Assignment | Communal Spirituality | Updates on your progress
September 19, 2026 6:00 PM
Connect with your colleagues here to see how you all are progressing. Share tips and tricks and see how you can help each other navigate the CRC Cohort. What has been the most meaningful for you so far. Respond to at least two of your peers.
Discussion (47)
I am having a great time and expanding my understanding of the many challenges we face today in ministry, which will always be intrinsic to those in ministry. Even though our authors speak from the platform they are sharing, it enlightens us and broadens our scope of understanding how God works in everything and everyone without any favoritism. God's thoughts and ways are truly beyond our comprehension. Healing and how to approach it gives us an inner look at ourselves. This class is very informative and enjoyable. Thanks, will keep at it.
Welcome every one this is Timothy happy to taken this journey with all of you Our topic how to guide a community as a spiritual leader to me there are a lot of elements because people will be watching you closely transparency be honest communication keep it t simple for the lay person. Patience and above be a good listener these qualities will help you navigate threw the process not there be ups and downs faith and prayer and meditation willget you threw.
Thank you Timothy.
I too am enjoying this journey we are on.
It is an interesting one for sure. I am already learning that how do and live my faith does not look like everyone else's and it has taken me the majority of my life to be ok. This recent event in my life has taught me that I have to be me no matter what happens.
Aloha Tim, I tried to respond to your chat, but didʻt go through. The first message was: Maybe your path is harder because your calling is higher. The second message was: August 8, 2026 God is saying to you today, "My child, you will never feel comfortable in the wrong circles or in spaces that cannot honor what I have placed inside you. The dreams I planted in your heart are too big to fit in places that think small. When you feel out of place, it is often My Spirit reminding you that you were not created to settle there. I am calling you into environments where your purpose can breathe and your gifts can grow. Do not shrink your vision just to fit in with those who cannot see what I am doing in your life. I am preparing rooms, relationships, and opportunities that match the size of the dreams I gave you. Trust the discomfort, because it is guiding you toward where you truly belong."
thanks for words of encouragement. alot of info so the challenge for me was to zero in on what i found applied to my experiences so i could relate my journey relative to our class. Thanks Tim.
I have to say this journey thus far has been so enlightening, i am very appreciative to knowing and getting to knowing more of you all's story. Blessings
Hello Everyone,
I am Lanita and I am having a fantastic time in this class. I hope to work with and get to know all of you.
I am learning more and more about the healing journey and process. I loved when the lesson said our healing journey where we realize it's no longer personal. I have believed that almost my whole adult life that "It's Not about Me"... I also found confirmation in storytelling. I am a certified peer support specialist and, in my work, telling our stories is how we support people on their journeys to healing. SO, this made total sense to me. And the last thing for me was/is learning that historical trauma can be passed down. For me that is important because, I thought again it was me not understanding or being able to communicate how I was feeling in one moment or another.
This class has been a blessing to my life, and I look forward to diving in more and more.
Nice to meeting you. I look forward to being your classmate and learning with you
Hi Lanita! I'd love to hear more about your work as a certified peer support specialist, what it entails, and what a typical day or conversation may look like for you. I'm excited for our next course on Pastoral Care, as I appreciate being able to support individuals and meet them where they're at, and I'd be curious to know how your work differs or compares to Pastoral Care or even spiritual counseling. Also.. ditto on how much I'm enjoying our class, I'm glad you've found this week's lesson affirming.
Hi Lanita! The focus on storytelling in community as a core part of healing resonated with me as well. I felt like Holmes was writing at me this week, lol, and I'm still unpacking it and taking notes, and I ordered the book so I can spend more time reflecting on the ideas.
I'm so grateful to be on this journey with all of you.
It's great to read our classmate's post, as God is truly speaking to us all about our specific needs as well as opening our eyes and hearts to continued growth in serving Him. Our lecture said it perfectly: we are to serve our community as part of them as a servant and not a facilitator driven by power and worldly vices. thanks for sharing in this great opportunity.
Lanita, you made a great point about generational trauma. So often we miss the fact that healing also involves understanding the historic events that created the pain. As you shared with storytelling, relating to others' pain makes it easier to share dialog that is empathetic and helpful to heal those in pain. Generational trauma is always a major challenge since it requires time and consistency to make a positive difference. thanks for the share.
