This is an invitation, not a command. We aren’t here to teach you anything. Rather, we think God has something to teach us – and God often uses God’s spirit to do that. It’s about allowing the Spirit to reveal to us what we have learned in the experiences of our lives and by listening to others of our age about what they have learned. As we engage with books, essays, and even poetry from wise writers, we connect with our souls and go deeper on the spiritual journey. We understand that here we are all teachers and we are all students. There is no one answer.
These short courses usually comprise six to eight sessions. They are ideal for small groups but can also be used individually. They are easily facilitated by a lay person and do not require any additional resourcing on the part of the leader. Commentary and questions for reflection are included for each session. The courses work well for small groups meeting in-person or online.
If you have questions or suggestions, please contact Marjorie George at marjoriegeorge62@gmail.com.
The experience of our years has brought with it clarity and the courage to ask, “What has my life revealed to me? How have I been guided by ways that have opened to me and ways that have closed? And – importantly – how can I gather up those revelations with renewed sight for what God is calling me to do and be now?
This study uses the book Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer
While most of scripture speaks to us, the psalms speak for us. In the psalms, the people praise, they lament, they complain, they beg, they accuse. The psalms are not doctrinal treatises nor sermons. They are poetry and must be read as poetry. In this course we look at six categories of psalms and learn to incorporate them into our daily worship.
This study uses articles and commentary, all included.
To “keep sabbath” is more than strictly following God’s command; it is about jubilant celebration in God’s creation and blessings. Sabbath rest means turning to the mystery of creation in the world and in our own lives.
This study uses The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel.
This is the book that started it all. Sister Joan Chittister looks at 40 aspects of aging – loneliness, memories, joy, fear, and many others – and finds both the blessings and burdens that aging brings us. The best book to begin a study of the late-adult years.
This study uses the book The Gift of Years by Joan Chittister.
This three-week study invites us to travel with the Magi as they seek the revelation given by a new star. We wonder what new road may be calling us forward.
We may have taken many journeys in our lives, but this time we journey as pilgrims. It is the journey of coming to ourselves – stripped down, unencumbered, gently gui ded by God’s spirit through the blessings and challenges of this time of life.
This study uses the book The Soul of a Pilgrim: Eight Practices for the Journey Within by Christine Valters Paintner.
Seven books of scripture (including two from the Apocrypha) offer us wisdom about life – addressing topics such as relationships with each other and with God, why suffering and injustice exist, and what to do about good and evil. We call it the wisdom literature. The Greeks called her Sophia.
This study uses the book The Star in My Heart by Joyce Rupp
What is the invitation of time? Author Christine Valters Paintner calls us to see a different perspective of time – to see time as offering us invitations rather than making demands on us. Paintner encourages us to see time as “sacred.”
This study uses the book Sacred Time: Embracing an Intentional Way of Life
Pilgrimage into the Last Third of Life
We are on a pilgrimage unlike any we have ever known. We can take this pilgrimage with the eyes and mind of the secular world with its determination to ignore aging and dying, or we can take it with “the mind of Christ” (Philippians 2:5).
This study uses the book Pilgrimage into the Last Third of Life by Jane Marie Thibault and Richard L. Morgan.
We are accustomed to being asked, “What are you giving up for Lent? Chocolate? Smoking? What if we gave up instead those things that damage our souls – like anxiety, fear of scarcity, inattentiveness? This Lent study calls us to deeper spirituality.
This study uses the book A Different kind of fast by Christine Valters Paintner.
The Magi, great astrologers from the East, knew the miraculous birth was only the beginning. They intuited that the new star which appeared in the heavens was the opening of a path to something beyond wonder. And they followed, not knowing what would await them. (See Matthew 2:1-12)
We, too, are invited to follow unquestioningly and courageously. God will set a light before us to lead us to a new kind of birth, and we will go home a different way.
This study used a series of essays, reflections and articles, all included.
The Wisdom Years 