by Elizabeth L. Windsor 

The Day of Pentecost is one of my favorite feast days of the Church year.  Many educators, me among them, consider the day of Pentecost and the receiving of the Holy Spirit by the disciples, the “birthday of the Church.”  It is the gift of the Holy Spirit that makes it possible for the disciples to become apostles who spread the Good News throughout the world and throughout the ages.  The on-going gift of the Spirit continues to help us spread the news and become apostles in our time and place.  And that is worth celebrating!  Here  are some simple ideas that will help you celebrate the Day of Penetcost with your congregation and church school:

It’s a birthday party, cake required:  Some years I have done one big cake with “Happy Birthday Church of God!” written on it.  Other years I have done 12 individual cakes with each month of the year on them.  Have your congregation gather around the cake for the month they were born. Sing “Happy Birthday” to each other – and follow it with the singing of “I am the Church. You are the Church.  We are the Church together.”

What’s a birthday party without presents?  As you look toward re-stocking your supply closet for the fall, get a list together of what you need- everything from diapers for the nursery to magic markers and glitter glue.  Post the list in your newsletter a couple of weeks in advance and send the list home with your Church School kiddos.  Ask the congregation to bring these gifts (wrapped) to the Pentecost party with the cake and have the church school children open them.  Depending upon what you ask for, you can get kids wondering what you will be doing with these interesting things come fall.

Wear Party Clothes:  This is a great day to celebrate with color – invite the congregation to wear red.  Have red carnations ready for your choir, acolytes and pastors to wear.  Invite the Church School to wear bright yellow or orange.  The worship service will look like a sea of flame.  Some years, I have invited women to wear hats, girls to wear their most sparkly shoes, men their funkiest ties and boys the brightest shoe laces they can find.  Face painting is another fun way to involve the Church School during lesson time.

We can’t see the Holy Spirit, but like the wind, we can see what it does:  In every congregation I have worked in, I pass out ‘Pentecost Bubbles” (Oriental Trading has them in small multi-colored bottles with crosses on top).  Either during the morning class or with the grown-ups at the Pentecost party, head outside and blow bubbles.  As you watch the bubbles ride the wind, shout out things the Holy Spirit is doing in your congregation or in the lives of your families.  Kids come up with some really creative things!  Pinwheels are also fun to us as decorations on this day or you can pass them out during the offering time and have the congregation wave them as you sing and celebrate.

None of these activities are particularly expensive, but each one brings folks closer to each other and to the work of the Holy Spirit.  And it’s a lot of fun!  Be sure to get pictures and post them on your summer bulletin board to remind them of the Holy Spirit’s work during the long, green Season after Pentecost.

What ideas can you share to celebrate Pentecost?

Dr. Elizabeth L. Windsor is the Director of Christian Education at Sudbury United Methodist Church in Sudbury, Massachusetts. Christian formation throughout the life cycle is both her profession and her passion.

The image above is the Pentecost altar frontal from Wells Cathedral in Somerset, England.

by Jenifer Gamber

Malcolm Gladwell, author of the book Outliers: The Story of Success, argues that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert. Consider the band The Beatles, entrepreneur Bill Gates, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and golfer Tiger Woods. They had talent. But even more they’d clocked 10,000 hours. Mastery takes practice.

So, I wondered, could I become an expert in prayer? Why not? Prayer is central to who (and whose) I am. It’s how I set aside time to listen to God and share what’s on my heart. It’s the foundation of our relationship. Of course I’d love to be an expert in prayer. Have it down pat so that when I prayed, I’d have instant access. A crystal clear direct line.

So, let’s see. If I pray 1/2 hour a day, that’s 182.5 hours a year. Divide 182.5 into 10,000 and I get 55. It would take me 55 years to become an expert, or so Malcolm Gladwell says. I couldn’t tell you how many hours I’ve got under my belt, but I’m 99 percent sure it’s not 8,000 yet, which is how many hours I’d need to have logged by now to be an expert by age 55. Am I concerned? No. Do I want to recommit myself to listening to God? Absolutely!

I’m not sure I want to become an expert anyway.  Becoming an expert implies I’m working toward perfection, mastery, success – that crystal-clear connection. With the 10,000 hour rule, the connection is the result of my own efforts. Is that what I want? Not really. I’ve got a far loftier goal – I want to just be with God. I want to be in the presence of God and learn to listen. To receive God’s grace. To be present to the Holy.  To listen to God’s dreams.