Good morning, afternoon to all. I'm having a hard time emotionally right now, but I'm trying to finish this class to the best of my ability. I'm going to be honest and say I don't know if I will be able to move on past this class or even finish it. I did not expect this trauma. I thought my life was good, but everything has fallen apart and I can't function or think
Good Afternoon. The word of God tells us that he is a God of healing and mercy. Whatever you are being tried by is to increase the faith you proclaim. Count it all joy. Shout Victory over the enemy. Praying for you right now.
My friend, I am so sorry to hear that you are experiencing such a heaviness in your spirit right now. Though life may be hammering you in multiple directions, I would encourage you to make a joy list and saturate yourself in the things (and people) that bring you joy. If this class is on your joy list, I pray that you are able to claim God's power and victory to both overcome and to stay on this journey with us. There's so much more goodness left to experience over these next few months. I'm praying for your heart, your spirit, and that increased capacity and wellbeing will allow you to come up from the depths of life right now. Additionally, I offer encouragement from our reading this week: "Communal grieving offers something that we cannot get when we grieve by ourselves." God is bigger than this moment you're in, and you matter to our community. We are a phone, text, or email away, and I'll be the first to drop my contact here if you would like to phone a friend - 845-245-9345. Sending love and healing your way. - Kyrah
Yeshua. I wanted to also offer a friendly heart of Aloha along with Kyrah if you need a friend or someone to talk to, reading text can sometimes limit the love that only the voice can express. Feel free to hit me up bro. (808) 345-8063. In the words of my Queen Liliuokalani. Imua, Onipa'a. March Forward in Strength.
This class has already been so enlightening. Once again I am truly encourage to stay on my spiritual path and not be afraid to stand in what God as given me.
It has been enlightening for me as well, but in the way I thought it would be. For a long time I have ignored a lot of my dreams and maybe it's the reason everything lately has fallen apart. The way Christianity has always been taught has been a big problem for me. When I was younger and even now some people have tried to tell me I didn't have enough and that I needed to stop searching for stuff that wasn't there. Well it turns those things were there and the church just refuses to teach us even though many of the pastors and preachers, who have received theological education, know it well. I don't know if they will touch on the real history of how Christianity came about, but I do hope they will. I'm sorry for this rant, but so many things are on my mind in this midst of the midst of everything I'm going through. It's not to say I don't believe in a Divine Being, I just don't think I believe in the same way everyone else seems to.
Aloha, Yes, I have learned to put on the whole armor of God and be lead by the guiding light, and let your light so shine also.
I couldn’t agree with you more Joyce. I have already gained so much from the class and all of you. I struggle with the technology but with patience, God and the help of you all I will prevail. I long to help others in their struggle!
Hi Everybody, I am learning so much from these readings and from our time together in class. There are many things that I would like to bring back to my church - ideas about small groups, themes of healing from trauma, living from the inside out, sharing our spiritual journeys with each other. One thing that I struggle with is feeling like speak with integrity - that my words and actions reflect what I really feel inside. I am working on that and ask for your prayers. Also, my granddaughter had surgery yesterday - I ask your prayers for her - she is 3 years old.
Hi Susan - I encourage you to bring back all the ideas and conversations you'd like to your church. I pray a spirit of boldness, leadership, and confidence over you, and I pray the discussions you have in your community will be enriching and right on time. Your words matter, and someone is waiting to hear from you. <3
Hi Susan! I am with you. I want to bring the book, Life of the Beloved, back to my church and have it be the next book club book. I got so much out of it and know that when I read it again, I will get more.
Sending prayers for your granddaughter as well, praying surgery went well and the healing process can begin.
Susan I ask God to protect your granddaughter with His healing blood and also give you and your family peace in knowing that all things work together for our good. Be encouraged and cant wait to hear the praise report.
One of the most meaningful parts of TEL so far is the incredible modes of support: TEL staff, our active Kwaray support, virtual "open desks" where I know I can ask questions, etc. Adding to this, having summary videos of the lessons before diving into the supplemental material and then having our follow-up weekly discussions to break down what we've absorbed is tremendous help for my learning style. I'm a visual learner and I appreciate being able to 1) take notes before and during the class, and 2) I can understand a topic through different types of media with the resources that have been offered thus far.
