Make Friends…
Connect with God…
Grow in your Faith…
Staff contact: Beth Palmer, Director of Adult Discipleship.
Quick Links
- NEW! Prayer & Meditation Boot Camp
- NEW! Introduction to the Enneagram
- Advent Bible Study
- Sacred Earth Group
- Midday Bible Discussion
- Centering Prayer Reboot
- Other ongoing groups
- Walk to Emmaus weekend spiritual retreat
- Deeper Waters
NEW! Prayer & Meditation Boot Camp
6 Wednesday evenings
January 15 – February 19
6:30-7:30pm at church
Sanctuary building, room 305
Today’s scientists are revealing what people of faith have long known, that prayer and meditation are powerful tools to promote wellness, reduce anxiety, and foster healing.
Studies show that a regular practice of prayer or meditation, even 5 minutes a day, can rewire the brain and change the way we react and respond in the world, helping us to be less reactive, anxious, and ashamed, and more rooted in the generous love of God.
Many would like to nurture a practice like this in their lives but aren’t exactly sure where to start or how to integrate it into an already busy life. Using simple tools from historical Christian prayer practices, Ginny Fisher, Emily Clark, and Mike Boyers will provide some practical ways to help you kick start a consistent practice or deepen the practice you already have. The group will provide support and accountability as you build this into the rhythm of your life. Join us!
NEW! Introduction to the Enneagram
4 Sundays
Jan 19 – Feb 9, 2025
1-3pm at church
Sanctuary building
Room 306/308
The Enneagram is a powerful tool for understanding yourself, the box you’re in, and pathways to help you get out of that box and find enhanced freedom for yourself and in your relationships.
In this 4-sessions class, we’ll explore the 9 Enneagram types and help you begin the process of discerning your core type, and we’ll teach you some foundational practices to develop your self-awareness. We have seen knowledge of the Enneagram make a HUGE difference in people’s lives and relationships, contributing deeply to inner growth, so we encourage you to consider signing up!
Meeting space: Sanctuary building, room 306/308. Park past the playground and use the Education Wing door; we’ll be upstairs, first room on the right. (If you need an ADA accessible space, let us know and we’ll move the class to another location without stairs!)
Suggested donation: $25-$50 to support the Enneagram teaching ministry (pay from your heart; contributions of any amount welcome). We never want the cost of a class or materials to prevent your participation, so if you don’t have money this time, it’s on us, with joy. To opt out of contributing at this time (totally fine, zero pressure!), select “Pay Online” & then “Pay Later,” when you register for class. And if you’d like to contribute a few extra dollars toward someone else’s class experience, we’d be honored by your donation.
Facilitators: Beth Palmer (Director of Adult Discipleship), Julie Johnson, and Lora McConnell, our Enneagram teaching team.
Endorsements from our Winter 2023 online class:
- “15 out of 10! I loved the class and would love to attend an advanced class. Also, I would love to discuss offering this to my team. Thank you for this ministry!” -Amy P.
- “Exceeded expectations! Beth and Aimee are fantastic instructors. They made each person feel valued and welcomed, which opened the door for better discussions and questions. Their passion for the subject matter is wonderful, and their generosity in sharing was so appreciated. Thanks for the time well spent!” – Coleen M.
- “This was a fantastic class! I learned so much and found both facilitators to be so knowledgeable and generous with their time and explanations. I have already recommended the class to a friend in one of my small groups.” – Wendy B.
Advent Bible Study
5 Sunday mornings
November 24 – December 22
10:05-11:05am
Sanctuary building
Room 206
(parlor, main level, accessible)
Facilitator: Marilyn Hoeflinger
God came to meet us in the low places of our lives
“Let’s be honest about Advent: American culture forces many of us to put on a happy face, to pretend we’re merry when we’re frustrated and stressed and exhausted by the expectations of others. We’re also frustrated by what Advent has become—a celebration of consumerism—while it forgets the season’s origins in a dark, cold stable with an empty manger.
“In this honest Advent devotional, best-selling progressive Christian author John Pavlovitz reminds us that God came to meet us in the low places of our lives—and that Jesus continues to come low this Advent season: when we live humbly, when we seek forgiveness, in our grief and suffering, when we act on behalf of someone else, when we pray. As we walk the road of Advent, Jesus reminds us the invitation is not to escape this world to an elevated Heaven somewhere else, but to bring Heaven down. “God with us” is Jesus, getting low. Each devotional includes a scripture and Advent reflection on Jesus meeting us on the ground, in the grit.” (From the author’s website, link below)
How do we encounter the story of the young Palestinian Jewish family fleeing politically-ordered genocide and the raising of a young Jewish Rabbi who preached much more than he should have known and suffered with government officials when he questioned the religious status quo? Can we relate to the Jesus who comes low to meet us in our lives today, as opposed to sanitizing the stories because we know the end of the story?