It’s not that I don’t want to practice. I do! I want to exercise an ability to be silent and to listen. Practice being present. Practice letting the voices and memories of the day go. Practice receiving these voices and memories (inevitably they will come) and then practice watching them float along the river onto the shores of another place, leaving me here. Leaving me with what is always left at the end of the day – GRACE. Practice receiving grace as I empty myself of the day.

The other day I learned what it means to be an amateur.  The word “amateur” comes from the Latin verb “amare” –  to love.  So, an amateur is someone who is in love. What I really want to be, instead of an expert, is an amateur of God. And I want to remain an amateur. I never want to be an expert in God. I want to rest in God’s grace. I don’t want a crystal clear connection. I want mystery that demands seeking and more prayer.

Join Sharon Pearson and I at Episcopal Prayer amateurs of God through prayer. It’s based on prayers we’ve written for young people entitled Call on Me: Prayers for Young People. Invite youth to share their prayers, too. We’ll offer ours and you can offer yours.  I wonder how many hours it takes to be an amateur? Luckily, God’s got more than 10,0000 hours. God offers all day and an eternity.

Jenifer Gamber has been involved in Christian formation since she began teaching Sunday school as a teenager.  The author of My Faith, My Life and Your Faith, Your Life for adults, she is a popular speaker on the topics of spirituality, prayer, and teen faith formation. Her website, offers a wealth of resources for adults who work with youth.

Informal adult learning is learning for its own sake rather than to get a certificate or degree. Here are some core principles of informal adult learning that those who facilitate adult education may find helpful:

Respect – adults learn best when the facilitator recognizes where they are starting from and their views, experiences and ideas are respected and taken into account.

Self-determination – adults learn best when they are actively involved in making choices about their learning – planning what they want to learn, being helped to reflect on how to learn and to decide what learning methods suit them best.

Interaction – informal learning can provide opportunities to build friendships, make connections and learn collaboratively with others.

Confidence will develop in an environment where learners are respected and feel safe. It’s important to ensure that anyone working with vulnerable adults has undergone appropriate Safe Church training.

Knowledge and understanding will grow when facilitators take the time to find out how their learners learn best. Adults respond well to learning approaches that encourage them to draw on their previous experience and make use of it to engage with new information and new perspectives. However, they are likely to arrive with very different mixes of previous knowledge and experience. Some adults will be used to studying individually or learning in groups. Others may not have engaged in any learning since leaving school, and may have unhappy memories of their schooldays as well.

It’s helpful to find out what your learners already know about the topic, and to encourage them to pose key questions about what they want to find out from the learning activity. At the end of a learning session, they can be prompted to check back to identify what they have learned, and to reflect on whether the new learning has confirmed or challenged their previous thinking. In a group someone may have more knowledge of a particular aspect of the topic than you do yourself. That’s not something to be afraid of. You may be able to use that person as a resource to help support others in the group.

Some adults may have preferences for specific learning styles, for example auditory (listening), visual (observing) or kinesthetic (touch and movement). As a result, they may be more confident and comfortable with particular types of learning activities.

Preparation and evaluation are also important. The successful learning facilitator will need to put in some planning in advance, and turn up in good time to organize any resources needed. It will also be helpful to ask for feedback from your learners at the end of each session, or at regular points during a longer course, to help you improve what you do in future.

The physical environment is important too. It needs to be comfortable and accessible, so health and safety and disability access issues also need to be taken into account.

The learning facilitator will want to ensure that all learners are valued and no one is excluded from taking part by the way that learning sessions are organized. Some learners may have particular support needs. For example, some whose sight isn’t so good may benefit from large-print learning materials; others whose hearing is declining may need a clear view of the speaker so that they can lip read; and parents will find it helpful if childcare can be made available.

Learning together: a guide for facilitators of informal adult learning who want to develop their skills was commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills as part of The Learning Revolution in Great Britain. It was written by Miriam Sampson with research carried out by Sue Southwood, Sara Bosley and Murina Arkate.

by Amy Sander Montanez

Recently I led a day long retreat.  I felt comfortable on my drive to the location, mostly reviewing things in my head and praying.  I have three P’s when I speak or facilitate:  Prepare, Pray, and open to Possibilities.  For me the last “P” means letting the Spirit move as it may and paying attention to that movement,  but I needed a “P” so it’s Possibilities!   I knew I had come prepared, I had prayed, and…well…I had yet to know what was possible and where the Spirit would lead.