As a helpful tip, I've been enjoying using a free version of Notion, which is like a digital notebook, document repository, etc. all in one. I'm able to organize my assignments by due dates in a table, and I can open each assignment and add files, notes, media, etc. for each specific one. I also leverage my Kindle app, Libby, and Spotify for ebooks, pdfs, and audiobooks when it makes sense to use. Libby is a free digital library app, where you can have access to library books and audiobooks, and you can sync it to your Kindle. Happy to explore any of these tools with anyone. :)
Oh I love Notion, and yet somehow I hadn't thought to set up a page for this program. What a good idea! I'd love to see how you've set yours up. :)
Hi Kyrah! Thank you sharing these apps. I'm going to have to explore them as well. Hope all is well with you. I look forward to getting to know you.
I wish I could take an in person class from you Kyrah! I think you would all be amazed by how ignorant I am regarding technology! I am committed to learning though as I realize that this is how we receive and share information in today’s world.
Hi everyone! I am getting so much out of the readings and our class sessions. It is taking me a minute to find the right pace for the weekly work so that I have time to synthesize before moving to the next lesson. I'm often a daily journal writer, but I've lost that practice a bit recently. I think that the deep reflection that this work requires is nudging me back toward making that part of each day.
This week's readings really resonated with me as I work on healing from a particularly traumatic time that has separated me somewhat from both my faith and my faith community. Holmes' way of conceptualizing healing made me realize that I have a lot more work to do and also that I need to consider what I've experienced not as a singular story for just me to deal with but as part of a shared story that holds trauma, grief, healing, and joy all at the same time.
Adding anther tester reply - I added comments earlier but it hasn't been able to be marked complete and my lesson isn't allowing me to move forward to the next session. Any help on this would be appreciated pls!
Maybe your path is harder because your calling is higher.
In this weeks lesson, I can relate to some of the topics, like generational trauma and the blessing of liminality "flying time".
I kako'o your feelings and observations Kahu Frank. Our people hold very deep generational trauma. I wrote my paper on my experience of standing on Mauna Kea in 2019. Still hope one of these days to make it to the east side to visit you and your church. I just love our old Hawaiian Churches!
Aloha All! These past few weeks have been challenging. After dealing with the hurricane, no job due to the hurricane, and my late husband's 6-month anniversary, it's as if all the readings and videos are meant for me as I explore this new chapter in my life. This week's reading hit me like I never thought, but to know that I am healing and I am not doing it alone, I have my family and my community.
God bless and abide with you Tiffany. I extend my deepest aloha for your loss and the struggles that come from the hurricanes. We are getting ready over here on Big Island for the next round and my work has reduced greatly also as a result of the harsh weather. I.do recognize the general good feelings from this group and appreciate the support we give each each other from just taking this walk together.
Aloha, It's Alika Kinimaka. I am finding this course to be the needed balance for my theological education. I work with a lot of kūpuna or elders and together we are navigating through some uncharted territory of faith. Many young people today see the church as antiquated and since our capitalist society offers them distractions of the flesh they can easily dismiss the Church and find God through other avenues. I have been praying for language to help create that bridge in my community between our youth and elders as well as our Kanaka and Haole and our religious and secular. This course help form and strengthen that language.
Greetings all! I am so grateful for this program and all of you. I wasn't sure what to expect and have been “blown away “ by the universal truths that have been presented to us. It is not a secret that I am an infant when it comes to technology, but I am also an infant when it comes to Christianity (My background in the Episcopal Church did not ring true for me). The parallels between my need for technical and spiritual growth are funny as both follow the pattern for change and transformation:
-order-disorder -reorder!
PS. Spiritual Growth is a lot more fun!
Thanks to all. SO far, this course has pushed me in ways I didn't expect, asking me to sit with the generational trauma I've carried and to look honestly at how it shows up in my own life. I've spent most of my career moving fast through high-pressure moments, and I'd never paused to ask what was happening spiritually inside me when the stress hit. Learning to notice my own spiritual journey in those hardest moments, instead of just pushing through them, has been one of the most meaningful shifts I've experienced in a long time.
I am so thankful for each and everyone of your expressions about this journey