So Much to Love, So Much to Lose
Poetry, Process, and the Journey of Life
Reflecting on the Beauty, Challenges, and Interconnectedness of Life Through a Process-Relational Lens
In this four-session online course, students will explore Mary Elizabeth Moore’s So Much to Love, So Much to Lose as a primary text for reflecting on the beauty, challenges, and interconnectedness of life through the lens of process philosophy and theology.
Attend the live class sessions
or work at your own pace.
Course Summary
This four-session online course uses Mary Elizabeth Moore’s 2023 poetry collection, So Much to Love, So Much to Lose, as a primary text for exploring the beauty, challenges, and interconnectedness of life through the lens of process philosophy and theology. Each session focuses on one or more of the book’s five themes—Beginning, Awakening, Feeling, Interdepending, and Hoping—while integrating participant reflections, guided discussion, and creative exercises.
Mary Elizabeth Moore, in conversation with Jay McDaniel, who facilitates the sessions, will connect the themes in the poetry to process philosophy and theology, guiding participants through reflection and discussion.
This course invites participants into a reflective journey where poetry serves as a medium for engaging core ideas of process thought, such as relationality, creativity, becoming, and the sacredness of life’s joys and losses.
So Much
So much loss
too much to bear
and yet it comes,
so much love
filling eager bodies,
too much to hold,
but hold we will
if we are to live.
–Mary Elizabeth Moore
Course Outline
- Session 1: Beginnings—Opening to Possibility
- Session 2: Awakening and Feeling—Moments of Transformation
- Session 3: Interdepending and Hoping—The Sacred Web
- Session 4: Integrating the Journey—Love, Loss, and Life
Course Goals
- Create a space for personal and communal reflection on love, loss, and hope as they relate to life’s interconnectedness.
- Encourage creative engagement with philosophical and theological concepts through poetry and participant-generated reflections.
- Foster a sense of community among participants as they explore the shared human experience of navigating beginnings, transformations, emotions, relationships, and hope.
Participants will gain a deeper understanding of process philosophy and theology through poetic themes. They will cultivate tools for navigating love, loss, and hope with creativity and relational awareness and build a reflective and supportive community through shared discussions and creative activities.
Who Should Attend?
This course is open to all with an interest in process philosophy, poetry, spirituality, or personal reflection. No prior experience in process thought or poetry required.
About the Instructors
Jay McDaniel is professor emeritus of Religious Studies at Hendrix College in Arkansas, and founder of the website Open Horizons, which focuses on exploring a process outlook on life and way of living in the world. Active in the development of process thought in China, he is a consultant to the Institute for Postmodern Development of China, and the Cobb Institute. His books include With Roots and Wings: Christianity in an Age of Ecology and Dialogue; Living from the Center: Spirituality in an Age of Consumerism; and Gandhi’s Hope: Learning from Other Religions as a Path to Peace.
Mary Elizabeth Moore is Dean Emerita and Professor of Theology and Education in Boston University School of Theology. Her passion is to journey with others to build compassionate and prophetic communities, and a more just, peaceful, and sustainable world. She feels privileged to work toward those ends as a board member of the Cobb Institute, especially in the practices of nurturing spirit, building justice, resisting violence, struggling against oppression, and caring for the earth. Some of her books include: Teaching as a Sacramental Act; Covenant and Call; Ministering with the Earth; and Teaching from the Heart: Theology and Educational Method. She has engaged actively in justice work in the church and in intercultural, interreligious relationship-building in local, professional, and academic settings.
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Suggested Price
- Lifetime access to session recordings
- Receive early notification of future courses
- Watch live or follow your own schedule
- Interact with class members via discussion forums
- * Contribute whatever you feel the course is worth or whatever you can afford to help support this and other programs like it. No one is turned down for lack of funds.
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