As often happens, someone’s comments or feedback early in the day reminded me of something else, a model an early mentor of mine had shown me.  It is something I use in my clinical practice and often share with clients, especially couples.   So I piggybacked this paradigm on to the comments of the participant, and shared this model that was not a part of what I had prepared.  As we continued, I found myself offering up other learnings of early mentors: Carl Whitaker especially, but Tom and Pat Malone, Laura Dodson, Edwin Friedman, Glenn Hinson, and Shaun McCartey as well.  Several times the room erupted in laughter as I said, “Well…I must be chanelling Carl again because here’s another pearl of wisdom that I learned from him.”

Especially on days like this, but also on most days, I am very aware that I stand on the shoulders of many who have gone before me.  I have been graced in ways too numerous to count, studying with the early masters of the marriage and family field, a  fairly new field in the grand scheme of things.  While the great research in the field is relatively new and helpful indeed, the wisdom of the field is not new.   Wise people have known about what is needed in relationships for ages.  It is not a big secret that in order for relationships to be functioning well we need mentally and spiritually healthy people in them.  It should not be a surprise that intimate relationships can be difficult and require self-knowledge and self-disclosure, good communication skills, a willingness to sacrifice, the flexibility to change, and the capacity for forgiveness and reconciliation.

I have been tutored and mentored by amazingly wise people, many of them no longer on this planet.  I have also been shaped and mentored by my Christian heritage, and especially through the actions and words of Jesus.  As I listen to his words and watch his actions, I know the wisdom of the ages is at work.   Although I do not read the Bible as a text book or a self-help manual, the deep message that I get is this: God is the very essence of Love, and we can watch that modeled in Jesus.  Because we are made in that image, we, individually and corporately, have the capacity to Love in ways we have yet to imagine or imitate.  To love as God loves is often not easy and may not look anything like the romanticized, sentimentalized, sexualized version we are fed by the media and literature.  God’s love turns everything we thought made sense inside out and upside down.

It is Eastertide and Pentecost will soon be here.  As we observe the radical in-breaking of the Holy Spirit, I pray for my heart to open to the wisdom and love that Jesus brought and continues to bring into the world.  Each week I pray in remembrance of all of those who have modeled that love and wisdom for me.  Each day I pray that I, too, will have shoulders worthy for someone else to stand on.

Below is a simple prayer that I was taught in a spiritual director’s training program, and  I regret that I cannot remember who authored these words.  This prayer is meant to be prayed slowly and repetitively, bringing one into a deeper state of meditation with each time it is said.  You will memorize it quickly and can then close your eyes and continue to say it.  You could write it out on an index card and use it in your prayer time.  Perhaps as you journey through Pentecost, this prayer will be a helpful reminder to turn to Jesus and let the Holy One be your mentor.

O Holy One,

Whose Heart Opens Each Moment I Turn to You,

I Come.

On whose shoulders do you stand?  What teachers are you grateful for?  Whose wisdom do you carry forward as you contribute to the kingdom of God?

Amy Sander Montanez, D.Min, has been a licensed professional counselor, licensed marriage & family therapist and spiritual director for over twenty years.  She blogs weekly at Amy Sander Montanez. 

by Sharon Ely Pearson

Young adulthood today has taken on new meaning as more and more adults (ages 18-35) are finding it more difficult to become financially independent in our society. According to Daniel Levinson (Theory of Adulthood), the purpose of young adulthood is to form a dream.

According to Jeffrey Arnett, “Many Americans have noticed the change in how young people expe- rience their late teens and their twenties. In the 1990s “Generation X” became a widely used term for people in this age period, inspired by Dou- glas Coupland’s 1991 novel of that title. However, the characteristics of today’s young people are not merely generational. The changes that have created emerging adulthood are here to stay—Generations X, Y, Z, and beyond will experience an extended period of exploration and instability in their late teens and twenties. For this reason I believe emerging adulthood should be recognized as a distinct new period of life that will be around for many generations to come.” Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road from Late Teens through the Twenties (2004, Oxford University Press)

Having grown up in a “Post-Modern Society” (after 1980), their world has always included:

