Source: Spirituality & Practice
There is a difference, Joan Chittister notes, between age, aging, aged, ag’ed, and ripened. Through this program, Chittister reframes aging and encourages us to discover through reflection and practice what new perceptions and attitudes about growing older can mean for our own lives.
Joan Chittister, now in her 70s, has been a Benedictine nun for 50 years and is the founder of Benetvision: A Resource and Research Center for Contemporary Spirituality. One of their projects was the basis of the S&P retreat Creating a Monastery of the Heart; this monastic movement now involves 7,500 seekers from around the world. Profiled as one of S&P’s Living Spiritual Teachers, Chittister is the author of 40 books, including The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully (see below). For this online retreat, themes she introduced in that book become the launchpads for further reflections by Chittister.
Universal themes to be explored include:
• common challenges such as regret and fear;
• the quest for meaning as the passageway from doing to being;
• time as the crucible of maturity and the advantages of having a beginner’s mind;
• the joys of appreciation, understanding, and choices;
• the satisfaction and serenity of tasting the spiritual dimensions of life;
• spirituality, wisdom, and legacy.
Participants receive:
• 12 emails with links to other course content.
• Video messages from Joan Chittister.
• Additional wisdom, spiritual practices, journal prompts, and creative exercises to ground the teachings in an elder’s everyday life.
This is a glorious spiritual workshop for elders who are ready to complete in themselves all that has been neglected and postponed when they were younger — and it is for anyone of any age who is ready to embrace a vision of elderhood as a blessed time to be fully alive.
(4 CEHs for Chaplains available.)
Learn more about this course and register on Spirituality & Practice
Disclaimer: Sacred Space Online Learning (SSOL) seeks to provide individuals with information about religious, spiritual, or faith-based online resources from a variety of sources. Sacred Space Online Learning does NOT claim ownership over this online course or online offering. Sacred Space Online Learning is also NOT responsible for the accuracy of the materials, the content, the way they are advertised or taught, or the costs associated with this online course or offering. The views and opinions expressed in this online course or offering are those of the creators and/or the persons appearing in the online class or offering. They do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of SSOL, the OFLD, or MCC. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the creator(s) of the given online course or online offering.
Building & Working with Worship Teams with Dr. Marcia McFee (Metropolitan Community Churches)
Runtime: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Presenter: Dr. Marcia McFee (Worship Design Studios)
This webinar will help participants learn who and how to include in worship planning and how to bring the diverse gifts of each team member together to facilitate deeply soulful worship.
REGISTER FOR THIS ON DEMAND WORSHIP WEBINAR
About Dr. Marcia McFee
Learn more about Dr. Marcia McFee
Creative Worship Planning with Dr. Marcia McFee (Metropolitan Community Churches)
Runtime: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Presenter: Dr. Marcia McFee (Worship Design Studios)
For those who have been planning worship for years and want some new perspective and insight, as well as those who may be newer to worship planning looking for how to start, this webinar is designed to be both inspirational and practical.
Register for this online worship course
About Dr. Marcia McFee
Learn more about Dr. Marcia McFee
Reading Queerly (Queer Theology)
We want to take a year of doing this course–and our decades of faith-based LGBTQ work–and distill it down to the basics for you. If you’re looking to reconcile your faith with your queerness (or the queerness of your friends and family), we made this for you. If you’ve got the “acceptance” part down and are ready to dive deeper, to further explore how faith and LGBTQ experiences and issues can enrich each other, we made this for you. And if you’re looking to do that alongside others who know, understand, respect, and support you, we made this for you.
Best of all, this three-part Reading Queerly mini-course is free. Here’s why we made it and what you’ll learn:
- the four types of queer theology
- how to deconstruct oppressive and unhelpful Christian theology and begin to reconcile queerness and Christianity
- how to cultivate a life-giving, powerful Christian faith that is radically inclusive
Learn more about this course and register on Queer Theology
Disclaimer: Sacred Space Online Learning (SSOL) seeks to provide individuals with information about religious, spiritual, or faith-based online resources from a variety of sources. Sacred Space Online Learning does NOT claim ownership over this online course or online offering. Sacred Space Online Learning is also NOT responsible for the accuracy of the materials, the content, the way they are advertised or taught, or the costs associated with this online course or offering. The views and opinions expressed in this online course or offering are those of the creators and/or the persons appearing in the online class or offering. They do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of SSOL, the OFLD, or MCC. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the creator(s) of the given online course or online offering.
