Virtual Gospel of Thomas Groups
I am so very pleased to announce expanded opportunities for those on the Wisdom path to participate in ongoing Gospel of Thomas groups. Having worked on a deepened lectio divina process for the past fifteen years, I have recently guided and prepared a number of seasoned practitioners and group facilitators to organize and run their own Gospel of Thomas groups. For now, most of these new opportunities will utilize the technology of Zoom.
Rather than following an educational approach to an academic understanding of the text, these groups will allow the Gospel of Thomas to serve as a living text that will deepen the sharing and interaction among the participants. Moving beyond a more traditional model of lectio, the work has proven essential in deepening and integrating the spiritual transformations of the group members.
The group organizers, then, rather than being academic experts, are facilitators who will guide these groups in their inquiries and their interactions. Having experienced the power of these conversations themselves, they will work to facilitate the group process. The alchemy comes when the container of trust and safety is established in such a way that it allows the participants to risk sharing their authentic reactions and their deepest ponderings. Rather than pointing forth a point of view designed to convince others, rather than finding forced agreement, and rather than posturing in any way—the participants are encouraged to listen deeply and without judgment and to risk being authentically real in their own responses. This is what deepens the integration of Wisdom.
Most of the facilitators listed here will be running Gospel of Thomas groups that will meet weekly for 75 to 90 minutes. The facilitators will generally run a series of 10 to 12 weekly sessions, which we call chapters. Participants will be asked to commit to a full chapter—although there is generally no expectation that everyone will be able to attend every group session. Between chapters there may be a break of some duration. Participants can then choose to stop at that point or to continue on into the next chapter. Generally, new participants are brought on board at the beginning of a chapter.
The calendar below will indicate the time and day of week for each facilitator’s group. It will also indicate if there is currently an opening in this group. If there is an opening and you are interested, please contact the facilitator directly to discuss the details.
Many of the groups will have a small charge per chapter (approximately 10 to 12 sessions). Because each facilitator will handle this matter uniquely, the information can and will come directly from them. Indeed, sign up and further information about each facilitator’s group can be done through her/his direct E-mail.
I am privileged to continue to participate through ongoing support and supervision of this group of facilitators.
Gospel of Thomas Drop-In Group
In an effort to orient newcomers and to re-orient veterans to this work, I will be running a bi-monthly Gospel of Thomas Drop-In Group. This will be a fluid group that will be comprised with whomever shows up for that day’s gathering. Consistence attendance is in no way required or expected. Besides addressing the text as is done in the other Gospel of Thomas groups, there will be the added ongoing emphasis on the elucidation of the special process that the GoT groups utilize.
This drop-in group, however, will by no means serve as a substitute for the ongoing Gospel of Thomas groups. Quite the opposite, this drop-in group will hopefully serve to encourage participants to consider committing to an ongoing Thomas group. There is no substitute for the consistent engagement with an ongoing group.
Although there is no set fee for this group, donations are welcome.
The Gospel of Thomas Drop-In Group will meet bi-monthly on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month from 11 am to 12:15 pm. The group will start on September 25.
Here is the link for the b-monthly Thomas Drop-In Group:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83990544644
Passcode: Wisdom
Calendar of Gospel of Thomas Groups
Below is a schedule of the present Gospel of Thomas Groups. Please read the facilitator messages below and contact them directly if you are interested. All times are Eastern.
Monday: 9 am - 10:30 am Dianne McAuliffe (Full)
12 pm - 1:30 pm Carol Tolonen (Full)
3 pm - 4:15 pm Patricia Moore (Full)
Tuesday 7 pm - 8 pm Ellen Gottmann Kulik (Open)
Wednesday: 9 am - 10:15 am Pam Butler (Full)
7 pm - 8 pm Melissa Auten (Open)
Thursday: 9 am - 10:30 am Edie Kausch (Open)
4:30 pm - 6 pm Janet Cook & Carol Tolonen (Open)
6:30 pm - 8 pm Peggy Greenwald (Open)
Monday Gospel of Thomas Group
We are a group of seven who have just finished exploring the Gospel of Thomas for the first time and unanimously decided we want to explore it again. We rotate the leadership of the group each week. We find this deepens our own awareness of the logia and allows our own gifts to enrich the group. We follow the Lecio Divina format.
Our group is open to welcoming new members.