• Virtual reality
• No absolutes
• No job security or loyalty
• Globalization
• Corruption of idealism
• Deconstructing systems
• Volumes of information, largely due to the internet
• Moral relativism
• Loss of childhood
• Common norms that no longer exist
• Distrust of government

With these “knowns” the Church can offer:

• Shelter
• Community
• Tradition
• Encouragement and space to listen for the voice of God
• Integrity
• Transcendence
• A place where one can speak, share and have someone listen
• Structure and stability
• Healing
• Guided meditation

The role of those who minster with young adults include being one who can offer a vision of their own:

• Benefits of adulthood
• Relationship with God
• Church and why it is important to them

• Cheerleading
• Visibility
• Trustworthy
• Listening
• Presence
• Sincerity
• Providing a hospitable environment

Programs that might suit this age group include:

• Vocational discernment
• Evening movies – Sacred Cinema – with a theme-based Pot-Luck meal before or after and a chance to discuss the film via theological reflection
• Worship (not on Sunday morning)
• Opportunities for companionship with mentors and peers

by Sharon Ely Pearson

This week there have been a variety of articles posted about Mother’s Day. For some, Mother’s Day is a painful day – they did not have a good relationship with their mother, their mother is deceased, or they have never known their mother. For me, it will be a weird day; my mom has severe dementia and no longer knows who I am.

But I am a mom. What has my role been as a mother and what might it be in the future? Some of these articles gave me a smile and an opportunity to reflect further.

As a mom I’ve tried to be a:

Nurturer. Of course, most moms nail the nurturing thing, but who knew it made their kids’ brains bigger? Or at least it does to the hippocampus, the part of the brain associated with learning, memory and response to stress. According to a new study at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, children who had been nurtured more by their mothers in a stressful situation when they were toddlers tended to develop a larger hippocampus by the time they reached school age.

Mentor. It shouldn’t come as a big surprise, but now scientific research backs it up: As they approach middle age, mothers shift their focus from their husbands to their adult daughters. And that relationship deepens, peaking when the mom reaches 60, concludes the study published last month in Scientific Reports. The researchers said a mother’s ties to a daughter begin to strengthen when she, the daughter, reaches childbearing age.

A Mothers’ Day Prayer

I [we] thank you, Creator of us all, for my [our] mother[s].

I thank you that she gave me life and nurtured me all those years. She gave me my faith, helping me to know you and to know Jesus and his ways. She taught me how to love and how to sacrifice for others. She taught me that it was okay to cry and that I should always tell the truth.

Bless her with the graces she needs and which you want to give her today. Help her to feel precious in your eyes today and to know that I love her. Give her strength and courage, compassion and peace.

Bless her this day with your love.

Creighton University offers numerous prayers for all sorts of ‘motherhood’ that may be helpful as we approach Mother’s Day.

by Sharon Ely Pearson

We hear it all the time – the power of a story can change the world. As Christians, we are called to share God’s story of salvation . . . from Creation to the Resurrection. We share our own stories in times of sadness and joy. Stories center us in time and space as well as give us a glimpse of new possibilities.

Gretchen Wolff Pritchard in Offering the Gospel to Children (Cowley, 1992) states “For Christians, the stories of life, death, and resurrection are the most powerful “fairy tale” or “myth” in the world. They also happen to be true. But it is the enormous power of these stories that exerts such a pull on our imaginations and drives us to act them out in springtime, and Sunday by Sunday throughout the year. “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again”; “Take and eat: this is for you.” This story, which is “so captivating” to adult and child alike, though we cannot put our find on why it so moves and exists and nourishes us, is what we share with each other in the life of the church; and the “difficult situation” it helps us “cope with” is our own mysterious, inexplicable life: our both, our alienation, our need for love, our fear of death, and our assurance that the Christ who died and rose again has somehow brought us home to the heart of God.”

This past week, noted author Maurice Sendak died. His classic, Where the Wild Things Are (Harper & Row, 1963) is a classic that needs no introduction. Several generations have imagined themselves with Max. Max’s wish to be a wild as he feels transforms his bedroom into a jungle from which he sails away to where the wild things are. There he tames them and they crown him their king. But after he has had his fill of wildness, he “wanted to be home where someone loved him best of all.” The supper waiting for him – still hot – is a testimony to unconditional love.

