BILL HODGES PHOTO
Community Church College Office Manager Larry Piechoski and Dean Anne Ginevan check on-line registrations for the fall semester starting October 9. Open registration is Wednesday, September 20. Any adult can attend classes; there is no SCC residency requirement.
Okay — now you’re retired and seeking a healthy balance in this chapter of your life. You are challenged with finding satisfying activities that keep you physically active and mentally stimulated. Community Church College (CCC) in Sun City Center can help with that. Twice a year, CCC offers a wide range of weekly classes that will “inform, entertain and inspire.” After all—that’s its stated purpose.
Dean of the college is Anne Ginevan, PhD, who assumed the position a couple of years ago when Sally Erath retired. She said she is excited about her leadership role in this outreach program that started in 1976. It began as a mission of the United Community Church (recently renamed SouthShore United Church of Christ) because Dr. Robert Gingery, the pastor then, felt the area offered a lot of activities but needed more to challenge the intellect and keep the mind going.
“It is a challenge to keep the classes relevant, so we check the evaluations carefully and are always open to suggestions. We want to keep offering classes that interest a wide range of people,” Ginevan said. “Of course, another challenge is paying the bills.” The college operates independently of the church although it rents space for office and classes there. Course tuitions, grants and donations cover the bulk of operating costs, but when expenses exceed income, they reluctantly tap its endowments.
The fall semester offers some new, intriguing topics such as Selling on eBay and Reflexology and Intuition: Exploring Your Underused Gift. Many of the popular courses such as Spanish and Sign Language are returning and technology-oriented subjects are increasingly being added to the curriculum. Most sessions are 90 minutes for six consecutive weeks, although some topics do not require six weeks.
For the travelers among us, the curriculum includes day trips and tours to interesting places such as the Mount Dora Craft Fair. These are popular and fill up fast, partly because Clara Rafiniski, coordinator, is well known in the area for her work with the Mini-Bus Club in Sun City Center.
The CCC instructors are all basically volunteers willing to give back to their community by sharing their experience and expertise. Kenneth McLoone, for example, is teaching Philosophy of the Western Mind for the first time at CCC this fall. He is a student of philosophy, an interest initially developed while taking required courses for undergraduate studies. McLoone says that after he retired, he realized that one cannot live with only golf as a hobby, which led to his in-depth examination of the writings of the great philosophers. Now he wants to share his findings with others.
This year’s course catalog can be found online (www.4lifelearning.org) and printed copies are available at the SCC Library and Community Association Information Center—both on N. Pebble Beach Blvd.—and from the college office in the church at 1501 La Jolla Avenue. (Also see the Observer News ad in this issue.)
Registrations are available on-line only through Sunday, Sept. 17. Open registration begins Wednesday, Sept. 20, 9 a.m. to noon in the Hospitality Hall of the church. Class walk-ins are accepted for classes where enrollment is not limited. Questions can be directed to the college by email: communitychurchcollege@gmail.com or phone 813-634-8607.