Homosexuality & the Bible: My First Time (Queer Theology)
Learn more about Homosexuality & the Bible: My First Time by Brian G. Murphy on QueerTheology.com
Disclaimer: Sacred Space Online Learning (SSOL) seeks to provide individuals with information about religious, spiritual, or faith-based online resources from a variety of sources. Sacred Space Online Learning does NOT claim ownership over this online course or online offering. Sacred Space Online Learning is also NOT responsible for the accuracy of the materials, the content, the way they are advertised or taught, or the costs associated with this online course or offering. The views and opinions expressed in this online course or offering are those of the creators and/or the persons appearing in the online class or offering. They do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of SSOL, the OFLD, or MCC. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the creator(s) of the given online course or online offering.
The Sage’s Tao Te Ching (Spirituality and Practice)
Source: Spirituality and Practice
In his 2000 book The Sage’s Tao Te Ching, William Martin reformulated the heart of each of Lao Tzu’s poetic wisdom chapters into a reflection and insight for the older person in today’s swiftly changing society. For this e-course in Spirituality & Practice’s Elder Spirituality Project, you will receive selections from The Sage’s Tao Te Ching, along with brief comments and practice suggestions by William Martin that will help you discover the quality of “sage-ness” that already exists at the heart of your being. This is a warm and practical way to explore and experience this wisdom tradition.
William Martin is the perfect leader for this focused study of the Tao for elders. He has been exploring the wisdom of this tradition for 40 years and over the past 13 years has written popular books (see more below) that express the message of the Tao for specific audiences: The Parent’s Tao Te Ching, The Couple’s Tao Te Ching, The Sage’s Tao Te Ching, A Path and a Practice, The Tao of Forgiveness, and with his spouse Nancy, The Caregiver’s Tao Te Ching. He is profiled at S&P as a Living Spiritual Teacher.
Learn more about this course and register on Spirituality and Practice
Disclaimer: Sacred Space Online Learning (SSOL) seeks to provide individuals with information about religious, spiritual, or faith-based online resources from a variety of sources. Sacred Space Online Learning does NOT claim ownership over this online course or online offering. Sacred Space Online Learning is also NOT responsible for the accuracy of the materials, the content, the way they are advertised or taught, or the costs associated with this online course or offering. The views and opinions expressed in this online course or offering are those of the creators and/or the persons appearing in the online class or offering. They do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of SSOL, the OFLD, or MCC. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the creator(s) of the given online course or online offering.
InterSpiritual Meditation (Spirituality and Practice)
Source: Spirituality and Practice
InterSpiritual Meditation is a step towards InterSpiritual Wisdom and a foundation for profound peace among peoples of all religions. As an individual contemplative practice, it helps us to cultivate inner peace, wisdom, and compassion that is inclusive of all traditions. As a group process or liturgy, it helps us to create contemplative communities that can include practitioners of many traditions.
This Online Retreat, originally designed to be presented over six weeks, will consist of daily emails covering the seven steps of the InterSpiritual Meditation:
• Motivation
• Gratitude
• Transformation
• Compassion
• Mindfulness
• Meditation
• Dedication
Six recorded audio conference calls will give us opportunities to hear of the experiences of teachers from the Spiritual Paths Institute: Ed Bastian, Kabir and Camille Helminski, Swami Atmarupananda, and Cynthia Bourgeault. A recording of the full guided InterSpiritual Meditation as well as short separate meditations for each of the steps are also included.
Two new books, InterSpiritual Meditation: A Seven-Step Process from the Worlds Spiritual Traditions and Meditations for InterSpiritual Wisdom: Practices and Reading Drawn from the World’s Spiritual Traditions, are also available for an additional charge or are available on Amazon (see below)
(6 CEHs for Chaplains available.)
Learn more about this course and register on Spirituality and Practice
Disclaimer: Sacred Space Online Learning (SSOL) seeks to provide individuals with information about religious, spiritual, or faith-based online resources from a variety of sources. Sacred Space Online Learning does NOT claim ownership over this online course or online offering. Sacred Space Online Learning is also NOT responsible for the accuracy of the materials, the content, the way they are advertised or taught, or the costs associated with this online course or offering. The views and opinions expressed in this online course or offering are those of the creators and/or the persons appearing in the online class or offering. They do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of SSOL, the OFLD, or MCC. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the creator(s) of the given online course or online offering.
Living the Hours (Spirituality and Practice)
Source: Spirituality and Practice
This e-retreat explores two questions: How can these Hours enhance our lives outside of a monastic setting? And how can they be made universal, so that people of any spiritual tradition or no tradition can experience their extraordinary value? Our explorations are based on the premise that practicing the Hours, although rooted in an ancient tradition, can work wonders for restoring our peace of mind and enjoyment of life in a fast-paced world.