The power of story and the power of our imaginations – such are the things that allow us to glimpse the work of God and the possibilities for the future. Whether you are at church in worship or classroom, at home before bedtime or simply a rainy afternoon – share a story.

Then let the rumpus commence, all enfolded in the arms and embrace of God’s love.

What are your favorite stories? How can you share them?

Note: Read The Power of “Once Upon a Time”: A Story to Tame the Wild Things posted on May 8, 2012 in Scientific American. 

by Sharon Ely Pearson

“Those raised in the Church may be familiar with many of the Bible stories, yet realize there are many contradictions and issues which have not been satisfactorily explained for them. They have bits and pieces of information but are not sure how the Bible originated, how it fits together, how it applies to contemporary living. People who were raised outside of the Church see the Bible as some kind of sacred talisman, but do not comprehend much about it. They may flip it open, try to read it, but without background or assistance in may seem like a rather futile undertaking.”  William R. Adamson, Empowering Disciples: Adult Education in the Church (Novalis/Wood Lake, 1990).

Written almost 25 years ago, this quote still holds true today. The Search Institute also conducted a survey in 1990 (Effective Christian Education: A National Study of Protestant Congregations – A Summary Report on Faith, Loyalty and Congregational Life) that showed four key content areas for faith-building adult Christian education programs. These continue to be points that adults still seek support:

1. Biblical knowledge and understanding
2. Moral decision-making
3. Multicultural awareness
4. Global awareness

Eugene Roehlepartain wrote, “The hallmark of current thinking about adult education is that it shifts responsibility for learning from the teacher to the adult . . . by taking responsibility for their own learning, adults become actively involved in their own growth.”

How might this be implemented in today’s congregation?

1. Create a sense of community in which people help one another develop faith and values
2. Use life experiences as occasions for spiritual insight.
3. Apply faith to political and social issues.
4. Respect the importance and uniqueness of each person’s faith journey.
5. Encourage independent thinking and questioning.

A facilitator of adult education programs guides group to engage and take responsibility for their own learning by:

• Setting a mood or climate of trust and openness for the group or class experience
• Eliciting and clarifying the purposes of the individuals and of the groups as a whole
• Relying on the inner motivation and needs of the adult students to guide the group
• Organizing and making available a wide range of resources for learning
• Seeing his or her role as a flexible resource to be used by the group
• Accepting both intellectual content and emotional attitudes
• Participating more actively as one of the group, expressing his or her views ask an individual who is part of the group once the group becomes established
• Expressing his or her own feelings and thoughts in ways that model honesty and sensitivity
• Remaining alert to expressions that indicate deep or strong feelings, the sensitively discerning whether or not to elicit those feelings for constructive sharing and understanding
• Recognizing his or her own limitations, both in knowledge and comfort, in sharing himself or herself

How might these keys be shared with those who lead adult formation classes in your congregation?

by Sharon Ely Pearson

Looking for volunteer teachers for the coming year? Just as with any ministry or “job,” having a position description helps individuals discern whether they have the gifts for the ministry as well as an understanding of what you are asking them to make a commitment to. Here’s an example of what one might look like:

Purpose: To assist in the nurture, care and spiritual feeding of children in a Church School class setting. To share one’s faith with others and share God’s story as related to us in the Old and New Testament as well as what we believe as (your denomination).

Responsibilities:

• To nurture and show concern for each child in your class
• To follow the curriculum assigned for your class, choosing activities and experiences within the lesson material or of your own creativity to correspond to the theme of the session
• To attend teacher meetings when scheduled (note how often and/or when they will be scheduled)
• To attend Safe Church training for the protection and safety of children as well as yourself
• To spend time prior to your teaching session in preparation (at least one hour)
• To arrive in your classroom at least 15 minutes early to welcome the children
• To attend worship regularly

by Genelda Woggon

It’s that time of year when we begin thinking about how we can best honor and acknowledge our teachers.  This takes on different expressions according to the congregational dynamics and might vary from one year to the next.  It’s not nearly so important as to whether a small plant is given or gift certificates or perhaps a luncheon – the important thing is that it happens!  Not only does this acknowledge and express appreciation to the individual but lifts up the importance of ministry of the baptized.

Teaching might be one of the most recognizable forms of lay ministry in church life – while in fact it stands equal to all forms of ministry – it does have a special identity and time frame within which it functions.  Never mind it is often hidden in the basement for most of the year – all the more reason to make it visible on a particular occasion.

