Category: Calendar Time

Educational designs for specific months of the year

Reminder Rocks

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Middle school and high school youth are an integral part of the leadership of Vacation Bible School at Christ Memorial Presbyterian Church–under the watchful care of loving adults of a large span of ages. Two of the afternoons they stay later–one is a mission day and the other is just for fun. This year, our mission afternoon was called Random Acts of Kindness Day. We began with a Bible study and discussion about the experience of feeling “not good enough” (sports, academics, looks, parental expectations…). We found we are either disappointed or discouraged when we fail or fall short of the standards set by others (or perhaps even ourselves). That failure either makes us try harder the next time or often means we never try again. Or worse. But as followers of Jesus Christ, we have hope in God and understand that God’s love is unconditional. Good news!
(Romans15:13, 1 Peter 1:3-4)
We believe that God believes we are good enough. Continue reading →

Vacation Bible School-Yesterday and Today

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It’s that time of year again when churches around the country hold Vacation Bible Schools in various formats. For a week or more the church is turned into a biblical marketplace or an underwater reef or a host of other locales to combine Scripture, music, crafts, and games to communicate the Gospel to children and others.

But where did this tradition begin? It seems that the first recorded summer Bible school in the United States was instituted by Mrs. Walker Aylette Hawes in 1898 in conjunction with Epiphany Baptist Church on New York City’s east side. Mrs. Hawes noticed how many immigrant children were roaming the streets in the summer, so she searched for a rented facility where she could begin a six-week summer school. The only available facility was a saloon and thus VBS was born in a bar. Continue reading →

Peace Garden

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After Easter—Spring and Summer in the Garden! Wondering what to do with kids and adults in Ordinary time? Go outside!!! Our Christian Education team invited adults’ and children’s classes to come out to the Sweetwater Garden behind our church to make a Peace Garden. This garden is part of the Wylde Center neighborhood gardens. We enlisted folks who could help us but were not the usual teachers: a person who volunteered in the garden, another to build benches out of recycled wood, an artist to help paint the benches and the peace pole we erected as well as a bird bath that we decorated with mosaic tiles. Continue reading →

Flag Day

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This Sunday marks a holiday in the United States that is mostly forgotten–Flag Day. It commemorates the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes as our national flag on June 14, 1777. Before this there were many flags in use and so the adoption of one flag style was an act of unifying the colonial forces fighting during the Revolutionary War.

Flags of the American Revolution

In many sanctuaries this flag is accompanied by another called the Christian flag. Did the Christian flag come to be as an act of unifying the forces during the Crusades? Was it designed by an ecumenical church council that drafted an accompanying creed or confession? Continue reading →

PRC Webinars for Church Leaders

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The internet has ushered in a new way of doing almost everything, from shopping to research. Here at Practical Resources for Churches (PRC), we’ve seen an increase in the use of the internet in how we interact with people, provide resources, and offer learning and growth opportunities. Although we still offer face-to-face experiences through our workshops and roundtables, our webinar program is continually expanding. Continue reading →

The Transformative Power of Short-Term Mission Trips

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Opportunities to experience short term mission trips have exploded in the past few years as churches help their youth live into their call to serve those in need in Christ’s name. These trips not only express an understanding of our Reformed faith that we are saved to serve, but also tap into the need of young people to belong. Community building and faith sharing abound while living, working, and worshiping together for a few days. In addition, such trips develop life skills, shape our faith in new ways, and touch the deep hunger we all have to make a difference in the lives of others. Continue reading →

Quicksheets for Youth Ministry

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Quicksheets are free quality resources for youth ministry produced by the Presbyterian Church (USA). They are designed to offer quick practical resources for youth leaders and parents of youth. Some of the more recent titles are also available in Spanish language versions. Gina Yeager-Buckley and a team of writers and editors offer new Quicksheets each year. Here’s the link to the complete listing that begins with the most recent.

Two titles that may be especially timely are Faithfully Simple Living by Beth Greaves– a great series of ideas especially appropriate leading into Earth Day and Summer Ideas by Christy Williams and Shannon Guse–giving you many ideas for crafting quick and meaningful lessons for youth during the summer months.

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

 

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 →

Black History Month Intergenerational Model

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Black History Month2Today I wanted to talk about a teaching model that my home church, Oakhurst Presbyterian Church in Decatur, Georgia is using for all youth and adult classes this month. The RED (Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity) group of this multicultural congregation created a series of storytelling panels around the topic of schooling (something that both age groups share).  Each week of this month a different mixed race panel of congregation members will talk about what school was like when they were growing up in the South. Continue reading →