Category: Developmental Designs

Educational designs/lesson plans and resources for specific ages

Living as Clay Jars

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Kira Hader shares with us a lesson plan (in Word or PDF) that she used with middle school students this Fall based on 2 Corinthians 4:6-9. It fits well with the discussion we are having in the Facebook group today around spiritual nourishment and transformation.

 

The middle school students at the church I have been serving have been going through a curriculum called “Becoming a Woman of God” and “Becoming a Man of God”. Based off of these lessons I wanted to figure out a way to bring all the middle school students together and do a combined lesson that would be similar to their lessons, but presented in a new way. The clay jars passage in 2 Corinthians is one of my favorite passages and a great lesson for the youth to know and learn about. This lesson helps us look at those around us in a different light. Are you bullying people that don’t deserve it? Are we ourselves being bullied by others? How do we change our actions to reflect God’s love for us? Continue reading →

Childhood and Religion Journal

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Launched in 2010, the Journal of Childhood and Religion is a peer-reviewed, free, online journal that provides an interdisciplinary forum for scholars representing a wide range of research fields, interests, and perspectives that relate to children and religion. Such fields include religious studies, biblical studies, the range of human sciences, pastoral psychology, practical theology, pastoral theology, religious education, psychology of religion, sociology of religion, counseling psychology, social work, and cultural studies. JCR publishes articles dealing with childhood, youth, adolescence, and young adulthood, recognizing that these terms operate differently in a variety of cultural contexts. The journal welcomes original scholarship by recognized experts in their respective fields, but also seeks submissions from junior scholars as well as practitioners in work that supports children. Continue reading →

Next Church Conference

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On March 16, 2015, we looked at a database of Christian Educators of the 20th Century. Today we focus on emerging leaders in the church, specifically the Presbyterian Church (USA) and what they may be thinking about educational ministry and faith formation for the present and future church. The Next Church movement is a network of leaders in the PC(USA) committed to hopeful conversations and reflections on ministry that is more relational, diverse, and collaborative. They host an annual conference and regional gatherings to carry out their mission. If you want to catch this year’s annual conference that began yesterday, they are offering live streaming on their website. There are also members of our Hope4CE Facebook group in attendance this year, who will be contributing their insights via Twitter, Facebook, or through this site.

A portion of this conference is set aside to present short Ignite talks (no more than seven minutes) that detail innovative ideas on a variety of topics. One of these talks from last year, by Landon Whitsitt is linked here. It launched a site of free resources (short videos with accompanying study guides) for new member and church officer training called Theocademy. Although designed specifically to address theology and polity in the Reformed tradition, they may be useful to others beyond the PC(USA) or to “ignite” your own ideas regarding educational ministry for these groups.

I wonder how you address new member and officer training in your church or denomination.

Kathy Dawson, Associate Professor of Christian Education, Columbia Theological Seminary

Christian Educators of the 20th Century Project

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The Christian Educators of the 20th Century project was funded by the Lilly Endowment and is a web-based database. This site provides entries on about 200 Christian education leaders of the 20th century who had a significant impact on the field of Christian education in North America. It has entries on Catholic, Protestant (mainline and evangelical), and Orthodox Christian education leaders, including: pictures, biographical essays, essays on their contributions to the field of Christian education, bibliographies of their publications, excerpts of their writings, and a beginning reading list for those who have never read anything by them. Continue reading →

Interfaith Dialogue

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We are at the height of living through the Christian holy days of Lent and Easter. At the same time, we may find ourselves in conversations with people of other faiths who may not understand what we are celebrating or why it is important to Christians. In the same manner we may not fully understand our Jewish brothers and sisters in their Passover celebrations or our Hindu neighbors in their Holi celebrations at this same time of year.

How do we begin to understand the diversity of faith expressions that surround us here in the United States? What are helpful ways of teaching and learning about others’  religious traditions and beliefs, as well as explaining our own Christian faith to them? Continue reading →

Holy Week for Children

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Many people around the web seem to be searching for resources to help explain the core stories of our faith, celebrated during Holy Week, to young children. In their inquiries I hear a fear and reluctance to talk to children about death and resurrection. Sometimes we hide this fear in metaphor by talking about dogwood blossoms or butterflies, but metaphors are confusing for most children. We will not scare children by talking about death. It surrounds them in the natural world. They play it dramatically in their games. Many see it within their families and community. The fear is more on the part of adults trapped in the cultural taboo of not discussing death, than it is in the minds and hearts of children. Continue reading →

Earth Education Resources

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Cindy Coe, Episcopal Educator and member of the Hope4CE Facebook group is generously sharing her resources on earth education from a spiritual perspective with Hope4CE. She is especially interested in partnering with churches and camps who may want to pilot these resources currently in draft form and then give her feedback as they move toward publication. Thank you, Cindy for your generosity.

Curriculum Resources for Episcopal Organizations.

Lifelong Faith Journal

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The Lifelong Faith journal is one of several initiatives of the LifelongFaith Associates organization directed by John Roberto, a prominent scholar of faith formation whose work was profiled by Hope4CE in a recent post. The journal, published quarterly, focuses on the faith formation of all ages, with the hope that ministry leaders might be better equipped to nurture the faith of those in their care in each moment of their lives. Continue reading →