Much of what we call lay ministry or ministry of the baptized is in fact hidden. At best, it is exercised out there is the midst of daily life – as we seek and serve Christ all persons, respecting the dignity of all humanity and all of creation. This is equally true of all of our relationships and responsibilities in congregational life.  These acts of ministry within the church – whether it is teaching, altar guild service, or kitchen duty  - are not done necessarily to serve the clergy or staff – but hopefully to honor and please our Lord.

Yet who among us is not human enough to appreciate and welcome the flesh and blood expression of an occasional hand on our shoulder or quiet word  – speaking on our Lord’s behalf, saying “servant, well done.”    At best this does in fact happen along the way in casual affirming comments.  But for some personalities this just doesn’t come naturally or might not even have been noticed in the focused busyness of church responsibilities.

It’s also difficult, if nigh until impossible, for clergy to be present during educational events that take place at the same time as their own worship or teaching responsibilities.   Therefore considering personality differences, and complications of presences – protocol is very much the order of the day.  Having a set time to recognize and honor those who take on the responsibility of teaching is very important.  Words of wisdom say, “if we never say another prayer other than thank you, that would be sufficient.”   I wonder how important that might be in in our congregations?

What are the best ways you can say “thank you” to your teachers?

Genelda Woggon has been ministered to and by children for over 40 years in her professional work as a Christian Formation Leader, most especially through the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd for the past 20 years. She coordinates the work of the Catechesis at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Asheville, NC and also serves as Consultant for the Catechesis in the Diocese of Western North Carolina. 

by Sharon Ely Pearson

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9

As it was and is to our Jewish brothers and sisters, the Shema is at the core of their relationship to God.  Passing on the Christian faith from generation to generation is also at the heart of the life and work of the Christian church. But this fundamental task requires much more than passing on biblical and doctrinal information. Passing on the Christian faith to others involves the work of the Holy Spirit, who gives birth to trust and confidence in the creative, redeeming, and renewing power of God.

While parents and Godparents say, “I will, with God’s help” to the question posed to them in the service of Holy Baptism, “Will you be responsible for seeing that the child you present is brought up in the Christian faith and life?”, by all of our prayers and witness everyone’s child is also our child. We are called to help our children can grow into the full stature of Christ. Congregations commit to Christ when we renew our own Baptismal Covenant, and vow to do all in our power to support the newly baptized (and their families) in their life in Christ.

Offering ways in which we nurture and minister with children are core beliefs of who we are as Christians. Offering programs and support for parents to explore their faith as well as help them provide a nurturing, faith-filled home is one of the ways we support our children.

Parents were the primary passers on of faith and tradition. Horace Bushnell, and educator in the 19^th century articulated his belief about the purpose of Christian education:

What is the true idea of Christian education? That the child is to grow up a Christian, and never know (her/him) self as being otherwise. In other words, the aim, effort and expectation should be, not as is commonly assumed, that the child is to grow up in sin, to be converted after (she/he) comes to a mature age; but that she/he is to open the world as one that is spiritually renewed, not remember the time when she/he went through a technical experience, but seeming rather to have loved what is good from her/his earliest year.

We know there are children in our communities. But why aren’t they coming to OUR church? There could be many reasons – different denomination, parents work on Sunday, sports, etc. But is there also a subliminal message your congregation is giving to the community or visitors who do come with children?

So let’s start with us – leaders of our church who must be committed to lifelong faith formation of ourselves as well as those with whom we minister to and with. This requires both intentional and reflective education within a Christian community – the old saying, “It takes a village” is true for becoming a disciple of Christ. Thomas Groome, Professor of Theology and Religious Education at Boston College offers some language that can helps us articulate this lifelong journey of learning that we are called to embrace.

“With the help of God’s grace, the intent of the Christian educator should be to promote the Christian faith:

1. That engages and permeates people’s heads, hearts, and hands. The very purpose of human existence as stated in our Catechism is to know, love, and serve God in this life. Our heads, our hearts, and our hands lead us on this journey, which does not end until we are happy with God forever in the next – a total and lifelong affair. Providing opportunities to engage all our senses and relationships
2. That is lived, living, and life-giving for all; Jesus’ call to discipleship was to “follow the way,” to embrace a lived faith. It is not enough to confess Jesus as Lord; one must also do the will of God. The true family of Jesus “are those who hear the word of God and act on it.” and
3. That is ever being informed, formed, and transformed in discipleship to Jesus in a community of disciples for God’s reign in the world.”

