My course on dreams and dreaming was well received when it was first offered as part of Canadian Mennonite University's Xplore program in Fall 2023. One participant responded:
Thank you for a terrific class. It gave me a new appreciation for visions and dreams addressed in Scripture and also a broader understanding of my dreams. I especially found the class on the topic of when dreams are not realized helpful. Thank you for sending a summary of each class. I plan to review the notes again as there is much to reflect on.
Although it was an elective course, I was invited to teach it again as part of the Xplore program the following year. In 2025, I taught it on my own as a Zoom course, and in 2027, I will teach an expanded version of the course for the Ottawa School of Theology and Spirituality. If you're interested in where and when this course might be taught in future, please ask. In the meantime, please see the course description below.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Are You Living Your Dream? Or Longing for a New One?
Course Description
In Scripture God promises to pour out the Spirit, and “your young will see visions, Your elders will dream dreams” (Acts 2:17, cf. Joel 2:28). What might this mean for our dreaming today? What dreams do we have when we’re asleep? What dreams do we have when we’re awake, in the sense of cherished aspirations and ideals? How do we live wisely and well beyond our broken dreams?
This course will explore dreams and dreaming in Scripture, good dreams/bad dreams/broken dreams/God-given dreams, letting go of a dream, making room for a new one, learning to dream again, and living it out. Each session will include time for teaching, reflection, sharing, and discussion.
Instructor
April Yamasaki is a pastor and the author of Four Gifts, Sacred Pauses, and other books on Christian living. She currently serves as resident author with a liturgical worship community, edits a daily devotional magazine, continues to write online and in print, and is a frequent guest speaker. In these and other ways, she is living her childhood dream of being a writer. At the same time, with the sudden death of her husband last year and in other circumstances of life, she is well acquainted with delayed, disappointing, and broken dreams.
