NURTURING COMMUNITY. EMBODYING GOOD NEWS. CULTIVATING SHALOM.
Staying in Jerusalem.
Waiting on the Spirit.
Invitation to a Spiritual Formation Journey
September 8 - December 8
Like early followers of Jesus…
… we live in a world that is moving through unprecedented change.
… we’ve been immersed in the chaos and clutter of the Church in transition and the everyday realities of loss and grief. in our time, a global pandemic, economic, cultural and natural disasters of unimaginable magnitude and impact.
… we’ve experienced the Spirit’s transformative, life-giving work as well as deep trauma and pain in ministry.
… we hear Jesus’ instruction to wait with others for the Spirit’s coming.
… we begin to understand the imperative nature of waiting with one another in prayer, in the presence of God, for Spirit power to comfort, heal, help us and empower us anew.
Together we grow--inwardly, outwardly and as community--as we listen for the Spirit, receive healing grace for our wounds, remain open to the power of the Spirit—in us, among us, and through us for the Life of the world. We keep growing forward in this time, our time, to make visible and the WORD being made flesh and blood and moving into the neighborhood.
COURSE OVERVIEW
Neighborhood Seminary invites you to join us for a fall session of Staying in Jerusalem. Waiting on the Spirit. The purposes of this spiritual formation program are three-fold: personal renewal, healing and refreshment, cultivation of communities for spiritual formation, and experiencing models of spiritual practices which can be, in turn, implemented as a source of spiritual healing and community building in the communities/neighborhoods /contexts where participants live and serve.
DETAILS
This invitation is extended only to persons appointed, assigned, serving or retired members of the WNC Conference of UMC as Elders, Deacons, Licensed Pastors, Certified Lay Ministers, persons serving as Lay Pulpit Supply, Extension Ministers.
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An in-person retreat facilitated by Elaine Heath to launch this shared journey will be held on Friday, September 8, 2023, location to be determined.
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A virtual retreat will close our “calendared” time together.
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Between the two retreats participants will gather virtually with a trained spiritual director in small groups for bi-weekly sessions, focusing on experiences with spiritual practices and guided reflections. Times of small group meetings will be determined by information provided by you through online registration. Please identify whether you prefer a weekday morning, afternoon or evening group meeting when you register.
COST
$100 per person for registration only.
1.5 CEUs: $10 paid at registration.
WNCCUMC Board of Ordained Ministry is resourcing this opportunity for spiritual formation so that participants’ costs are for registration only. For additional support for registration fee, contact Kim Ingram at kingram@wnccumc.org.
REGISTRATION
Registration closes August 25, 2023, at 5 pm.
Cancellations must be made by August 25, 2023, at 5 pm.
Registration fee minus $25 cancellation fee will be refunded.
* Questions? Contact Pansy Crumpler,
office.manager@neighborhoodseminary.org.
ABOUT ELAINE HEATH
Rev. Dr. Elaine A. Heath is Abbess of Spring Forest. Her vocational journey includes having served as Dean of the Divinity School at Duke University, and the McCreless Professor of Evangelism at Perkins School of Theology. Much of her research, writing, and teaching in the academy and the church at large, has focused on the new monastic, missional church movement. She is a pioneer in new forms of theological education. In that capacity, Heath served as founding President of Neighborhood Seminary. The author of numerous books, she is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and served in traditional pastoral ministry prior to her academic ministry.
You can find out more about her at:
Contact Elaine at office@springforest.org.
(Source: https://www.springforest.org. Used with permission, 2023).