Online Courses

A Garland For Ashes:

Lesson Guide

This four lesson series takes students through the life of Hanna Zack Miley, a child of the kindertransport and holocaust survivor, and her journey to forgive those who killed her parents in Chelmno, Poland, in 1942. Providing both historical and personal context, these lessons invite students then to look at their own stories and apply Hanna’s profound insights navigating trauma and loss. The series is developed from her book, A Garland for Ashes, but is designed to be used independently.

Focus

  • Building questions that facilitate group discussions between students and teachers
  • Emphasizing empathy for those involved
  • Connecting the personal experiences of those involved with the student’s own life experiences
  • Ultimately laying a foundation where the principles of reconciliation can be engaged 

Lessons prepared by Daniel Malakowsky

Church Divisions:

The History and Nature

Taking A Painful Look

The History and Nature of Church Divisions is a study aimed at taking a painful look at the shared history of Christianity. Today these divisions are as noticeable as ever, but very few have asked the question as to why they are and how they came to be. By not asking these questions, many inadvertently repeat the failures of our collective past and continue to propagate a divided Christ.

A Transformative Approach

Rooted in the idea that history is best studied from a transformative approach, along with asking questions in regards to the history of church divisions, this study will also challenge by asking questions back of those who partake in it.  The aim is not to persuade, convince, or alter the beliefs, values, and convictions of any one stream of the Christian tradition.  Instead it is designed to help one become better equipped at locating their own stream and how to relate to those from other traditions

An Act Of Repentance

Ultimately this study is an act of repentance. It is a repentance of not taking the call and message of union within Christ seriously.  It is a repentance from the way that believers have historically treated one another within the Christian faith.  It is a repentance that we might be healed in our hearts towards one another and then truly look at what divides us, only now from a platform of reconciliation and love.

By Daniel Malakowsky