Low: An Honest Advent Devotional (Chalice Press, 2019), by John Pavlovitz, is a daily devotional with scriptural basis and important reflective questions about who we are and who we want to be during the Advent season. This class will meet once a week in person on Sunday mornings and focus on the Advent themes (Hope, Peace, Joy and Love), as well as connecting other words — such as mess and uncertainty — to help each of us see where we struggle and yet continue to live as Jesus followers.
Get your own copy of the book (about $5.57)
The only cost is the cost of the devotional book – get your own copy, (If the cost of the book would keep you from participating, let Beth Palmer know and she’ll happily order you a copy!)
We invite voluntary contributions in any amount toward the Adult Discipleship ministry at Hilliard UMC. Your generosity helps us continue to offer opportunities such as this, and we’re humbled by and grateful for your donations.
Sacred Earth Group
Meets 2nd & 4th Wednesdays
6:30-7:30pm
In person:
Sanctuary building
Parlor (room 206)
Join facilitators Ellen Hans and Emily Lamb in this new group for conversation and action around climate change, environmental stewardship, and how to best care for our Sacred Earth!
Come for discussion around what this group can be: working on projects together, generating action steps, perhaps inviting guest speakers, reading and discussing books to educate ourselves, and mostly supporting each other in our efforts to protect our Earth. Bring your ideas and energy for this crucial work!
We invite voluntary contributions in any amount toward the Adult Discipleship ministry at Hilliard UMC. Your generosity helps us continue to offer opportunities such as this, and we’re humbled by and grateful for your donations.
Enneagram Classes
Hilliard UMC is a hub for learning about the Enneagram, a powerful tool for self-discovery and growth.
We will learn to see ourselves as we are: reflections of the divine… creatures of habit… children of God… new creations in Christ.
Midday Bible Discussion
First & Third Wednesdays
12-1pm in person
Church office, room 6
Facilitated by Judy Scott & Pastor Jon Osmundson
Join Pastor Jon and others to encounter and discuss scripture with this Engaging the Bible foundational class. Learn a method of praying the scriptures called “lectio divina,” which just means “sacred reading.” It’s about slowing down and reading the same verses several times, listening for God’s word to us today.
No experience or preparation necessary! Just come willing to listen and share if you want to.
We invite contributions in any amount toward the Adult Discipleship ministry at Hilliard UMC. Your generosity helps us continue to offer opportunities such as this, and we’re humbled by and grateful for your donations.
Centering Prayer Reboot
2nd Mondays
6:30-7:30pm
Sanctuary building
Parlor (rm 206, accessible)
Please use the playground door to enter the building rather than the social hall door, so as not to disrupt the AA meeting happening in the social hall 6-7pm.
Ginny Fisher will facilitate a monthly group for Centering Prayer practice. Expect an opening grounding/centering activity, an abbreviated Centering Prayer practice (10-15 minutes), and then some conversation around what you’ve been noticing and experiencing in your practice, what fruits have you seen, what has been going well or not, etc., for 30-40 minutes. She may provide a topic or experience based on previous conversations and questions.
If you’re interested in practicing Centering Prayer in community, whether you have little experience or are a long-time practitioner, this opportunity is for you. You’re welcome to come for just the first part or the entire hour.
Sign up below so we know to expect you, or you’re also welcome to just show up as your schedule allows.
We invite contributions in any amount toward the Adult Discipleship ministry at Hilliard UMC. Your generosity helps us continue to offer opportunities such as this, and we’re humbled by and grateful for your donations.
Walk to Emmaus
A Weekend Spiritual Retreat
The Greater Columbus Walk to Emmaus community hosts weekend spiritual retreats for adults a few times a year at the Church of the Purple Door (Grove City UMC). It’s an inclusive community, so we’re happy to support their work.
If you’ve never taken a spiritual retreat as an adult, we can’t recommend it highly enough!
Several members of the Hilliard UMC community have attended a walk as a pilgrim or served on a leadership team. Any of these folks would be happy to talk with you about this wonderful experience: Max & April Andrick (she’s the HUMC staff contact and serves on the Emmaus leadership team), as well as Virginia Blasingame, Lisa Haney, and Melissa Landon.
