The only thing to do is to come together and ask “how is God working among us right now?”

Hello all you wonderful beings,

(Friends having a little fellowship time before we started class)

Over the last year and a half I have been blessed to teach two adult religious education classes attended by Friends from Perry City and Ithaca Meetings.

The first class which started in November 2009 was called “The Theological framework for Quaker Traditions and Prophetic Witness,” (nicknamed Quakerism 101 and 202 by those Friends who took it.) This class ran almost every week starting at 9:30 am-10:30 am on Sundays before Meeting at Perry City Meetinghouse, until June 2010.

I then taught “Quakerism and Mystical Traditions: A history of radical theology,” (Quakerism and Mysticism for short) from September 2010 - December 2010. This class was also well attended by Friends from Perry City and Ithaca and met at the same time and place as the class before it.

Both classes where a wonderful experiences for me and I felt blessed to spend time with the Friends who attended.

For 2011 I have felt lead to do something different though. Under the prayerful guidance and support of Perry City Ministry and Counsel I will be offering a series of workshops on spiritual nurture issues.

These workshops will meet at Perry City Meetinghouse at 9:30 am-10:30 am. Some workshops will be single Sunday morning session some might be several consecutive sessions long depending on the need.

A planning session will be held on February 6th at 9:00 am Sunday at Perry City Meetinghouse to solidify the schedule. Workshops should start soon after.

The topics of the workshops will be:

• Meeting For Worship: Deepening the Space
• Fellowship Among Friends: How do We Pray Alone, How Do We Pray Together?
• Fellowship Among Friends: A Community More then One Hour A Week
• Meeting For Worship With A Concern For Business: Deepening the Space
• Greeting The Stranger: Newcomers and Hospitality
• The Many Parts of the Church: Naming of Gifts and the Work of Friends
• How High Is Our Hedge? : Our Quaker Community and Our Secular Communities
• That Still Quiet Voice: Nurturing Vocal Ministry

• Some Quakers Have Pastors: Understanding and Nurturing Community Between Monthly Meetings and Wider Quaker Community

Each workshop will include a brief reading but there will be no required text and no fees. These workshops are designed to be less academic and more prayerful planning sessions where we work together to come up with ways to deepen and nurture our communities around these issues.

For more information about the specifics of each workshops visit my Quaker blog Raised in the Light. If you have any questions feel free to email me at anna.e.obermayer AT gmail.com

Peace and Joy,

A.