ADULT SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

"You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body."

                                                                                           -CS Lewis 

 

AROUND GOOD SHEPHERD:

 Every Sunday, on the back of our church service bulletin, is the Vestry's mission statement which begins, "We seek to be a Vestry that nurtures spiritual growth of Christians by..." Such is Good Shepherd's commitment to helping you on your spiritual journey.

To help carry out this goal, we offer a variety of ways to further your Christian formation and spiritual development. Our congregation is varied and we have found it to be most meaningful if we try to offer something for everyone. We try to accomplish this by developing many small intimate groups which come together for a program of a determinate length, then break apart to regroup over a different topic. We also offer programs for people who are in different places in their spiritual journeys - the explorer of faith, those interested in building a strong foundation of Biblical facts, those being sent out to pray or other supportive or apostolic roles.

The best places to find current information on what is being offered are here on our website, in our monthly Shepherd Staff's newsletter (in the Christian Formation/Adult Spiritual Development section), and every Sunday in the BlueSheet which is part of our service bulletin. Most of our programs fall into the categories listed below:

One-time commitments
We have a wide variety of one time offerings; some are repetitive such as opportunities to walk and pray our Labyrinth, and the Not-Too-Serious (N2S) Book Group discussions. Other one day events include: Lenten and Advent one day retreats, one day events with special speakers, and our occasional Potluck and Presentations after church services on Sunday.

Short-term programs
These programs run for a specified number of weeks and include most of our Bible Study programs, the Serious Book Discussion Group, our Lenten Programs, small group programs, and Connect?.

On-going Programs
Ongoing programs meet throughout the year, some weekly and some every other week; you may join these at any time. These include the Men's Breakfast Group, Spiritual Parenting, Aging Parent and Caretakers Group, and Spiritual Support for Parents of Special Needs Children.

Personal Spiritual Growth Opportunities
We also offer information from various sources to help you grow spiritually on your own through such things as: Lenten and Advent Meditation Books (which will be sent to you), Day-By-Day meditations (available in the Parish Hall), various Diocesan programs such as retreats at The Society of Saint John the Evangelist and Adelynrood, EFM (Education for Ministry) which is offered at nearby churches.


AROUND THE DIOCESE
The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
Courses offered by the diocese can be found at www.diomass.org .

SSJE (Society of Saint John the Evangelist)

The SSJE monastery (yes, there are Episcopal monks and nuns, too!) is located in Cambridge near Harvard Square.  You can get more info about these programs at www.SSJE.org.  Their programs fill up very quickly, so you need to sign up early.   


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