The NIU Lifelong Learning Institute (LLI), established in 2000, is a member-directed group of individuals primarily age 50+ who enjoy learning in informal, flexible, non-competitive groups and like connecting with peers who share their interests. No grades, no tests – just learning for the fun of it.

Tuesdays, March 19, 26 and April 2, 9, 16
1 to 3 p.m.

Over the last several decades, people studying wellness have found that daily doses of wonder can do a lot to improve our everyday lives and lift us out of depression, worry and loneliness. For some of us, though, that sense of enchantment – so natural when we were children – has become more and more difficult to find.

In this study group, we’ll look at easily accessible poems that try to capture or trigger our experience of wonder. What is wonder, anyway? When, where and why does it catch us by surprise, and are there ways we can better seek it out in days to come? As we talk about poems, perhaps we’ll be prompted to share more of our own wonder-filled moments and insights.

Convener: Joe Gastiger was pastor at the First Congregational Church, UCC, in DeKalb for almost twenty years before retiring in 2020. Prior to ministry, he taught English classes at NIU and coordinated the University Honors Program. These days, he serves on the LLI Curriculum Committee and chairs the Steering Committee. Joe has led more than a dozen study groups for LLI and has published four books of poetry.