About the Love Joy Peace Course
Love Joy Peace is a free 5 session course designed to offer the gift of
Christian Spirituality without obligation or requirement.
It is intended to offer an insight into the experience of Christian faith,
through guided meditation, explanation, discussion and action.
Love Joy Peace was written by Revd Timothy Fox, and developed at St Paul's, Boundary Road in Nottingham.
All material is free to use, but copyright Timothy Fox 2025. Please don't change anything without permission!
Click below to register and download the resources
Course Introduction
In a letter written in the middle of the 1st century to a community in the region of Galatia (modern Turkey) an early Christian leader called Paul of Tarsus wrote about the fruits of the spiritual life that he had discovered, and that he was teaching to others around the Greek speaking world of the Mediterranean. What he had discovered was a spiritual path that was founded in the person of Jesus of Nazareth – Jesus Christ. He had discovered Christian spirituality.
He wrote: ‘…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.’
Christians believe that the fruits of this spiritual life are indeed love, joy, peace, and more. For two-thousand years people have found the practice of Christian spirituality to be an incredibly powerful way to grow in love, in joy and in peace.
On this course, we are going to explore how we can develop these spiritual ‘fruits’. We will do this through the practice of imaginative meditation as taught by another famous Christian; the 16th century Spanish saint Ignatius of Loyola. Using discussion, explanation and meditation, we will explore 5 major themes of Christian Spirituality that invite us into love, joy, and peace. These themes are:
God. Peace. Forgiveness. Silence. Hope.
It is important to stress that participants need not believe anything in particular or even anything at all, during what follows. They will not be required to pray; nothing will be required from them except the shared need to engage generously and positively with others who may have different views or beliefs.
What follows is not intended or claimed to be a complete introduction to Christianity. Naturally there is more that could be said (and more that might need to be said) if someone wanted to further explore Christian faith or become part of a Christian church.
Rather, this course is intended to offer an experience; an experience of the practices that Christians use; and the treasures that we find as we tread our spiritual path. Because we believe that Christian spirituality is an extraordinary gift, this course is designed to be a gift to all; to those of all faiths or none. I sincerely and passionately hope that those who engage with this course do indeed experience it as gift, and that they are able to find themselves growing in love, joy and peace.
Timothy Fox
The Theology of 'Gift'
At the heart of the theological approach behind the Love Joy Peace course is a desire to meet the challenge of the Brazilian educationalist Paulo Freire, who considered that education can be a site of oppression if insufficient attention is given to the freedom and autonomy of the learner. The course was designed to be able to be received as 'gift' by all, not just by those who become convinced by Christian faith-claims or doctrines.
An 'Enquirer Course' With a Contemplative Spirituality
The Love Joy Peace Course situates practices such as Silence, Imaginative Contemplation, and Holy Communion at the heart of the Christian spiritual experience. For those who find that their spirituality is more suited to a contemplative approach, this may be a course that helps offer some of the beauty and depth of that spirituality to others.
Two imaginative meditations are used in each session, the scripts of which have been recorded (with background music) and made into videos. These are free to use, or download as part of our presentation resources.