A Time to Grow and Strengthen
Later this month, Lent begins. As most of you know by now, I am not one to holler, condemn and cajole folks into a Holy Life - at any time - let alone during Lent. So many of us carry the heavy baggage of Lents past in which we were asked to be somber, solemn, quiet, penitiential, confessional and repentant. Not that those are bad things to be, but when that's all we emphasize in the faith - for a season like Lent or for all of the year - then we miss some of the opportunities we might take to grow and improve and become the persons God wants us to be.
I hope you will use this Lenten season as a time for serious self-reflection, but also for study, prayer, and a renewed sense of being one of God's beloved children.
To that end, there are upcoming short term classes here at Good Shepherd that you might be interested in. I hope you will sign up and attend!
Living for God through your Gifts and Strengths
I will teach this class on Thursday evenings in February at 7 p.m. In it, we will use the strengthsfinder inventory and a spiritual gifts inventory in order to better understand how God has made us and the ways we can use what God has given us in life, at work, at church and with our families. This is the third time around for this class and previous participants highly recommend it! There is a $15 cost for the book, but don't let the money stop you - scholarships are available.
The Psalms
Dr. David Hogg will teach this class on Thursday evenings in March at 7 p.m. The Psalms are often referred to as the prayer book of the faith - come and explore these ancient poetic texts and learn to incorporate them into your daily life!
Spanish as a Second Language
Ms. Karen Alonzo-Lopez from the OSU Department of Spanish and Portuguese will teach a four session class on Thursdays at 7 p.m. on April 19 & 26 and May 3 & 10. This class will follow up on the SSL class last fall, but you don't have to have attended that one in order to attend this one! During the last 30 minutes of each class, we will engage in conversation with Hispanic students in the ESL classes that run concurrently with this one - it's a little chaotic, but great fun!
I hope to see you all in class!
Peace always,
Dr. Don Wallick
