The Courage to Be: Mindfulness for Healing and Wholeness
This four-week guided journey into mindful awareness invites participants to gently explore fear, perfection, and forgiveness so each may grow in self-compassion, healing, and wholeness.
What is The Courage to Be ?
This series offering a gentle and supportive space to explore the deeper movements of our inner lives.
Through reflective practices and guided meditation exercises, participants will engage in pathways toward healing.
Rather than striving to fix or judge ourselves, this experience invites us to slow down, listen with compassion, and rediscover the grace of simply Being.
Together, we will cultivate the courage to face what is within us, so that we may grow in freedom, wholeness, and a more grounded sense of self.
How It Works
Duration: 4 weeks; This is not a drop-in program. Each week builds upon the previous week’s practice.
Participants will engage in:
Body awareness and breath-based grounding
Reflection on self-judgment and perfectionism
Gentle exploration of fear and forgiveness
Invitation for brief journaling and compassionate self-observation
Dates and Times of the Program
4 Tuesday Nights: July 14, 21, 28, and August 4
6:30-7:30 P.M.
What You’ll Need
Participants may bring blankets, mats, and a pillow for lumbar support in the chairs.
Registration
Register here to secure your spot.
The class is limited to 20 participants. The cost of this series is $50, which covers all 4 weeks.
Partial and full scholarships are available. Email Admin@thethresholdcenter.org for confidential inquiry.
Meeting Location
Each session will be offered at the beautifully remodeled Threshold Center at 3794 Crosshaven Drive, Vestavia Hills/ Cahaba Heights, AL 35223.
Jose Fernandez, Facilitator
Meet Jose
José R. Fernández has faciliatated for The Threshold Center multiple times, and each time, our participants find peace and strength through his instruction. Jose’s warm and encouraging personality and extensive knowledge create an ideal combination for mindfulness classes. Participants who learn from Jose repeatedly ask when he will teach again and are eager to join in when he’s on our schedule.
The Rev. José R. Fernández, PhD, began his ministry as the Rector of Grace Episcopal Church in March 2023. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Father José overcame the challenges of a disadvantaged background through education. He earned a BS in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico, an MA in Secondary Science Education from Columbia University, and a PhD in Biobehavioral Health from Penn State University.
Rev. José pursued a successful academic career that combined research and education in the field of genetics of obesity and nutrition, serving as a faculty member and administrator in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In 2017, after a decade as a mentor for the Education for Ministry (EfM) program, he felt a calling to explore ordained ministry. This led to seminary training at the Alabama Integrative Ministry School for bi-vocational priesthood, culminating in his ordination as an Episcopal priest in December 2021.
