Sunday School 2/22/09

Hello Everyone. This Sunday will be the baptism of Georgia Gail Mollo and I know many of you want to/need to be in church for that. We'd also love for the kids to be able to see the baptism. Therefore there will be a short Sunday School session run by me in the Parish Hall (one room schoolhouse style) and then the kids will enter the sanctuary to sit with their families and watch the baptism. I will be talking to the kids about the UN Millennium Development Goals and having them choose one which we will raise money for in Lent. If you are curious, the MDGs are:
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development
The goal is to achieve these goals by 2015. More information can be found here: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

One more thing. Jim Mollo will be preaching on Sunday, and he will of course be wonderful! I hope you can all come to share with the community in this special day.

Sunday School 2/15/09

Hello all! As you can see on the schedule, there is no Sunday School this weekend. St. Paul's will be hosting the Happening Retreat for the diocese this weekend. Enjoy the week off and this lovely weather!

Sunday School 2/8/09

Hello all! Thanks for all jumping in and participating last Sunday even though you had no idea I was going to ask you to stand on wooden planks and turn towels over and play with playdough. I think it went well!

This week we'll be back to regular classes. I assume you've all had time to talk to your co-teachers and work out who will teach when. If you haven't, please do so and let me know if there are any weeks when neither of you can teach. Huge thanks to Simon who volunteered to jump in with the preschoolers! (By the way Simon, if you'd rather teach the junior high group with Tim, I'd be happy to switch with you!).

This week's stories/lessons are:

Godly Play (K & 1, 2 & 3) - The Mystery of Easter (yes! already!)

Living the Good News (that's all the other classes) - Mark 1: 29-39
In this story, Jesus heals Simon's mother-in-law, and then spends a good deal of time healing everyone else in town. He just called Simon and Andrew, and James and John to be his disciples--this is one of the first things they do and one of the first times the disciples witness Jesus healing and casting out demons. One of my all-time favorite verses is in this story--"In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed." I think it is important to note that amid all the activity of teaching/healing/casting out demons...and when word of Jesus is spreading like wildfire and his fame is increasing...Jesus still takes time to be alone and quiet (or maybe he's just hiding). It is hard to be alone and quiet especially when we are so programmed to fill up all the spaces in our lives (fill our time, fill our houses, fill our stomachs, etc.) It is also scary to be alone and quiet because we might actually encounter the things inside of us that we try to avoid by moving so fast and by filling up our lives--things that we are afraid of or worried about or that cause us pain. I don't think we can be healed of any of these things (even by Jesus) if we cannot sit with them and accept them. This is all, of course, quite deep for 4th graders, however it might be a worthwhile exercise to see if they can sit quietly with themselves for 2 minutes...or 5 minutes. Deep breaths might help. Saying a prayer might help. If you try it...let me know how it goes!

Let me know if you have any questions about anything! See you Sunday!

Sunday School 11/23/08

Hello all! Thanks to everyone who came out to support the Youth Service. I think they did a fantastic job!

There will be Sunday School again this week. The Godly Play story will be "The Ark and the Temple" (which is similar to "The Ark and the Tent," but, ya know, with a temple). Let me know if you have questions about it. The lectionary text is from Matthew 25: 31-46 and is about sheep and goats. It can be a difficult text. I don't know how the curriculum deals with it, but I would suggest stressing the social justice aspect. Jesus talks about visiting prisoners, giving food and drink to the hungry and thirsty, clothing the naked, etc. as being ways to bring about the Kingdom of God. How and where do we do these types of things? How can it make the world better? There will also be a Hunger Meal type of activity after church led by Kathy James to help us understand poverty and hunger in the world. I think this will tie in nicely with the lesson.

I wanted to let you know about a change in the schedule for Nov. 30th. The schedule says that there is no Sunday School, but there will be an activity for kids (which you will not in any way be leading). We will be going over the Christmas story and having the first pageant rehearsal during the Sunday School time. If your kids can be there, that would be fantastic!

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Sunday 11/9/08

Hello all! I have been a bit negligent in sending out my weekly check in/informational emails. I apologize for that. I will be sending them from here on out...just to make sure we are all on the same page. This week's is quite simple. There WILL NOT be Sunday School this Sunday due to the low attendance expected because of the school closing. I hope you all enjoy the weekend!

There also will be no Sunday School on 11/16/08, but I encourage all of you to come to church and to bring your children! We will be having the Youth Service that morning. The service will be led by the Confirmation class and we will hear a bit about this past summer's mission trip. Following the service there will be a special coffee hour where we will experience a bit of what some of our youth did at summer camp. If there are any concerns or questions about anything, please don't hesitate to contact me. It's best to reach me by email and my cell phone.

Thank you all for your continued service to the children of St. Paul's!

Melissa

Sunday, 5/11/08

Hi all!  As many of you know, I will not be in church this Sunday, but there will be Sunday School!  Tim will lead the prayer service before and after class and get the kids into church.  This Sunday is Pentecost, as well as Mother's Day, so there should be lots to talk about with the kids.  The Godly Play story is, "The Mystery of Pentecost," and the lectionary text for the week is also, of course, about Pentecost.  Please mention to the kids that the red balloons that they see in church are to celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit.  Red is the color generally associated with the Spirit, and balloons are filled with air--the HS is said to be like a mighty wind.  You get it.  Let me know if you have any questions!

We'll have one more week of class (Trinity Sunday, which is May 18th, when we'll talk about--you guessed it--the Trinity!).  The following weekend is Memorial Day weekend.  There won't be Sunday School, but if you are around, I'll be preaching!  June 1st was going to be the Youth Service, but I think that has been canceled.  Ordinarily there would be no Sunday School on that day, but I will do something special with the kids in the Parish Hall.  And, it will be teacher recognition Sunday, so do try to be in church so that we can say, "Thank you!"  It will also be my last Sunday before I leave for the summer (I will be back in Sept.!).

Remember to cross your fingers for good weather on the 18th and to join me at the Loantaka Park at 2:00 pm for games and a nature walk!

Thanks!

Sunday 2/24/08

Hello all!  Thank you for this past Sunday.  Everything seemed to go well, even though we didn't have a lot of kids.

If you've looked at your Sunday School schedule, you will see that you get a big, long break.  I'm not sure that this is the wisest thing to do, but that's just the way it worked out this year.  So your kids will probably have forgotten who you are by the next time you teach.  Here's what's going on for the next 5 weeks:

This week, Tim and I will be away with the junior high and high school youth groups on the ski trip.  There will be no Sunday School.  (Pray that we don't break anything!)

On March 2nd, Bishop Mark Beckwith will make his visit.  He has requested time to do a children's sermon, so I will meet with the kids during the first part of the service to talk to them about what a bishop is and why he is visiting, and then they will enter the service for the children's sermon.  If you'd like to join us for the "bishop talk" you may, but I would also encourage you to be in church so you can hear the Bishop!

On March 9th, Rev'd Elizabeth will visit with the Sunday School to talk about the Eucharist.  You may join us, or you may stay in church to hear Jim Mollo preach!

March 16th and 23rd are Palm Sunday and Easter, respectively.  Their won't be Sunday School on either one of those Sundays.

One more thing.  On Saturday March 1st, I'd like to invite you all to my house for dessert and coffee at 7:30pm.  It will be an informal and fun gather, but I'd also like to hear what you think of the Sunday School program and how you think it might be improved, or any questions you may have about it.  Expect an invitation in the mail soon!

Thanks!!

Melissa