Experiencing Isolation Together

How an online class changes lives
 
 
Mikki Hubert knew she would learn, but she did not expect the class to bring such calm to her life. 
 
At the end of each session, I felt this all-enveloping, calming, inner peace inside of me. This has been missing for the last few months. It really helped in these times.” 

This fall, several members of Holy Trinity participated in an online adult education class moderated by Dr. Chris Johnson. The class, titled “Sustenance for the Weary Soul,” offered seven sessions through Zoom on either Wednesday evenings or Thursday mornings.

One of the keynote speakers from last year’s congregation meetings, Dr. Johnson is the founder of the Milkweed Group, a nonprofit that offers retreats for a wide range of audiences. His passion is helping others to determine their vocation and calling, purpose, and leadership development.

The purpose of the group was to provide a calm during these difficult times. “I hoped this would be an opportunity for people to come together in a safe space where they could hold and care for each other in really challenging times around things that matter.” Dr. Johnson told me. 

Each session, offered every other week from mid-September to mid-December, began with a reminder that everything discussed in the 90-minute class was private and not to be repeated outside of the class. George Winn felt this confidentiality was respected at all times. “I was concerned about it being private, but I don’t think there’s one person in that group that would disclose one thing that was talked about,” he said. 

For many, the class fulfilled the need of being with others in a difficult time. “This class went above and beyond my expectations!” Deb Miller said.  [My husband Tim and I] looked forward to it every time. “We would have continued if the course were still going.”

Maggie Arko signed up to take the class because she wanted to meet people at Holy Trinity.  “Part of the reason I went to the class is because physical distancing is different from social distancing and social distancing you have to work at,” says Maggie. She and her husband attended for a while several years ago, but then began to travel for most of the year. They officially joined last year and were looking forward to getting to know more of the congregation when the pandemic began. 

“This class supported what was happening in my life; the relationships I took for granted became much more important. I began to appreciate the relationships I had with friends and family. I came to really appreciate how important it is to talk to people and have people listen to me every once in a while.”

Online Format Changes Retreat

Like many, Dr. Johnson has had innumerable meetings through Zoom. However, he had not facilitated a workshop online. “I had to pay better attention to the group dynamics and the pacing through the screen,” he told me (yep, on a Zoom call). “I felt more purposeful about how I was managing time. Each session was scheduled for 90 minutes and I felt like I needed to attend to how those minutes lived out on the screen.”

Mikki Hubert appreciated the online format. A natural introvert, she usually has to make herself speak up. “The Zoom experience made me not so afraid to express what I felt!” New to taking classes online, Mikki didn’t feel the format was challenging. “If you just look at the directions, it wasn’t hard to follow the directions.”

Age Doesn’t Matter in a Pandemic

Meg Schoenbauer, a 19-year-old college student and the youngest member by several years, found it interesting to be in a class with people in different stages of life. “We’re all going through the same struggles with the pandemic.” A 2020 high school graduate, Schoenbauer missed her senior prom and class graduation due to the pandemic. “We’re all missing certain life milestones we wished we weren’t, we’re all missing time with family.”

Schoenbauer also learned “no matter how old you are, everyone is trying to figure things out. Just because they are older and wiser, doesn’t mean they have a better handle on the pandemic.” 

George Winn agrees. “I’m older, I’ve lived through World War II, Vietnam, Polio vaccinations…. But age difference didn’t matter much in this class. Everyone is experiencing isolation like never before, everyone is reacting differently.”

Winn felt the participants learned to be more empathetic and to understand each other better. “We felt free to express ourselves and no one made judgmental comments. All people really need is someone to listen to them.”
 
Class Offers Life-Changing Ideas

Many felt the class changed them. For Meg Schoenbauer, that meant changing her environment. “One of the readings was about roots, and that made me re-evaluate my setting. It caused me to move and improve my own situation,” she said. “I don’t have to just get through this. I can put myself in a better situation that’s better for me.”

Tim Miller was impressed with how this changed the group dynamics outside of the class. “People dropped things off at the house for Christmas. These small groups have made us more tender toward each other. These little acts of kindness are much more likely to continue,” he said.

Small Groups at Holy Trinity

One noticeable difference for Dr. Johnson was the proportion of men to women in the Holy Trinity group. “I noticed there was a little more gender diversity, a more evenly mixed group of men and women. But more men can always get involved.”

Tim Miller agrees. “I think that engaging men more will help with relationships and help men with men. Men doing men’s things, having coffee in the morning, Bible studies together…. Small group ministry has a place at Holy Trinity. It will be interesting to see how it evolves when we’re all back together.”
 
Written by Rose M. Fife, HTLC Communications Specialist
January 8. 2021

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