Our hearts can become overwhelmed by the burdens and busyness of everyday life. Christ, the Bread of Life, desires to feed and soothe our hungry hearts, and only He can do it. Make God the source of satisfying our spiritual and emotional hunger as we find rest in Him. To register call 905 356 4113 …
View course details “You Satisfy the Hungry Heart”
This course will explore the combination of literary and conceptual elements of the most intriguing of Gospels. The gospel displays a wide variety of literary techniques, many associated with ancient drama, and it engages the reader with complex theological issues about how God is known, about what God has done in the life and death …
View course details “Salvific Drama in the Gospel of John”
What is Islam? This course will provide a comprehensive introduction to understanding and engaging with Islamic tradition, practice and culture–and it will thus enable participants to offer answers to this far from straightforward question. In particular, the course will engage with Islam as a living tradition – a vibrant faith that is constantly and dynamically …
View course details “Towards Oneness and Mercy: Exploring the Foundations of Islam”
Don’t we just pick up the Bible and read it? What are various ways of interpreting the text and why do these methods matter? With attention to texts of the Hebrew Bible, this class offers an introductory sampling of different approaches in biblical studies, reading with feminist, disability, African, queer, and childist lenses. Course elements …
View course details “The Joy of Text: Reading the Bible with Liberating Lenses”
The poet Dana Gioia once asked in a book of this title, “Can Poetry Matter?” That question of course begs another question: matter in what ways? We may read poetry for any number of reasons, but this class considers how poetry nurtures, and enriches, our spiritual lives. By our close reading of poems together from …
View course details “Reading Poetry Devotionally: How Poems Nurture Our Spiritual Lives”
The Song of Songs, or “Song of Solomon,” is among the strangest books of the Bible. It is difficult to translate, hard to understand, and impossible to reconcile with moralistic styles of religious belief. The title of the course, “Locksmithing,” alludes to a famous Jewish saying that sums up both the enigma and attraction of …
View course details “Locksmithing: Unlocking the Song of Songs”
The early eighteenth-century British-American philosophical theologian Jonathan Edwards has often been called a “mystic.” Through a selected series of primary and secondary readings, supplemented by presentations and discussions, this course seeks to evaluate Edwards’ place within the mystical tradition, the contours and nature of his mysticism, and his appraisal of how mystical experience was appropriated …
View course details “Jonathan Edwards, the Mystical Tradition, and Revivalism”
All descriptions of the death of members of monastic communities in the Middle Ages have in common that music and song are part of the scenario. Nobody had to die in silence. The community accompanied their brothers and sisters on their last journey with singing. Death and dying are also important subjects in the history …
View course details “Sounds of Death and Mourning: Requiems and Funeral Songs through the Ages”
“Striving for transformation in a personal sense requires unflinching honesty about our own thinking, and a willingness to change our mind.” (Tara Swart) Human transformation and growth are common themes in the Gospels. New Testament conversion narratives tell of people who changed their lives as a result of encountering Jesus or the message of the …
View course details “A Journey of Transformation”
In these challenging times, leaders like you are facing far more than just the day-to-day responsibilities of ministry. As our communities and congregations grapple with disease, division, and disaster, it’s no surprise that you might feel yourself at the epicenter of a storm, with your personal well-being on the back burner. The numbers speak for …
View course details “Burned Out and Overwhelmed: Experiencing God’s Healing Presence on the Ancient Paths”