, fellowship, and fun. Our Banjo group performed and we perused pictures of Zion’s history.  Afterwards we burned our mortgage! Thanks to the faithful gifts of so many saints along the way, Zion is now debt free! On Sunday after our reformation service we boarded a bus to attend a Reformation 500 service at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Over 900 Lutherans from Northern California joined together to celebrate the reformation in a service lead by our Bishop. Thanks be to God for the continuing reforming of His Church!

• In June 2017, we hosted a free community concert with the Celebration Ringers! They are a high school handbell choir from First Lutheran Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They performed during our regular Sunday morning worship service as well as a free community concert on Sunday afternoon starting at 3pm.  The Director of the Celebration Ringers was the organist for Zion from 1979 – 1984.

• In March 2017 Zion hosted a League of Women Voters event titled “Preventing Gun Violence in Our Community: Shaping Policy with Hope for the Future.” Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs and Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones were two of the presenters followed by a panel discussion with Q&A from the audience. The Stockton Record wrote an article on the even which can be viewed at the LINK.
• In January 2017 the 16th annual Zion Chamber Orchestra Festival held three concerts and was another great success. Each concert had a unique focus from Classical to the Gershwin’s. They played to packed out crowds each night and many people enjoyed both the music and the ambiance our church building provided. We have an entire page on our webpage devoted to the Zion Chamber Orchestra where you can stay informed of both their past and future events, just click the LINK.
• Pastor Ryan was called to serve as our pastor in October 2016. On December 4, 2016 Pastor Ryan was officially ordained into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Sacramento.  There was a very large turnout by members of St. John’s (Sacramento), St. Paul’s (Oakland) and Zion’s (Stockton) congregations, as well as members of the Sierra-Pacific Synod and Ryan’s friends and family.