Finlandia expanding community enrichment offerings

August 3, 2017

This fall Finlandia University is introducing two new community enrichment courses, “The Gospel of Luke: Then and Now” and “Spiritual Information in Everyday Living.” The courses will begin September 11 and will last eight weeks. Registration is currently open.

“We hope these classes attract adult learners who are open to new ways of thinking, curious about life’s bigger questions and thrive on conversation and dialogue,” President Philip Johnson said. “These classes will be highly interactive, intellectually stimulating and just plain enjoyable.”

Finlandia has long been known for its fall and spring community enrichment classes offered through our Finnish American Heritage Center, and last spring announced the addition of community fitness courses at the Paavo Nurmi Center.

These classes are being formed based on the university’s guiding language of “fostering enduring positive change in how we think, act, and feel in matters of the self, others, and the wider world.”

“We wish this to be the experience for all those who participate in our community enrichment classes,” Johnson said.

New Community Enrichment Courses

The Gospel of Luke: Then and Now

This 8-week, highly interactive course will explore the Gospel of Luke as literature and theology. Literary features and theological themes will be addressed in each week’s session. Literary features will highlight the author’s storytelling art, focusing on aspects of narrative works such as setting, plot, character, and arrangement. The theological themes will center on how the Gospel’s original intention to speak meaningfully to the post-Jewish world of its day may continue to speak to a post-Christian world of today. This will be led by Rev. Philip Johnson, M. Div., Ph.D. and Father Corbin Eddy, M.Th., S.T.L.

Spiritual Formation in Everyday Living

This 8-week course explores readings from the spiritual classics and spiritual exercises that can be practiced in everyday living. Reflection and exercises will explore spiritual disciplines such as meditation, simplicity, solitude, service, prayer, and others. This will be led by René Johnson, Ph.D.

More information on community enrichment courses can be found at finlandia.edu/enrichment.