When this 18-part retreat was first presented, emails were sent on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for six weeks. (Although for this on-demand version, you can choose your own frequency, we recommend you stick with the M-W-F schedule). The Monday emails introduce the traditional meaning of the Hours, starting with the key pivot points of dawn, noon, and dark. The Wednesday emails give us a chance to expand our consideration and, as the retreat progresses, to introduce more Hours.
Learn more about this course and register on Spirituality and Practice
Disclaimer: Sacred Space Online Learning (SSOL) seeks to provide individuals with information about religious, spiritual, or faith-based online resources from a variety of sources. Sacred Space Online Learning does NOT claim ownership over this online course or online offering. Sacred Space Online Learning is also NOT responsible for the accuracy of the materials, the content, the way they are advertised or taught, or the costs associated with this online course or offering. The views and opinions expressed in this online course or offering are those of the creators and/or the persons appearing in the online class or offering. They do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of SSOL, the OFLD, or MCC. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the creator(s) of the given online course or online offering.
Ways to Pray from Around the World (Spirituality and Practice)
Source: Spirituality and Practice
By viewing prayer practice more expansively, our spiritual lives can be enriched. Cross-culturally, prayer is seen as a way of setting a sacred intention, and through this e-course, you will experience how this is done in different places. This program looks at practices common to many religions, as well as some that are more distinctive to the faith traditions from which they originate.
Lessons delivered via email explore 12 different creative prayer forms, delving into their history, practice, and ways to incorporate them into your spiritual life. Among the practices are altars, despachos, God boxes, mandalas, prayer flags, and treasure maps, giving you a wide spectrum of possibilities to explore.
This e-course was created by Rev. Maggie Oman Shannon, author of several interfaith/interspiritual books (see below), including Prayers for Healing and Prayers for Hope and Comfort, as well as the guidebook The Way We Pray, on which this e-course is based. Her latest book, Crafting for Calm: Projects and Practices for Creativity and Contemplation, will be published by Viva Editions in spring 2012. She currently serves as the Spiritual Director of Unity Spiritual Center of San Francisco.
Learn more about this course and register on Spirituality and Practice
Disclaimer: Sacred Space Online Learning (SSOL) seeks to provide individuals with information about religious, spiritual, or faith-based online resources from a variety of sources. Sacred Space Online Learning does NOT claim ownership over this online course or online offering. Sacred Space Online Learning is also NOT responsible for the accuracy of the materials, the content, the way they are advertised or taught, or the costs associated with this online course or offering. The views and opinions expressed in this online course or offering are those of the creators and/or the persons appearing in the online class or offering. They do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of SSOL, the OFLD, or MCC. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the creator(s) of the given online course or online offering.
A Field Guide to Solitude (Spirituality and Practice)
Source: Spirituality and Practice
This e-course, A Field Guide to Solitude, shows you how to embrace solitude, whether you just occasionally find yourself alone, deliberately take some time to be alone, or live alone (which research also suggests is happening at an unprecedented rate). It is not about renouncing the world. Rather, it is about having a deeper engagement with the world by finding time to be on your own in such a way that it brings you ever closer to wholeness, wisdom, and well-being.
During the course, you will discover ways to tap the experience of solitude for the many opportunities it offers you, including self-realization, creative nurturing, psychological healing, independent travel, improved relationships, attunement to the natural world, coping with aging and death, and spiritual exploration, all of which are vital to a meaningful life. You will also learn about the difference between solitude and loneliness and about some of the perils we face when we find ourselves alone.
The e-course consists of:
• 12 emails with reflections by James Kullander on the many ways solitude is beneficial to our personal and spiritual growth.
• Suggested practices, journal prompts, creative projects, and discussion questions to help you find new insights about the pleasures and perils of solitude.
(4 CEHs for Chaplains available.)
Learn more about this course and register on Spirituality and Practice
Disclaimer: Sacred Space Online Learning (SSOL) seeks to provide individuals with information about religious, spiritual, or faith-based online resources from a variety of sources. Sacred Space Online Learning does NOT claim ownership over this online course or online offering. Sacred Space Online Learning is also NOT responsible for the accuracy of the materials, the content, the way they are advertised or taught, or the costs associated with this online course or offering. The views and opinions expressed in this online course or offering are those of the creators and/or the persons appearing in the online class or offering. They do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of SSOL, the OFLD, or MCC. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the creator(s) of the given online course or online offering.
