Spiritual Wholeness

There are many paths to spiritual wholeness. This course will examine one of them: that we become spiritually whole by creating and maintaining connections to the Divine, to self, and to others. Together we will explore the ways in which each of us forges and maintains these important connections.

Using Kate McNally’s Quaker Quicks book A Simple Faith in a Complicated World as a framework, we will begin by examining the ways in which we find and maintain a connection to the divine, whatever name we choose to use for that.

In examining our connection to our true self, we will each explore our strengths and our weaknesses to see how they interact, and to come to truly know ourselves.

We will then examine the notion of perfection, noting that the original meaning of “perfect” was not “flawless”, but “complete”. Accepting our weaknesses, our imperfection, can open us to connecting to others, and that connection in community can help us to become complete, perfect.

Before each of the four main weekly live sessions, participants will be asked to read a few pages of “A Simple Faith in a Complicated World” and engage in some personal reflection on the topic for the week ahead, to prepare for the group discussions.

Kate and the participants will gather again on [date] to review how they have been able to apply the insights from the course in their everyday lives.

Note: participants will need access to a copy of “A Simple Faith in a Complicated World” before and during the course. Copies may be available to borrow in meeting house libraries; it can also be bought from The Quaker Bookshop or other suppliers.

Extract from a review of A Simple Faith in a Complicated World: “The heart of [Kate’s] faith is love – for one another and for ourselves, with all our imperfections. This book has much food for thought and is a joy to read.” Diana Lampen, Quaker peace educator.

There will be some material to look at before the first session. We will email you around one week prior to the course with information about accessing the course, including this material, on our online learning platform (Moodle).