Education and Spiritual Formation
MEMBERS: Elders: Elspeth Peterjohn, chair, children’s ministry, and personnel committee; Tom Zych, adult education and budget committee; Mark Chupp, youth ministry; Thomas Taylor, youth elder. Elected leaders: Tim Beal, adult education; Deanne Lentz, youth and children’s ministries.
CHILDREN’S MINISTRY: Under the capable leadership of Liz Wollaeger, FHC children have had another happy and fruitful year at church. Little Explorers (ages 3 and 4, 11 enrolled) and Children in Worship (older 4’s and Kindergartners, 9 enrolled) learn from age-appropriate Bible stories and accompanying activities and crafts. In the Pathways to the Promise Land program (grades 1-5, 40 enrolled), the 2008-2009 theme, the Word of God, and the 2009-2010 theme, Witness to God’s Presence, have been explored through activities based on the recognition that children have a variety of learning styles and respond to many different ways of presenting material. Our goal is that our children learn Bible stories and see how these stories have importance in their own lives.
As always, we are grateful to the many members of the congregation who serve as teachers and shepherds in these programs. This year, in response to the retirement of Marge Kaercher, we added a Children’s Ministry Team whose members take responsibility for some of what Marge did, including scheduling shepherds. We also employed a new child care leader for the crib room/nursery children (18 enrolled.) Once again the Advent Workshop, preceded by lunch served by the Mid-High youth, allowed the children to make various Christmas ornaments which they and their families could enjoy during the season of waiting.
YOUTH MINISTRIES: We continue to focus on strong programming for our mid and senior high youth. We were very disappointed when Lindsey Burdette-Lowe found it necessary to leave us at the end of October to take a full-time job elsewhere, for the youth are very fond of her and her husband. However we are fortunate that two members of the congregation have stepped up to take responsibility for the youth meetings, each Sunday evening for the senior highs and every other Friday evening for the mid highs. We encourage the youth to see themselves as an important part of the church; they participate in all-church meals and have worked with the Interfaith Hospitality Network. Last summer a group of 10 senior highs participated in an Inward Bound mission program, serving the less fortunate in our city.
Youth church school for Trailblazers (grades 6,7,8), follows a multi-intelligence workshop format like the one used in Pathways to help our youth develop creative Christian solutions to situations they encounter in their daily lives. An important aspect of senior high church school is the opportunity to develop close relationships with adults from the congregation as they share ways their faith is relevant to their daily lives. Upon occasion the senior highs join adult ed sessions. In May, 8 youth completed Confirmation Class. (Because of the very small number of eighth graders, there will be no confirmation class this coming year; combining them with the current seventh graders in 2011 will create a class of a more appropriate size.)
ADULT MINISTRIES: In late winter and spring, Sunday morning adult education programs continued the exploration begun in 2008 of who we are as Christians, particularly in the reformed tradition. In the fall a new question presented itself, “How then shall we live?” Classes focused on many different concerns - social justice issues, environmental problems, health care, the needs of immigrants, interfaith relationships - always with the emphasis on our response both as individuals and as the Church, always looking to scripture to guide us in determining that response. Members of our congregation led some of these classes; others were led by various experts from beyond our walls.
Other opportunities for Christian fellowship and spiritual growth included John Lentz’s New Testament Kerygma class, his Thoughtful Christianity class, Wednesday morning Bible and Bagels, the Faith Leaders program, Clover Beal’s women’s book group, her women’s retreat, and the Saturday morning men’s group. All of this programming continues to attract participants who are not church members but find themselves welcomed and at ease among members of our congregation, surely a sign that we are succeeding in our desire to be inclusive and to enlarge our reach. In February a group of 30 journeyed to the Holy Land on a pilgrimage organized by Clover Beal. Before the pilgrimage a series of meetings, open to any who were interested, presented information about the history of modern Israel and the current Israeli / Palestinian situation. Since then, FHC, through Justice and Mission, has offered support to program in Bethlehem which offers various opportunities to Palestinians there.
Members of the ministry are grateful to all those who have led and participated in these programs. We are richly blessed in being part of this community of faith.
Elder Elspeth Peterjohn
Ministry of Education and Spiritual Formation