Vacation Bible School - For Adults

So last week.

I got to go back to school.  Our church provided a week's opportunity for rigorous learning for people who were retired.  Anybody could come, about 150 did.   And boy howdy, what a week.  It was hosted and coordinated by Ed, a retired college professor, and his wife Susan.

There were about 30 classes you could pick and choose.  They were held in the morning so we could get our naps in.  There was real content.  Real learning.  Our pastor hosted classes so we could get acquainted with our neighbors:  A little bit about the Methodists.  The Episcopalians.  The Mormons.  The Muslims.  Turns out we have much more in common than we'd ever guess.  The same God, mainly.

That was sorta interrupted for my buddy, Tim, who spent one of the mornings talking to one of our homeless folks who was in deep distress.  Another required an ambulance, so it was a busy day.

My two classes were powerful learning experience.  Just because we were ripened learners didn't mean that we were coddled.  The first one was a photography class taught by Michael, who was a Hollywood Director of Photography for 40 years.  His work left us stunned in its beauty, profoundly moved by its depth. He showed us his most personal and beautiful movie:  Hidden in Silence.  And he got me my first focused photo, and I got the photo into the computer and printed.  Success.   Success for other folks were lessons in composition, lighting, movement, color, texture, context.  No dumbing down for the old folks.

The other class was in simple living, taught by Joe, who has been teaching, with his wife, those classes for years to help people live responsible, joyful, simplified lives.  It works.  Not so simple, it turns out.  But richer by far, and you get money left over at the end of the month.  It was so much more than developing a responsible budget; it was developing a responsible life.

So, thank you ever so much,  Susan and Ed.  It was a sweet week.