Time: Monday 9-10:30 am EST on Zoom
Contact person: Dianne McAuliffe
If you are interested in joining our group please contact me at diannemcauliffe@comcast.net
Carol Tolonen
When our Gospel of Thomas group was first forming in the spring of 2022, I wrote that my goal in facilitating the group was “to help co-create a small community within our growing Wisdom Community that will nurture the spiritual growth of each of us as individuals, strengthen our larger community, and enhance our capacities to live our daily lives out of the perspective we are gaining from our ongoing Wisdom transformation.” The community that has developed and continues to evolve has more than met my hopes and expectations. As we share our individual responses to the often enigmatic sayings of Jesus recorded as the Gospel of Thomas, we find ourselves clarifying and claiming our own Wisdom voices and at the same time expanding our perspectives as we listen receptively to the perspectives of one another. And as we share examples and questionings from our everyday lives, we feel heard and supported by each other in a way that can only occur because of our common commitment to the spiritual journey. Our experience together repeatedly affirms the Wisdom principle that we are all interconnected and thus the spiritual journey requires community.
We meet weekly on Mondays from 12 to 1:30 Eastern time. Our concept of “chapters” is rather loose and we are almost always open to new members.
If you would like to hear more and discern whether joining us is the right step for you right now, please email me at caroltolonen@gmail.com.
Edie Kausch
If you are considering joining a Gospel Of Thomas Group then I bid you a warm wholehearted welcome.
As human beings, we have a longing to belong to a loving community that can see and accept us as we truly are and we feel blessed and honored when others in that community gift us with their own deep authenticity. This is what a Gospel Of Thomas Group can offer to you.
With the Apostle, Thomas, as our guide, let us begin a journey to explore the vast uncharted regions of our hearts through the secret sayings of Jeshua. Experience how each Logion reveals itself though your own life and circumstances. Watch how your own wisdom voice evolves as we affirm and resonate with your growing sense of wholeness. Let us feast in the joys of learning to lovingly tend to ourselves and each other in life-giving ways. Let us begin to drink from our true Source.
I would love to begin this sacred journey with you. . We will meet on Zoom each Thursday at 9-10:30 am. (Eastern). To join this group or if you have any questions, you can email me at: growingdiva@gmail.com
Melissa Auten
It is with great joy and deep humility that I approach this new venture to begin sharing The Gospel of Thomas in a Lectio Divina style group with interested wisdom seekers. This gospel offers us a unique opportunity to wrestle with a little known wisdom text that was largely lost to humanity until the 20th century. Written by Thomas, disciple of Jesus, this unique gospel allows for spacious reflection that requires all of our centers- cognitive, heart, and body in order to sense meaning and application to our own lives and lived experiences. Sharing in community is the very best way to approach Thomas, as it is in the midst of us where the Spirit breathes, enlightens, and enlivens each perspective causing something akin to a new arising to occur. If you are interested in joining such a group, please contact me at: auten.melissa@yahoo.com
Details: 10-week chapters with reset periods in between where participants can decide if they wish to continue on or take a break.
Wednesday evenings: 6:30-8 pm
Suggested donation: sliding scale $50-100 per “chapter”
Pam Butler
Welcome fellow wisdom seeker and thank you for considering a Gospel of Thomas group.
My experience in a Gospel of Thomas group has led me to deeper places in ways of being, of knowing, of loving and of living. I am amazed how the text speaks to each member in such a unique way, as the spirit moves in this open and safe space in which to share. As the logion is read out loud, members respond with words or phrases followed by feelings and thoughts that bubble up, so to speak. As a result, the gospel becomes a living text to be experienced together.
Finding this connection in community has been an important step on my wisdom journey and one that I would like to share. It would be my pleasure to walk along this path exploring the Gospel of Thomas with you.
Details: 10-week chapters with 6-8 participants
The idea is to commit to all 10 sessions (a chapter), but if you must miss one or two, not a problem. Sessions will be recorded on Zoom and sent out to the group.
At the end of each chapter, with the groups input we will take 2-3 weeks off, allowing participants the chance to take a break or to conFnue with the next chapter.
Time: Wednesday 9-10:15 am EST via Zoom
If you are interested in joining this group or if you have questions, please feel free to contact me at:
butlerpw711@gmail.com
Peggy Greenwald
Are you curious about the Gospel of Thomas? Have you been looking for a group of people with whom you can explore it? My own journey to Thomas took time. I had been exploring various spiritual teachers for many years, until I found Bill Redfield’s programs in late 2019 and his approach spoke to my heart. Then, I was privileged to find an opening in an ongoing Gospel of Thomas group. Meeting together over the months, we shared thoughts, feelings and life experiences related to the Logions. In the process, I began to find my voice. I guess my excitement about the group experience was infectious because some of my friends began to ask if we could create our own group.
