Listening for the Voice of Vocation as Older Adults
Thursdays
Sept 7 – Oct 12, 2023
4 to 5:15 p.m. (Central time)
Online
There was a little girl, the Gospel of Mark tells us, who was very ill. Her father came to Jesus and implored Jesus to heal her. But before Jesus could get to the girl, the man’s servants came and told the father that the girl had died. Jesus replied, “No, she is only sleeping.” When Jesus arrived at the little girl’s home, he took the child by the hand and said, “Talitha cum. Get up, little girl; you are not dead yet” (Mark 5:22-24, 35-41).
Can we imagine that even now, Jesus offers his hand to us and says, “Get up; you’re not dead yet”?
What if Christ still has need of our gifts, talents, and abilities which have been honed by our years of experience? What might our purpose be now? To answer that question we need to be genuine, honest, and hopeful.
In this six-week study, we will use large group and small group discussions to discover our place in the Kingdom now. What do we know now that we didn’t know in our earlier years? What have faith and experience taught us? Where have we seen God at work in our lives, and what do we have to say to our hurting world?
We will read Parker Palmer’s groundbreaking book on vocation Let Your Life Speak on our own, then gather for discussion on Thursday afternoons at 4 p.m. Central time. (If you have already read Let Your Life Speak, it will be fun to see what we draw from it now.)
In our reading and discussion, we will consider:
- What has my life revealed to me?
- How have I been guided by ways that have opened and ways that have closed?
- What ways are opening to me now?
- How can I see my mistakes as teachers rather than regrets?
- Where do my great passion and the world’s great need meet?
There is no charge for this study, but you will need to buy Let Your Life Speak – available from St. Mark’s Bookstore – www.stmarksbookstore.com – and other retailers. We will use Zoom as our online gathering place; you will need to be conversant (but not an expert) with Zoom.
If you want to be part of this study, send an email to Marjorie George at marjoriegeorge62@gmail.com.
This study is from The Wisdom Years, a ministry of spiritual formation for the last third of our lives. www.wisdomyears.org.
The Wisdom Years 