Past Spiritual Searchers

Past Spiritual Searchers at First Community Church

1989
James Fowler, October 27-29, Faith and the Future: A Vision for the Church; Faith and the Future: The Dynamics of Change in our Lives.

1990

Brewster Beach, March 2-3, In the Wilderness: The Spiritual Dimensions of Depression, Anxiety & Loneliness; Transforming Personality to Meet the Second Half of Life.

Matthew Fox, September 14-15, Creation Spirituality

1991
Morton Kelsey, February 15-16, Dreams: Introduction to Meditation & Prayer; How Does One Get in Touch with God?

Parker Palmer, November 8-9, Christianity and the Renewal of American Public Life; A Spirituality for the Active Life.

1992
Ann & Barry Ulanov, February 7-8, Hide & Seek: The Language of Prayer.

L. Robert Keck, May 1, Sacred Eyes; May 2 (with Diana Keck), Finding Spiritual Purpose within the Chaos of Our Own Times.

Kenneth Cracknell, September 18-19, The Christ Who is Not Exclusive; Spirituality for Interfaith Dialogue.

1993
Walter Brueggemann, February 19-20, Jeremiah: God’s Future-Producing Heart; Isaiah: A Script for Transformed Public Life.

1995
Matthew Fox, July 7-8, The Reinvention of Work (sponsored by 3^rdAve Community Church; hosted by First Community Church).

1997
Robert Raines, September 26-27, A Time to Live.

1998
John Shelby Spong, April 24-25, Why Christianity Must Change or Die: Liberating the Gospels & Recasting Christ for the 21^stCentury

William Sloane Coffin, Jr., October 23-25, Homophobia, the Last Respectable Prejudice; The Authority of the Bible and the Christ Figure.

1999
Lou DeWein, March 5-6, Deep Ecology & Spirituality (with Saturday workshop at Akita).

Neil Douglas-Klotz, November 9-10, The Hidden Gospel: Decoding the Spiritual Message of the Aramaic Jesus.

2000
Marcus Borg, April 14-16, Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time.

Carol Lee Flinders, November 10-11, Revisioning Feminism & Spirituality.

2001

Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, March 9-11, A Weekend with the Rabbi: Invisible Lines of Connection, Reading the Bible through Jewish Eyes, Tales of Religious Mystery & Havdalla.

Mark Allan Powell, September 12 & 19, Jesus, the Bible & the Search.

Paul Laughlin, October 19-20, Food for Thought: Lecture and Seminar on Theology and Faith.

2002
Michael French, February 15-16, In Your Dreams.

Huston Smith, June 1-2, The Enduring Truths of the Great Religions.

Don Riso & Russ Hudson, Sept. 20-22, Wisdom of the Enneagram: Blending Psychology & Spiritual Practice.

2003
L. Robert Keck, January 17-18, Healing our World, Healing Your Self & Diana Keck, January 18-19: The Quest for the Sacred Feminine: A Personal Journey into Wholeness (A Labyrinth Workshop for Women).

Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, November 16, Stimulating Children’s Spiritual Development through Religious Narrative; Nurturing the Religious Imagination of Children.

2004
Edwina Gateley, April 2-3, Growing Into God: A Call to Personal & Global Transformation.

Marcus Borg, May 20, The Church of the Emerging Paradigm.

Sherry Ruth Anderson & Janine Mamary, November 5-7, Deepening the Spiritual Journey: An Introduction to the Diamond Heart Approach.

2005
John Dominic Crossan, May 13-15, Jesus & the Future of American Christianity.

John Dominic Crossan, November 11-12, Paul: In Search of Paul—Then and Now.

2006
Gregg Levoy, March 10-11, Callings: In Search of an Authentic Life.

Paul Laughlin, Sept. 19-Oct. 10 (weekly) and Sunday, Oct. 15, Introduction to Hinduism.

2007
Amy-Jill Levine, March 9-11, Women in the World of Jesus.

Diana Butler Bass, September 16, Doing ‘Christian’ Differently: The Emerging Church in a Postmodern World.

Lynn Jericho, December 15, Discovering the Gifts of ‘Inner Christmas’.

2008
Brian Swimme, June 14, The Heart of the Cosmos: Humanity and the New Story.

Lynne Twist, November 7-8, Transforming Your Relationship with Money, Life and the Earth.

2009
Terry Hershey, February 6-7, Letting Our Souls Catch Up with Our Bodies; The Art of Doing Nothing.

Terry Hershey, October 4-5, Put on Your Dancing Shoes: How to be Me when the World wants Someone Else.

2010
Terry Hershey, October 10, Living without Fear: The Truth about Intimacy, Love, Passion & Sexuality.

John Philip Newell, Dec.3-5, Celtic Spirituality: A New Harmony of the Spirit, the Earth & the Human Soul.

2011
Marcus Borg, March 4-5, Living a Transformed Life: Being Christian Today.

Christopher Bache, Nov. 18-19, The Birth of the Diamond Soul: Reincarnation, the Planetary Crisis & the Future Human.

2012
Robin Meyers, March 2-4, The Underground Church: Reclaiming the Subversive Way of Jesus.

2013
James Finley, March 1-3, The Contemplative Way (first ever Weekend Retreat at North Campus).

Otis Moss III, October 1-3, The Racialized Imagination in America; The Hip Hop Gospel.

2014 (25^thAnniversary Year)
John Dominic Crossan, March 7-8, Is God Violent? How to Read the Christian Bible…and Still Be Christian.

Mirabai Starr, June 6-7, God of Love: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity & Islam.

John Philip Newell, November 14-16, The Rebirthing of God: Dreaming the Way Forward (Weekend Retreat).

2015
Bishop John Shelby Spong, March 6-8, Jesus for 21^stCentury Seekers

Edwina Gateley, November 21. Title: Mothers, Sisters, Daughters—Standing on Their Shoulders. In partnership with The Spirituality Network.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, October 2-4, teacher of Islam and Sufi spiritual practices, author of Moving the Mountain: A New Vision of Islam in America.

2016

Rev. Terry Hershey, April 8-10, Find Your Sanctuary: Create Places of Rest, Renewal & Refuge

Nancy Ellen Abrams, November 11-12, A God That Could Be Real: Spirituality, Science, and the Future of Our Planet

Piper Kerman, December 1, 2016 (held at Upper Arlington High School Auditorium), Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison

2017

Celene Lillie(Ph.D., Union Theological Seminary), Director of the Tanho Center for a new New Testament) and Robert J. Miller(Ph.D., Claremont Graduate School), Rosenberger Professor of Religious Studies and Christian Thought at Juniata College,  “Alternative Christianities” Friday, April 28 & Saturday, April 29

Glennon Doyle, August 20, 2017 (held at Upper Arlington High School Auditorium), “A Conversation with Glennon Doyle,” author of Love Warrior and Carry On Warrior, creator of Momastery.

2018

Thomas Moore, “Care for the 21^stCentury Soul.” Friday, November 30, “Creating a Soulful Life;” Saturday, December 1, “Ageless Soul: The Lifelong Journey Toward Meaning and Joy.”

2019

Parker Palmer and Carrie Newcomer (with accompanist Gary Walters), April 27, “What We Need is Here: Hope, Hard Times and Human Possibility”