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September 4, 2010
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I hope you have all had a great summer, and that you’ve gotten enough sunlight and
warmth to last you through the winter. I’ve had a great summer myself, and I feel
refreshed and ready to begin the program year at the Church of the Resurrection.
This letter is to tell you about the Christian Formation programs that we’ll have at
Resurrection this year. The big news is that our Sunday morning programs will return to
the 9:00 time slot they occupied in the past. We’ll have Sunday School for young people
on the first floor, and Bible Study for adults in the church, and we hope that everyone
will participate. Many thanks to Mary Koski and Ann Murphy for their hard work in this
area, especially the Sunday School program.
For Everyone
Intergenerational Sunday School: Our Sunday School program will kick off on
September 19 th with an intergenerational Sunday School day during church. There will
be a lesson and activity for adults and children to work on together as part of the service.
In addition to being a lot of fun, it will give adults a chance to find out what’s happening
downstairs every Sunday morning.
Fifth Sunday Youth & Children’s Services: In all months with five Sundays, we’ll have a
special service featuring a child-friendly sermon and participation by youth and children
in leading the worship. The first will be on October 31 st, and will honor All Saints’ Day.
Costumes will be welcome!
For Adults
Wednesday Nights: We will continue to have periodic Wednesday night classes for adults
from 6:30-8:00. Based on feedback from participants of our recent class on the Epistle of
James, we’ll begin the fall with a four-week class (September 8 th-29th) on The Episcopal
Church. Many of our members came to the Episcopal Church as adults, and others grew
up in it without being taught much about it. The class will cover the history, theology,
and traditions of our Church – no experience required.
Later in the fall we’ll have another Wednesday night Bible study focusing on the Book of
Acts, especially on how the early church expanded beyond the Jewish community in
Jerusalem to accept Gentiles (non-Jews). We’ll focus especially on what the first
Christians have to teach us about hospitality and welcoming strangers into the fold.
Bible Study: This fall we’ll also revive our Sunday morning Bible study, which will meet
in the church at 9:00 AM. The study will be based on the week’s readings, and will use a
self-guided curriculum that was used successfully at Resurrection in the past. Bible
Study will begin on Sunday, September 19 th.
For Youth
Youth Group: After several years leading the youth group, Scott Pratt and Amy
Budzynski are stepping down. I know you join me in thanking them for their
commitment and service in helping our young people grow closer to God. At this time,
the youth program for the fall is still being put together. However, there will be a
program and you’ll hear more about it in the coming weeks. I look forward to seeing our
youth programs thrive in the year to come.
For Children
Sunday School: The big news is that Sunday School will return to the 9:00 time that it
occupied in the past. This will give our teachers more time to teach, and our students
more time to learn. Children will come upstairs afterward to join the service.
We’ll continue using the one-room schoolhouse model that was adopted during last
year’s program. This gives older and younger children the opportunity to work together,
which they seem to love doing already. We’ll use the Seedlings curriculum, which is
funded by the United Thank Offering and the Episcopal Children’s Fund.
Attached you will find two documents related to the Sunday School program. The first is
an overview of the Sunday School program and the topics for the first several weeks of
the year. The second is a collection of take-home papers that students will be given each
week. It contains information about the week’s lesson, along with suggestions of
activities families can do together to reinforce the lesson. Many thanks to Ann Murphy
for putting these wonderful documents together.
That’s quite a lot going on. I’d like to thank Ann Murphy and Mary Koski again for their
work in planning our programs, and all the Sunday School teachers who give of their
time and energy to raise our children in the knowledge and love of the Lord. It’s a gift to
share the ministry of teaching with you, and I look forward to learning with you this fall.
In Christ,
Drew
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