Good morning…
It is as if we have endured two long years of winter, holed up inside this worldwide pandemic. Signs of spring are starting to show. Buds of new life are bursting free.
As many of you know, for years we have hosted at Northside Church our annual Women’s Lenten Communion Service the Tuesday night before Ash Wednesday. Since 2007 (minus 2021), we have packed out a sacred space in the church to glean inspiration from a seasoned woman in our own community. With COVID numbers rising at the time we needed to finalize this year’s gathering, we decided that “packing out the space” felt too risky. Unplugging from the possibility, we cancelled our speaker who, as it turns out, felt relief due to her own physical vulnerabilities.
We dropped the tradition for another year, giving God space to breathe.
Then a really weird thing happened. We experienced great difficulty getting copies of the book had God spurred me to teach in our home, Sacred Threshold: Crossing the Inner Barrier to Deeper Love. Ordering thirty copies in early December, by late January only a small handful had trickled in. I was nudged to personally reach out to the author, Paula D’Arcy, who sent us the last twelve copies she had in her Austin, Texas home. While we were trying to find our way through this book fiasco, I ordered a copy of Paula’s newest book Winter of the Heart: Finding Your Way through the Mystery of Grief. I thought our classes might need to switch over to this readily available book. I loved the concise and captivating read, but I figured it was too short to fill our whole semester.
Then the Spirit dawned in me a new idea. Why not teach Paula’s Winter of the Heart over this Lenten season, in a bigger room, creating a spacious round table setting with a smaller group of women? We have worked out the learning opportunity with chef Rick at our church, and here are the details of God’s welcoming invitation.
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Women’s Lenten Lunch and Learn Series
Four Wednesdays in March – 11:30 am to 1:00 pm – in the Faith and Arts Center at Northside Church
As we climb out from our two-year, hard-and-holy hibernation, let’s explore together the wisdom of Paula D’Arcy’s Winter of the Heart: Finding Your Way through the Mystery of Grief. What have we lost and what have we gained? During this season of Lent, we walk with Jesus, a man of sorrows who was well acquainted with grief, as he paves the way to our own personal cross, frees us from our tomb of timidity, and invites us to embody the resurrection power of the living Christ.
Cost: $50, includes book and lunch each week.
3/2 Welcome, introduce study and hand out books
3/9 No Class – Spring Break
3/16 Discuss Introduction, Chapters 1 & 2
3/23 Discuss Chapters 3 & 4
3/30 Discuss Chapters 5, 6 & 7
Prayerfully consider this opportunity and register at your earliest convenience: https://northsideyouth.wufoo.com/forms/x92toxs1edthlz/ I encourage you to personally invite any women God lays upon your heart, friends who are also finding their way through the mystery of grief.
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You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy, (John 16:20b, NIV).
…Sue…
P.S. For those who are unable to join us in person, purchase your own book and enjoy an audio recording of our interactive lesson posted each week.
