More Workshops

Building Community by Ear
Joel Westby
You have probably known people that play a musical instrument “by ear”. That is the ability of a musician to reproduce a piece of music one has heard, without having observed another musician play it or having seen written music. It is a matter of the ear. This workshop will give attention to how we listen to others in order to build community.

Pastor Joel Westby is currently serving as Interim Pastor at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran, Boise.  He has 25 years experience as settled pastor and six years as intentional interim pastor. He has been trained in Intentional Interim Ministry, Transformative Mediation, Nonviolent Communication and Healthy Congregations. He has served congregations from Family size to Program size.

House Churches of the 1st Century
Bob Parish
This one hour session will explore the first and second century world that the young Christian church grew up in.  We will look at the variations in the Gospels and Epistles that inform us of the numerous churches in the eastern Mediterranean.  We will also use texts from early historians and the comments of modern scholars. We will conclude with a discussion of how some early church practices might inform a modern home church among small groups of believers.

Bob Parish is a life long Lutheran who has long been interested in, among other things, the first and second century church. He became interested in this when he discovered that there was little unity in the thinking and practices of the early church.

Spiritual Direction
Meg Sass
An interactive, experiential presentation for those people with questions about the ancient yet ever new practice of spiritual direction.  What's the point of spiritual direction? Can someone tell me if I'm really praying?  Are some kinds of prayer better than others?  Does spiritual direction help keep you honest on your spiritual journey?  How do you find a spiritual director? How do I know if I'm ready for spiritual direction?  Could I ever be a spiritual director?

Sister Meg Sass, OSB, a Benedictine sister from the Monastery of St. Gertrude in Cottonwood, Idaho has listened to the prayers and spiritual journeys of people from many faith traditions for almost 50 years.  She has her Master's in Pastoral Studies from Loyola, University of Chicago.  Currently she offers retreats, classes and spiritual direction in Boise, Cottonwood, Moscow, McCall, Lewiston and beyond. Grounded in her  Benedictine spirituality Sr Meg is a Mission Centered Education certified spiritual director.  srmegsass@gmail.com