Eden Spiritual Care believes in lifelong learning and growth for everyone.
Seeking to enrich your spiritual life through deeper thinking? Interested in growing through some creative activities and reflective practices? Looking for a safe place to process tough questions? Sign up for an interactive online class that's free!
Free? Yes. In keeping with Eden Spiritual Care's mission of making spiritual formation opportunities widely accessible, classes are funded entirely by generous donor contributions so you can take classes at no charge!
Eden Spiritual Care classes offer more than just videos to watch and suggestions for reading. These classes are interactive, giving you an opportunity to discuss your thoughts and questions in a small group of fellow learners, as well as process with and get customized feedback from an experienced instructor and certified spiritual director. Let's grow together!
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Creating a Rule of Life
A Rule for Life is a collection of guidelines for living. It can also be called a Way of Life. It is an intentional, conscious plan to keep God at the center of everything we do. The first example of a Christian Rule of Life came from the Desert Fathers, a monastic community of mystics living in Egypt around the third century A.D. The most well-known rule is the rule of St. Benedict, written fifteen hundred years ago, which he created to help his community of monks translate their faith into the habits and rhythms of their shared daily life. You don't need to have a monastic lifestyle to benefit from this practice. Learn how to craft a rule of life with prayer and discernment, in partnership with God, as you consider the way God made you and the values God has inscribed upon your heart. What an excellent way to start the new year! More information... Instructor: Chelle Miller Dates: January 3 through January 24, 2024 Weekly group session by Zoom: Wednesdays, 7:00-8:00 p.m. Pacific Time Spaces are limited. Register now! |
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Prayer in Real Life
Let’s face it: Prayer can be difficult and prayer can be confusing. Sure, cultivating a life of prayer might seem reasonable if you’re living in solitude in a quiet mountain cabin, but how, really, do we practice prayer when we’re caught up in the stresses and demands of real life? And does prayer even make a difference? Listen and learn as longtime friends Sierra and Andrea chat with each other about prayer in real life. This “podcast class” is designed to fit into your own real life. Listen to the weekly podcasts anytime during the week, and try the prayer activities on your own schedule. If you’d like a little more interaction, you’re encouraged to journal about your prayer experience and send your journal entry to Sierra for her brief feedback, and set up a one-on-one prayer conversation with Andrea. More information... Instructors: Sierra Neiman Westbrook & Andrea Catlett Dates: Whenever you're ready! This class is accessible 24/7 and has no scheduled components. |
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Spiritual Formation Through Story What are the connections between story and Christ-centered spiritual formation? How do narratives in the Bible, narratives in culture (including novels and TV shows), and the stories we tell about our own lives intersect with our spirituality? How can we intentionally use stories to help us in our spiritual growth? Explore these questions through storytelling exercises, guided study, personal reflection, and creative practices. More information... Instructor: Sierra Neiman Westbrook Dates: TBA (please check back) Weekly group session by Zoom: TBA Registration is closed. Please email us if you would like to hear when this class is offered again. Would you like to offer Spiritual Formation Through Story to your own group? Sierra Neiman Westbrook can bring this course to your organization, community group, or church through videoconferencing! Please email for more details and pricing. |
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Discernment: The Art of Making Good Choices
Some sources estimate that we make up to 35,000 decisions every day. Most of these are routine or commonplace, like the clothes we wear or what we will eat. Most people can make these choices quickly, and they don’t dramatically affect our lives. A few decisions hold more weight and can significantly impact our lives for days, weeks, or years. “Should I take that job?” “Should I start a relationship or get married?” “Is it wise to move or buy a house?” How do we navigate the weightier decisions in life? How do we know that a choice is what God wants? Discernment is the spiritual art of making wise choices. When faced with significant decisions, a host of variables can skew us one way or another. This class will help you navigate the rugged terrain of making wise choices. To do this, we will look at the various means to help us make wise choices that align with God’s desire for our lives. By the end of this class, you will be familiar with various tools that will help you make wise decisions and align your life with God’s desires for you. More information... Instructor: Josh Beaty Dates: TBA (please check back) Weekly group session by Zoom: TBA Registration is closed. Please email us if you would like to hear when this class is offered again. |
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Grieving Well in a World Full of Loss
Live long enough and loss will find you. Grief knocks on our door in many ways. We tend to think of death when we think of grief, but this is not the only loss that activates the grief process. Losses can look like the end of a relationship, the end of a job, moving locations, loss of safety, financial loss, loss of what we expected our future to look like, and so much more. Explore what grief looks like and ways to engage in grief related to losses of all kinds via guided study, personal reflection, and group discussion. More information... Instructor: Justin T. Neiman Westbrook Dates: TBA (please check back) Weekly group session by Zoom: TBA Registration is closed. Please email us if you would like to hear when this class is offered again. |
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Women, The Bible, and Christianity
Who are the women in the Bible? What does the Bible say about women, explicitly and implicitly? How do we make sense of biblical teachings about women in the church, in the home, and in society? Explore these questions through guided study, personal reflection, creative practices, and focused discussion. More information... Instructor: Sierra Neiman Westbrook Dates: TBA (please check back) Weekly group session by Zoom: TBA Registration is closed. Please email us if you would like to hear when this class is offered again. |
