Companions in Christ: A 28-Week Journey in Spiritual Formation for Adults

Sixteen folks recently completed Companions in Christ, a spiritual formation group that provided ways and paths to grow closer to God. Participants completing this journey include Fran Baatz, Janette Drohman, Phil Euler, Kristi Hoffmeyer, Julie Johnson, Suzan Lund, Janece Nelson, Deb Payne, Arlis Plummer, Diane Rapp, Carol Rustad, Christie Schroff, Jim & Jody Simeck, Cheryl Stubbendieck and Bryan Tepe. Retreat participants reflected on the five components of the Companions journey at their retreat on April 6 & 7.

The Embracing the Journey component provided a meaningful opportunity and one participant said, “We made ourselves vulnerable to each other and demonstrated trust.” Christie Schroff said this about the Feeding on the Word component, “Reading the Bible is like opening a conversation with God. There are many levels of absorption. You can re-read the same passage many different times in your life, with different understandings. The object of meditating on the Word is to move from intellectual processing to letting your inner self be transformed.”

Janece Nelson said, “Prayer is not a private matter. We can pray with others and over others. There is no one proper way to pray. God wants us to communicate with Him from our heart and in doing so abandon ourselves and give it all to Him,” when reflecting on Deepening our Prayer Life. In Responding to the Call, Julie Johnson said, “Radical availability was a new concept and I grew with this knowledge and questioned how I could be radically available.” Finally while Exploring Spiritual Guidance, Deb Payne said, “I came to understand the differences in helping relationships in holy listening, hidden directors and spiritual guidance.”

For more information about Companions in Christ, contact Kathy Paisley or Pastor Eric Bostrom.