Our Sunday School meets concurrently with the worship service on Sunday morning at 10:45am. The children stay for the first twenty minutes or so of the service then head over to the Nolan House after the children's theme time. Sunday School classes run until noon, which gives parents a chance to grab a cup of coffee in the Fellowship Hall after church.
We use a multi-disciplinary curriculum that helps the children learn through the use of stories, art, music, cooking, games, science and videos.
Fall 2009 Sunday school curriculum for grades 1-8 is called Pennies for Peace. The program, inspired by Greg Mortenson’s quest to build schools for children in remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan, is recounted in the book Three Cups of Tea. This curriculum strives to educate students about the world outside their own experiences, and shows them that they can make a positive impact on a global scale – one penny at a time. It teaches young people at all levels the importance of taking action and engaging their communities. It shows them that no matter how big or small you are, you can make a difference for others – often a profound one - by choosing to commit yourself to service and to a cause that matters to you.
The Pennies for Peace curriculum will broaden the students’ cultural horizons; help them come to understand the issues facing the world and to know that they have the capacity to affect change. The curriculum is designed to stimulate critical thinking about the importance of education, the value of diverse cultures and the responsibility we have as global citizens. They learn to share and work together to become members of a global family dedicated to peace. Since Pennies for Peace is a secular curriculum designed for public schools, we have added appropriate biblical references so the students understand why we, as a church, feel this program is important.
****Pennies for Peace Update:
Thank you for your donations to our Pennies for Peace campaign. All those pennies really added up; we raised $627.09! That’s enough to pay the salary for a teacher a year, purchase a year’s worth of school supplies for one child, and provide a pencil, eraser and notebook for 40 children in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Pennies for Peace campaign is based on the book Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. A recent op-ed piece from the New York Times mentions the book and all the schools Greg has built. Despite the conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan the schools are still operating. Our donation can help them continue.
The church book club, after reading Three Cups of Tea, suggested the idea of the Pennies for Peace campaign to the Christian Education committee. The committee felt so strongly about the value of education in promoting peace that rather than just collecting money they decided to spend the fall semester teaching the Pennies for Peace curriculum in Sunday School. The unit ended on November 1st with a Pakistani meal shared by the entire Sunday school. We have pictures on display in the church foyer. As you look at the pictures of our children, think about the implications for peace if we did spend money on education instead of war.
The children in the PreK/ Kindergarten group (ages 4-6) use Rock Solid: Building a Heart of Faith. The cornerstone of this curriculum is Matthew 7:24 - the story of the wise man who built his house upon the rock. Using multi-sensory activities, crafts, stories and games, it invites the children to lay a solid biblical foundation and construct a personal relationship with God.
We Have Two Youth Groups
Our church has two youth groups: middle school (6-8th grade) and senior high (9-12th grade). Our middle school youth group meets Sunday mornings in the Nolan House from 9:30 to 10:30am. Our Sr. High youth group meets on Sunday evenings at 6:45pm, also in the Nolan House.