COURSE
DESCRIPTION
Themes
arising out of our lived experience
give impetus to a collective exploration of the relationship
between
sacred and secular, tradition and imagination,
the legacies of faith and the challenges to faithful living
in our 21st century world.
GOALS
AND OUTCOMES
The primary goals of
this course are:
The
primary outcomes of this course are:
- a clear understanding of how and where hope is made
manifest in our times
- an ability to articulate a rudimentary spirituality of hope
- a more conscious awareness of the Divine Presence in our
everyday lives
General
Expectations
Those
taking the course for credit are expected to:
-
read all the books on the course reading list
-
participate fully in class discussions and activities
-
help prepare a class mandala for one of the sessions
-
complete the self-assessment Grade Sheet, which includes
documenting how
course outcomes were achieved
Those
auditing the course are expected to:
On
the day that grades are due, students taking the course for credit
must submit to the instructor either
a Grade Sheet or a signed Incomplete Form (available from the
registrar).
Grades
are due January 5, 2005.
SYLLABUS
OF READINGS
Session
One September
15
The Dynamics of Hope
There
is no required reading for the opening session.
Session
Two September
22
Recovering the Feminine Divine
Reading:
The Da Vinci Code: A
Novel, Brown
Session
Three September
29 The
Way of the Heart
Reading:
The Heart of Christianity, Borg
Session
Four
October 6 The
Jesus We Never
Knew
Reading:
The Gospel of Thomas,
Miller
Session
Five
October 13 Saying
Yes to God
Reading:
I’d Say Yes to God, Reeves
Session
Six
October 20
Stories of Hope
Reading:
The Secret Life of Bees, Kidd
Session
Seven
October 27
Where the Divine
and Human Meet
Reading:
Creativity, Fox
Session
Eight
November 3 Wellsprings
of Hope
Reading:
A chance to catch up on the reading
Session
Nine
November 10
A Hunger for
Wholeness
Reading:
Urgings of the Heart, Au
and Cannon
Session
Ten
November 17
Hope as a Source of Our Spirituality
There
is no required reading for the final session.
The class meets
Wednesdays from 6:00-9:00 p.m. at Hartford Seminary.
“Hope
sends us dancing
around
dark corners
trusting
in a tomorrow we cannot see
because
of the multiple pasts of life
which
we cannot forget.”
Joan
Chittester
Scarred
By Struggle, Transformed by Hope
COURSE
READINGS
Au,
Wilkie, and Cannon, Noreen. Urgings of the Heart. A
Spirituality of Integration. New
York: Paulist Press, 1995.
Borg,
Marcus J. The Heart of Christianity. Rediscovering a Life of
Faith.
HarperSanFrancisco, 2003.
Brown,
Dan. The Da Vinci Code. A Novel. New York: Doubleday, 2003.
Fox,
Matthew. Creativity. Where the Divine and the Human Meet. New
York: Penguin, 2002.
Kidd,
Sue Monk. The Secret Life of Bees. A Novel. New York:
Penguin, 2002.
Miller,
Ron. The Gospel of Thomas. A Guidebook for Spiritual Practice. Woodstock,
VT: Skylight
Paths, 2004.
Reeves,
Nancy. I’d Say Yes, God, If I Knew What You Wanted. Kelowna,
BC, Canada: Northstone/Wood
Lake Books, 2001.
“Hope
that is seen
is
not hope.
For
who hopes for what is seen?
But
if we hope for what we do not see,
we
wait for it with patience.”
Romans
8:24-25
Miriam
Therese Winter