We started as a few like-minded people who wanted a safe and loving space to talk about God in a real and personal way. The group has now been meeting for a couple of years. We have welcomed new members and sometimes old friends have moved on as they found different ways to experience God and community. As a core group of Wisdom seekers, we continue to explore Thomas together with excitement and vulnerability, never knowing how the Logion will direct our conversation. Yeshua and Thomas guide us, but our lives provide the basis for our discussions.
We meet Thursday evenings from 6:30-8:00 PM ET on Zoom. We have space for a few new people. If you think you might like to join us, you can contact me at Margaretsgreenwald@gmail.com
Ellen Gottmann Kulik
Hello. My name is Ellen Gottmann Kulik. I was raised in the Christian faith and had a firm faith footing when the tragic death of my 10 day old son rocked my world. Not only was I cast into a world of unfathomable pain and grief, but the platitudes of formal religion failed me as I grasped desperately to make sense of the profound presence of God in my deepest suffering. While it’s too long of a story to post here, I will say that my searching and the persistent nudging of the Spirit and some faithful spiritual companions gradually led me to the Christian Wisdom path, including the Gospel of Thomas. For me, the Gospel of Thomas has been a unique bridge between the canonical Gospels and the Wisdom path. During a time of questioning and moving into the unknown, my Gospel of Thomas group served as an anchor in the storm. I have both participated in and facilitated Gospel of Thomas groups in person and on-line. I would be honored to walk this path with you whether you have never studied the Gospel of Thomas or are an old friend of Thomas. Together, we will open our hearts to meaning of text and see what wisdom Thomas, and one another, have to offer. The group meets on Tuesday evenings from 7-8:00 P.M. EST on Zoom, and runs for 10 weeks. If you would like to join or need more information, please contact me at ellen@leavealittlemark.com.
Patricia Moore
Our Gospel of Thomas group meets Mondays at 12PM Pacific Time.
For ten gatherings, starting Sept. 9th and running through Nov. 11th, 2024.
This group is currently full, but there is a possibility of an additional group forming later this Fall. If you might be interested, let me know.
We’re a contemplative kind of group: The process we use honors the insights and wisdom expressed by the members of the group as we gather with the often enigmatic sayings recorded by Thomas. I say “with” because the sayings themselves seem to take on life within our group, challenging us, comforting us, causing us to wonder and intuit and consider how exactly there may be truth there that resonates with our own experience and imagination. It’s a process that rises out of silence, and that respects the offerings of each person with a bit of quiet before the next one speaks. We listen deeply. It’s very different from so many “study groups” where research, having the most profound interpretation, quoting other sources and scoring points can be the way of life. Here we are a community gathered with a logion from Yeshua and our goal is to live more profoundly into the Wisdom path through how we are together and what we learn in community. To that end, we commit to being present for all 10 sessions (recognizing that life happens and we may not be able to meet our commitment). Our intention is to be there!
My email: patmasrev@gmail.com
Janet Cook & Carol Tolonen
For both of us, the experience of being on the Wisdom path has so blessed our lives that we feel called to share it with others. Gathering to wonder and wander with the Gospel of Thomas has offered each of us a means to deepen our understanding of ourselves and others and inform what we are being called to do in the world and within this spiritual community. We meet, greet, sit in silence together, listen to Jesus's words and then share what we know, what we don't know, what we wonder about, what confuses us, what infuses us...for today and how it might inform our tomorrows.
Our Gospel of Thomas experience repeatedly affirms the Wisdom principle that we are all interconnected and therefore the spiritual journey requires community. We have each experienced the communal exploration of the Gospel of Thomas from the perspective of holding the post of facilitator and from the perspective of group member. Might we be able to enhance the process of facilitating a group by acting as co-facilitators? We have decided to experiment with this configuration and are offering a Gospel of Thomas group together. The group will meet on Zoom 4:30-6:00 PM (Eastern) weekly on Thursdays. Our first chapter will begin on September 26 and run until shortly before Christmas. If you would like to join us, please email either Carol (caroltolonen@gmail.com) or Janet (jlcookbost@gmail.com).