
Spiritual Exploration Classes
Our classes and workshops are distinguished by openness and a commitment to deepening spiritual experiences. Available classes and descriptions are listed below.
Our classes and workshops are distinguished by openness and a commitment to deepening spiritual experiences. Available classes and descriptions are listed below.
Have you ever asked the question: “What can I personally do to recognize my white advantage and become more antiracist? I really care about this, but I don’t know where to begin.”
Whether you’ve been involved in racial justice issues your entire life, for a couple of decades, or just a few months, the podcast series “Seeing White” is a superb way to familiarize yourself with how the concept of whiteness has shaped our nation.
All Plymouth members are invited to listen to this series at their own leisure and to then join a Zoom discussion focused on each episode.
Co-sponsored by Racial Justice Initiative
14 sessions (total)
Podcasts may be listened to individually, and join a group Zoom discussion once a month.
Registration for the podcast or discussions is not required, and you do not need to attend every session.
Classes will be held via Zoom, Free
7:00–8:15 p.m. January 26, February 23, March 23, April 27, May 25, June 22, July 27, August 24, September 28, October 26, November 23, December 28, and January 25, 2022.
Zoom Discussion and Podcasts Podcasts and the link to the Zoom discussions are available on the Plymouth website at /www.plymouth.org/act/advocate/rji/ |
By Austin Charming Brown, sponsored by The Racial Justice Initiative.
Austin Channing Brown’s has book is filled with stories pulled from her own life that illuminate the experiences of many Black Americans. She shares what it is like to navigate not just this country’s deep issues with race but also her experience as a Black woman working in a white religious institution.
Co-sponsored by Racial Justice Initiative
Facilitators: Ann Manning, Jean Kennedy, Shirley Rutherford
Contact Barb Iverson
barbiverson100@icloud.com (612) 309-3941
Your choice of one of 3 sessions.
January 13, 10-11:30 a.m., January 17, 11:30 a.m. -1 p.m., January 18, 6:30-8 p.m.
We will use a structured approach to study issues of racial injustice and immigration, particularly the intersections. Participants will prepare for each discussion session by reading a book or article, watching a documentary, or listening to a podcast. Sessions will provide opportunities for sharing, learning, and reflection. These sessions are intended to help participants nurture their capacity to love by cultivating their best selves. Ultimately, we hope participants will be inspired to work for human rights and serve people in need.
Co-sponsored by the Racial Injustice Initiative and the Immigrant Welcoming Working Group
6 Discussion Sessions
Wednesdays
Details by session
January: Listen to 1619, a podcast from the New York Times (five episodes, approx. 30-40 min. ea).
February: Watch PBS 4-part series Reconstruction; Watch Against All Odds: The Fight for a Black Middle Class (1-hr news program on PBS)
March: Read What is Owed: Is It Time for Reparations? by Nikole Hannah-Jones available in the New York Times Magazine, June 30, 2020
April: Read Separated by Jacob Sobaroff
May: Watch Netflix series Immigration Nation (6 episodes, approx.. 1 hr ea.)
June: Read How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
Facilitators: Nancy Siska and Seth Patterson, Minister for Spiritual Formation and Theater
Contact: Nancy Siska
6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 27; Feb. 24, Mar. 24, Apr. 28; May 26; Jun 23
This continuing monthly group explores practices and insights for living a fully embodied Gospel. We read both classic and contemporary teachers of the progressive and contemplative Christian traditions, and may also connect with perspectives from other wisdom traditions as a way of deepening our own journeys. While primarily a book study group, we are open to a variety of formats and resources for our shared learning (i.e., podcasts, magazine articles, recorded talks/sermons). Examples of past titles are Immortal Diamond by Richard Rohr and Light of the World: A Beginner’s Guide to Advent by Amy-Jill Levine. New members are always welcome. For the title being studied each month, contact Chris Lance (clance730@gmail.com).
Co-sponsored by Plymouth Contemplatives
Classes will be held on Zoom, Free, Ages 15+
5:00–6:30 p.m.
Jan. 10, Feb. 14, Mar 14; Apr. 11; May 9; Jun 13
“Learning to Walk in the Dark” provides a way to find spirituality in those times when we don’t have all the answers. Barbara Brown Taylor has become increasingly uncomfortable with our tendency to associate all that is good with lightness and all that is evil and dangerous with darkness. Doesn’t God work in the nighttime as well? Barbara Brown Taylor argues that we need to move away from our “solar spirituality” and ease our way into appreciating “lunar spirituality” (since, like the moon, our experience of the light waxes and wanes). Through darkness we find courage, we understand the world in new ways, and we feel God’s presence around us, guiding us through things seen and unseen. Often, it is while we are in the dark that we grow the most.
With her characteristic charm and literary wisdom, Barbara Brown Taylor is our guide through a spirituality of the nighttime, teaching us how to find our footing in times of uncertainty and giving us strength and hope to face all of life’s challenging moments. Beth’s facilitation style is relaxed and conversational, and she looks forward to great conversations as together we move through an extraordinary time that has had many of us feeling lost and alone.
Classes will be held on Zoom, Free, Ages 15+
10:30 a.m.
NEW DATES!
Feb. 8, 15, 22
Dr. Kimmerer presents this book as a gift of braided stories “meant to heal our relationship with the world” by weaving together the three strands of “indigenous ways of knowing, scientific knowledge, and the story of an Anishinabekwe scientist trying to bring them together in service to what matters most.” That is, the necessity for humankind to be rejoined with its relationships to nature, and to understand the implications of the Earth’s gifts and our responsibility to return these gifts. The book is filled with poignant stories of the natural world and of loss and a hopeful challenge to humankind to restore the gifts of Mother Earth and the balance that once was.
Co-sponsored by Climate and Environmental Justice Committee
Facilitators highly recommend purchasing book AND a braid of sweetgrass at native-owned Birchbark Books, mail or curbside delivery, http://birchbarkbooks.com.
Classes will be held on Zoom, Free, Ages 15+
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Wednesdays, Feb. 3,10,17,24 March, 3,10
We will explore spirituality and living fully in our later years. This class encourages participants to harvest life experiences that molded them and embrace the role of the spiritual elder in our families and communities. Through journaling, reflection, and discussion in dyads, we will create new paths for authentic living as elders. Co-sponsored by the Mortality Project.
Classes will be held on Zoom, Free
6 p.m. -8:30 p.m.
February 25, March 4, 11, 18, 25, April 1
This course presents the basic theological principles and method of Centering Prayer which is a form of Christian meditation now practiced worldwide. There are 2 sessions of centering prayer as well as brief presentations on the why, how, and purpose of Centering Prayer. (Participants are encouraged to attend follow up sessions of “Centering Prayer in Practice”
Classes will be held on Zoom, Free
8:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
1 session, March 6
3.5 hours
The follow-up sessions to the “Introduction to Centering Prayer” encourage the participants to continue the prayer in their daily lives and is a chance to ask questions and glean a deeper understanding of the prayer. There are videos followed by a discussion.
Classes will be held on Zoom, Free
TBD
All spiritual journeys must be rooted in something, and Plymouth Church’s is rooted firmly in the city of Minneapolis for over 160 years. Using Tom Weber’s excellent book Minneapolis: An Urban Biography as a guide, this class will explore forces influencing the formation and growth of Minnesota’s largest city. We will especially focus on the ‘whiplash’ moments that have created a city of opposing realities. Mr. Weber will join us for discussion at the final class.
Classes will be held on Zoom, Free
4:30 p.m. -6 p.m.
April 8, 15, 22, 29, May 6