Sunday (Church) School in 2015

I was able to participate in a workshop at the Episcopal Church in CT Spring Training & Gathering.  Sharon Pearson gave a wonderful presentation that looked at the history of sunday (church) school and asked some real good questions about it in 2015.

She posted them on her blog:

• Part 1: How Did We Get Here? 
• Part 2: Today’s Context 
• Part 3: A New Ecosystem 
• Part 4: Nurturing Networks
• Part 5: Where do we go from here? 

USA Today asked Has the sun set on Sunday school?

In part it says:

Yet it's worth noting that the reason MacNeil's kids don't attend Sunday school is lack of time. Instead of a day of rest, Sunday has become just another day for over-scheduled kids to be chauffeured from sports practice to music lessons or SAT tutoring. It doesn't help that parents themselves, so overwhelmed by life, are skipping church. 

Read the whole article here.

From Sharon's blog: "To help you get connected to others, I recommend the following curated websites that highlight best practices and share innovative ideas that are within our reach."

• Building Faith – articles from practitioners regarding Christian formation
• Forma – a network of creative Christian formation folks (lay/ordained, paid/volunteer, children/youth/young adult/adults) who dream big, have passion, and care helping others grow in faith
• Vibrant Faith Ministries – research and ideas for all generations
• Hope4ChristianEducation – a curated site of articles from a broad spectrum of denominations
• Key Resources – book and curriculum reviews, digital ministry ideas
• Worshipping with Children – resources and ideas for the inclusion of children in worship
• StoryPath – using children’s literature to share God’s Story, including pairings with the Sunday lectionary

Big Class: A Simple Path to a Deeper Spiritual Life

You don’t have to worry about being inspired. Just do the work of daily spiritual growth and the inspiration will come.

We are so excited for our next Big Class, which runs 3/22 – 4/5 with Becca Stevens, founder of Magdalene and Thistle Farms. In “A Simple Path to a Deeper Spiritual Life,” Becca will help us explore what the spiritual life really means: how to believe, to hope, to experience resurrection, to be inspired. In four lessons, she shares what she has learned in her years of ministry and service, and how this wisdom can enrich our own journeys. She reminds us about the importance of just showing up, of believing, of surrendering, of giving ourselves space. And that love heals and changes and brings about resurrection and justice.

This short, free course will be open to all from March 22 – April 5; registration opens this Sunday, March 15. We invite you to join us and to share this course with friends and neighbors. Our prayer is that, as we enter the season of Easter, this course may renew and inspire our journeys to resurrection.

https://www.churchnext.tv/school/catalog/course/the-big-class-a-simple-path-to-a-deeper-spiritual-life-with-becca-stevens/