Aging Faithfully Class

Would you like to grow in life-giving ways as you age? Do you have the courage to let go of former ways of thinking to receive God’s love and life in new ways?

As we age, we experience the loss of physical stamina, independence, and career fulfillment. Yet within each of these losses is a holy invitation to grow. God calls us to let go of our need for accomplishment and embrace the gift of fruitfulness so that we might be transformed in this final season of our lives.

 

In Aging Faithfully, spiritual director Alice Fryling explores how to navigate the journey of aging, possible retirement, lifestyle changes, and new limitations. In this season of life, we are invited to hold both grief and hope, to acknowledge ways of thinking that no longer represent who we are, and to receive peace in the midst of our fears.

We all age differently, and God calls each of us to new spiritual birth as we mature. When we embrace the aging process, we grow closer to God and experience his grace as he renews us from within. Whether you are approaching the beginning, middle, or end of your senior years, you are invited. Come and be transformed.
 

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WHEN AND WHERE - UPDATED - Due to the recent serge this class will be held virtually on zoom.

Hybrid Class / Zoom AND possible meeting in person later/ Palatine, IL (zoom will be offered the entire time)

Eight Wednesday mornings beginning Jan. 12th, 2022

9:30am-11:30am CST

 

WHO's this class for?

This class is open to both men and women wanting to gather around our shared desire for more of Christ and the opportunities that aging brings to our spiritual journey.

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HOW WE WILL SPEND OUR TIME:

     Each week we'll gather to ponder pertinent scripture verses, have some group discussion around the book's chapters and share together using the reflection questions.  We'll also include time to do some spiritual practices & meditations together, as we grow in opening ourselves to God's invitations wherever we find ourselves on the spiritual journey.  

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“I often wonder if God, in His sovereignty,

allows the eyesight of the aged to cast a dim view of the here and now

so that we may focus our spiritual eyes on the ever after.”
― Billy Graham, Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well

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CLASS SCHEDULE & TOPICS

JANUARY
Wed. Jan 12th - Class 1: Introduction and Getting Started
Wed. Jan 19th - Class 2: A Different Kind of Retirement-Sign reads: "Old Age Straight Ahead!"
Wed. Jan 26th - Class 3: Experiencing New Birth as We Age

Wed. Feb 2nd  - off week

FEBRUARY

Wed. Feb 9th - Class 4: Holy Losses, Holy Invitations
Wed. Feb 16th - Class 5:  Letting Go

Wed. Feb 23rd - Class 6: Fear and Peace
Wed. Mar 2nd - off Week

MARCH

Wed. Mar 9th- Class 7: Listening Well

Wed. Mar 16th - Last Class 8: Closing Gathering

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RESOURCE NEEDED

1. BOOK - Aging Faithfully; The Holy Invitation to Growing Older

Please acquire this book on your own prior to the beginning of class.  

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SUGGESTED CLASS OFFERING:

$120 or three monthly payments of $40

 (sliding scale & scholarships available to those experiencing a financial hardship, please inquire)

Don't let the fee keep you from joining!

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1- Register Below 

(registration is now closed)               2- Make Payment Offering

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To avoid Paypal fees,

you can make payment via Zelle, Chase QuickPay, Apple Pay,

Venmo or mail a good o'l fashion check to:

AOCW/Cecilia Whitacre

1421 E. Gloria Dr

Palatine, IL 60074

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"The need to understand how aging is part of Gods good plan is likewise very real to me. And the core message of this book is just that: God has a purpose in and for our aging. That purpose has to do with the hidden life of the Spirit so that, as the body grows older, our spirit may grow deeper and stronger. Our ongoing calling, in later years as in earlier years, is to die daily, perhaps even hourly, with our Lord, and to realize (especially in our later years) the reality and power of his death and of his resurrection. This is a hard but crucial message to learn, and I appreciate how honestly Alice lets us know how she and her husband, Bob, keep learning.

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Leighton Ford founding president, Leighton Ford Ministries

 

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In Aging Faithfully, spiritual director Alice Fryling guides our walk with God through the uncharted terrain of our later years when we may become preoccupied with all we are losing.   As we listen for God’s voice in this vulnerable time, Alice shows how God invites us to renewal from within. We can learn to accept our responses to the aging process and grow in our relationship to ourselves and to God, experiencing grace and love in deeper and deeper ways.

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Please contact us with any questions.

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Class Facilitator, Spiritual Director Cecilia T. Whitacre

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Alice Fryling is a spiritual director and the author of nine books, including Seeking God Together: An Introduction to Group Spiritual Direction.  She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren.

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"The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
   and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
   they flourish in the courts of our God.

In old age they still produce fruit;
   they are always green and full of sap"

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Psalm 92:12-14 NRSV

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