T&SC - What We Do

"We just quietly make ourselves available to teach, share and guide those who are ready."

"None of what is taught is original or new. Most of it is straight out of Scripture. But it is real – practical answers – and ways to make your life, as our flyer has always said – peaceful in a time of chaos, secure in a changing and unstable world, and fulfilling within a society selling emptiness. Real answers — right here — right now." (excerpt from the T&SC newsletter)

Nature-Spirit-Expression

The most honest and simplest answer to the question of what we do is "whatever God asks us to do." There is no shortage of possibility in Scripture for Christian endeavor. We are here to teach and to share. The nature-spirit-expression theme of the T&SC provides a broad arena in which to function. From environmental and earth keeping ministries, through spiritual growth and religious avenues, to the arts and other creative expressions of God gifts to each of us, our primary objective is helping people grow into an actively closer relationship with their Creator. We help individuals seek and focus on their Creator in their everyday lives. This, in turn, helps them to blossom fully into what God intended them to be, when He put together the unique combination of skills, likes, dislikes, personality and the myriad of other pieces in each person's puzzle. So, our second objective is to help individuals to teach and share the gifts and talents God has bestowed upon them. Plus, we do whatever else God asks of us, setting the example for the very things we talk about as our primary purpose.

We remain open to the real and present guidance of the Holy Spirit and try not to box ourselves in by saying we cannot move outside of our main focus, or there are only certain ways by which we can accomplish God’s purpose. By the same token, responding to a specific need God has placed before us, does not make the activity a part of our regular routine. For example, we have over the years been called upon to provide shelter when the police brought a homeless person to us, meals and bathroom facilities to itinerants and other visitors, and worship space for a weekly service, but that does not make us a shelter, a food bank, or a church. We do maintain a lending library and a prayer and meditation room as a part of the Teaching & Sharing Center of Grand Ledge. Mostly, we work with individuals one on one, but we are not limited to that. If someone wishes to hold a class or use a different format, we try to help them do that.

Everyone has something to teach and things they can share. Each person has great value in the larger scheme of things. It is our goal to help bring that value into complete expression and fulfillment. What can you teach or share with us in this adventure called life?

While our Independent Affiliates might have costs or fees associated with their services or products, depending on their individual circumstance, virtually everything we do, or offer, as an organization is done (or offered) free of charge. That is why your donations are so important.

Why free?

In its first ten years, the Teaching & Sharing Center [of Grand Ledge] was owned and operated by william, the poet and photographer through whom God set it all up. He believed, as did Peace Pilgrim, that anyone who actually possessed spiritual truth would not be selling it. He felt Christ asks us to share freely not only of our wisdom but of our possessions as well. The following quote sums up his philosophy, and free remains a tradition which we have kept.

"I do not require, nor even ask, for a fee. Indeed, the true value of what is received here is beyond anybody’s ability to pay. Our society has placed the greatest monetary values on mere trinkets, while overlooking the wealth, more precious than gold, found in wisdom and love, or the beauty, beyond that of a flawless diamond, found in harmonious living."

We believe the kind of support a person provides to the T&SC is an indication of how well they perceive these truths. It also acknowledges, of course, how well they believe, or feel, that we reflect these truths. So it remains, that most of what we do and offer is done without any charge attached to it. But, that is not because it is without value. On the contrary, the real value to you just might be incalculable. Through the voluntary sharing of resources, each person exhibits their understanding of this, and in so doing – each is blessed.

"How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods
and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?"

1 John 3:17