Sundays, 9:40-10:40 am
April 1: Easter – No class.
April 8, 15, 22: We Go Behind Bars
Members of Hope Church will share about their ministries with the incarcerated and post-incarcerated.
- April 8: Shakespeare Behind Bars – Curt Tofteland and Michelle Bombe will tell about this program which offers theatrical encounters with personal and social issues to incarcerated and post-incarcerated adults and juveniles, allowing them to develop life skills that will ensure their successful reintegration into society. Within the circle-of-trust Shakespeare Behind Bars seeks to transform inmate offenders from who they were when they committed their crimes, to who they are in the present moment, to who they wish to become. Curt was the founder of Shakespeare Behind Bars over 20 years ago. For 13 years he facilitated the program at Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in LaGrange, KY. In 2012 he launched the first Michigan co-gender juvenile SBB in the Ottawa County Juvenile Detention Center.
- April 15: Freedom Writers – Laurie Baron began a writing circle of women at the Allegan County Correctional Center about a year and half ago. It structures a safe environment for writers to learn together and can hold a bit of comfort or healing. Writing their stories helps them make meaning of their lives and take back their power to move forward. Laurie has been facilitating creative writing groups for a number of years recognizing that creative work is a basic human activity that includes but goes well beyond the learning of craft.
- April 22: Alternatives to Incarceration – John Koch will discuss the new alternatives to incarceration, specifically treatment courts that emphasize treatment for substance abuse and/or sobriety courts opposed to incarceration. Treatment and reintegration into society provides a benefit not only to the offender, but to the community at large. John is a Veterans Justice Outreach Coordinator with the Veteran’s Administration. He works as a liaison between the criminal justice system and the medical/mental health systems of the VA system.
April 29, May 6, & 13: For God So Loved the World
This three-session class is guided by the belief that the natural world and spiritual experience are intimately related. The sessions will explore our history and connections to the natural world, express some spiritual reflections and suggest practical implications.
- April 29: Faith Journey – Peter Boogaart. Peter Boogaart was the Caring for Creation Coordinator at Hope Church from 2002-2014 and a leader in the West Michigan Creation Care team. Peter has extensive background in residential energy efficiency and recently retired from the City of Holland as Residential Energy Advisor. The Caring for Creation Ministry has a history at Hope Church which reaches back to 2002. This session will review some of that history and reflect on the process of spiritual formation and learning that has occurred. The session will present Creation Care as being more than an activity or duty, but rather an integral expression of Christian life.