Deeper Waters
Innovative & Courageous Leaders
*Look for cohort #4 to form for a September 2025 start
It’s an extraordinary time to be a human. With everything we are facing collectively and individually, more than ever, the world needs innovative and courageous leaders who can meet this moment with a
- Capacity to hold complexity and ambiguity
- Compassionate, non-anxious presence
- Commitment to pursuing the most humane and loving path forward
Even if you don’t hold a leadership position in your organization, all of us can be leaders simply because we can influence others in important, life-giving ways!
How do we continue to evolve into the leaders that are needed in this season?
Research consistently points to the critical work leaders must do that is PERSONAL and SPIRITUAL in nature. This includes engaging in practices that increase their awareness and ability to be present to self and others, help them reflect and make meaning, widen their capacity to hold complex thoughts and emotions, and point them toward the greater good. Leaders who are also cultivating self-compassion and love as central values that guide the way they live are the same leaders building healthy, thriving, and innovative organizations that employees and customers want to be connected to.
As leaders ourselves, we’ve experienced the kind of growth, healing, and transformation that can come when we are doing robust personal and spiritual work. We’ve seen what can happen when this kind of transformation happens in communities of people, willing to do this work together.
We want to create that kind of space right here in central Ohio.
Are you ready to dive deeper into this kind of work?
You are invited to apply to be a part of the next cohort of DEEPER WATERS: Innovative and Courageous Leaders.
This cohort will launch in September 2025 for 9 months of collective work.
As we do our work, we will engage and explore
- An Innovative Leadership Model
- Resources for cultivating deeper self-awareness, including the Enneagram
- Tools for understanding and navigating our social location and its implications for social justice work in our organizations
- Models for nurturing healthy, authentic communities
- Daily meditative and reflective practices
Engagement in Deeper Waters will include:
- Monthly in-person teaching sessions on Sunday afternoons at Hilliard UMC
- Monthly in-person/online small group sessions
- Two in-person overnight retreats
- All books and curriculum
- Online learning platform that includes readings, videos, and podcasts to guide your learning
- One-to-one session with one of the facilitators
Cost: $1500
This includes your food and expenses for the two retreats, as well as all books, curriculum, and group sessions.
Facilitators
Rev. April Blaine
Lead Pastor, Hilliard UMC
Adjunct Professor, Methodist Theological School in Ohio
Nikki Buskirk
Director of Middle Grades Ministry, Hilliard UMC
Dan Mushalko
Vice President, Innovative Leadership Institute
Beth Palmer
Director of Adult Discipleship, Hilliard UMC
Testimonials
“Deeper Waters was everything I didn’t know I needed. What made it a transformative experience for me was witnessing God showing up at various points along the way, often during moments when the group was being vulnerable with one another. It ended up feeling like a journey that goes beyond the curriculum description.” (Mike Boyers)
“As someone who has been privileged enough to be a part of this group for two years, it is hard to articulate the impact it has had on my life and what a great catalyst that it has been. This experience really opened me up. It broadened my perspectives. I was able to grow so much in my self knowledge with the tools that were taught and the conversations that we had. In my adult life, it helped me in getting more comfortable being uncomfortable. I’m coming to acceptance that I don’t control most things, and learning to flow with it. If you’re thinking about doing it, I can wholeheartedly say, take the leap. See where it leads. This experience has been one of the most meaningful in my life and I feel pretty confident saying it probably will be for you too.” (Emily Clark)
“I’m amazed how often I’ve found connections in random, everyday things and can then explore further because of my experience in Deeper Waters: increased self-awareness, connections with community, and deconstruction are just some of them.” (Stephanie Harrell)
“Deeper Waters has made a major difference in my life: self love, spiritual growth, working with others, growing together…” (Louann Liming)
Watch Video Testimonials
_______________________________________
Foundational Classes
We regularly offer foundational classes to help ground your spiritual life and practice. Stay tuned to this page for details and signup links, as each class is offered.
- Engaging the Bible, an opportunity to learn how to read and understand the Bible, using an ancient prayer practice called lectio divina (“sacred reading”).
- Prayer & Meditation Boot Camp, for developing a consistent personal prayer practice.
- Introduction to the Enneagram, a powerful tool for self-discovery and growth.
Complete descriptions are listed HERE.
Costs
We don’t want the cost of books or class materials to get in the way of you taking a class, so sign up whether you have class or book money or not. Pay what you can from your heart (any amount welcome), or it’s on us, happily!
And if you’d like to contribute a few extra dollars toward a book or class materials for someone who doesn’t have money this time, we’re honored by your support, thank you! You can always contribute online here, or class facilitators will collect money at class.
Staff Contact
Beth Palmer, Director of Adult Discipleship
bpalmer@hilliardumc.org