Being informed in Christian faith includes but means more than knowing “about” it. Helen Keller once stated, “Often learning has less to do with facts than with experience. Eyes less conditioned only by the oughts or the shoulds of life sometimes may see more clearly than those preoccupied with confirming old information.” We must come to embrace this understanding and let it guide every decision we make. Formation in such faith pertains to our very “being” as both noun and verb; it should shape who we are and how we live our lives. This means “becoming” like Jesus Christ, embracing “the way” that he modeled and made possible, living Christian values and virtues as integral to our personhood. And transformation calls Christian persons and communities to a never-ending process of conversion into holiness of life after the way of Jesus.

How do you bring your congregation along to understanding their role as a community that embraces children’s Christian formation, especially in an increasingly secular community?

by Sharon Ely Pearson

Many churches seek to create learning goals for age levels in their Christian education classes. Not all children of a similar age are academically or socially on the same level, but having a general sense of what can be an extra focus in addition to whatever curriculum you are using can be a helpful benchmark.

Preschool and Kindergarten

• To know that God loves the child deeply.
• To talk with and respond to God.
• To know that we’re God’s children, created by God to love.
• To experience church as a lively, secure place where people care about and listen to them.
• To know teachers’ and classmates’ names.
• To explore a few Old Testament stories and many from the New Testament, especially stories of Jesus.
• To learn key phrases from the church’s liturgy: Amen. Thanks be to God. And also with you.)
• To understand that at baptism we are washed with water and welcomed into God’s family.
• To understand that at communion we eat bread and drink wine, happy that God loves us.

Grades 1, 2, and 3:

• To know the names, colors and symbols of the liturgical seasons.
• To begin to understand and related to God the Creator, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
• To feel comfortable with spontaneous prayer and to have experienced various kinds of prayer (intercession, thanksgiving and praise).
• To understand that God creates and loves our world and that we in turn are responsible for caring for it.
• To know the Bible stories that recount Christmas, Easter and Pentecost events.
• To understand Jesus’ acts, as recounted in the Bible that lead to our celebrations of Baptism and Eucharist and recognize the actions of both sacraments as experienced in worship.
• To understand key phrases from worship – the Nicene or Apostles’ Creed, The Lord’s Prayer and the Ten Commandments (memorization is less important than familiarity and understanding).
• To experience church as a welcoming community, learning that they are an important part of the people of God.

Graces 4 and 5:

• To begin to expand a role in the church family: serving as an acolyte, singing in the youth choir, ushering, greeting members of the congregation
• To memorize and understand key phrases from worship services and biblical passages: the Nicene Creed, the Ten Commandments, The Lord’s Prayer, the Confession, certain prayers
• To master Bible skills (introduced in Grade 3); to be able to read and discuss short biblical passages
• To explore the plot and characters in Jesus’ parables
• To become familiar with stories that tell of Jesus’ care for the sick, the poor and the outcast
• To gain an understanding of Church seasons, colors and symbols, creating symbols with personal meaning
• To explore the liturgies for Eucharist and Baptism, connecting the sacraments with biblical events and our relationship to God today
• To explore promises that we make to God (Baptismal vows), connecting them to daily actions

Grades 6, 7 and 8:

• To begin building a more mature self-image, more stable relationships (outside of the family) and a more coherent understanding of the world
• To begin involvement in ministry – sacking food at a food pantry, collecting supplies for a homeless shelter, etc.
• To begin to identify one’s gifts
• To become more fully involved in the church community by volunteering to serve
• To be able to explain the biblical story of God’s people and the life of Jesus
• To begin to reflect on scripture and its meaning in our lives
• To understand the format of the lectionary and how it ties to the liturgical calendar
• To reflect on and discuss moral issues, including sexual expression, from a Christian perspective
• To gain a sense of responsibility for belonging to large and small communities, including the development of listening skills
• To pursue study leading to a choice about Confirmation
• To become familiar with books related to one’s faith tradition such as the Bible and The Book of Common Prayer
• To understand the basic governing structure and polity of your denomination

What items would you add to these age levels?