Becky Fisher, The Rev. Catherine Hicks
Children’s Christian Education
Godly Play is for children preschool through 2nd grade. Godly Play creates an environment to learn Christian stories and symbols. The emphasis is on self- discovery from the participant often through models that engage the children, making each lesson a unique experience.
Adult Christian Education
- Weekly Bible Study
The group, from various religious denominations, meets on Wednesdays from 10:00 a.m. to noon. We are urged in the Book of Common Prayer to read and meditate on God’s holy Word. The group has been meeting together since at least 2001.
The readings follow the lectionary for the next Sunday. In addition the group periodically consider some thematic topics that tie in to the lectionary themes for that particular week. Those of us who attend the Wednesday Bible Study have a great time together and find the discussions meaningful.
2. Lent — “Five Marks of Love”
Our Lenten study for 2017 was jointly prepared by the brothers at St. John the Evangelist (SSJE) and Virginia Theological Seminary. This is the same partnership that brought us “Growing the Rule of Life” last Lent. We used this on Sundays as an intergenerational study over 6 weeks, beginning March 5.
Inspired by the Anglican “Marks of Mission,” we looked for signs of God’s presence and activity in our lives, in the world around us. Each week we explored one of the “Marks” The series featured daily videos and questions that were emailed. On Sunday we took some of these to reflect on what God is doing in our lives and in our world.
The Marks
A. Proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom (TELL).
B. Teach, baptize and nurture new believers (TEACH).
C. Respond to human need by loving service (TEND).
D. Transform unjust structures, challenge violence of every kind, and pursue peace and reconciliation (TRANSFORM).
E. Strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and 6. Renew the life of the earth (TREASURE). “These “Marks” are the fruit of God’s life within us, a life which is nurtured by prayer and worship”
3. Advent – “Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol and the Bible.”
We found that A Christmas Carol has many Biblical references, reflecting Dickens life in the Church of England and with Unitarianism, some cleverly hidden within the story.
The regeneration of Scrooge mirrors the regeneration of mankind in the Bible. The colloquial word “Scrooge” means “to squeeze" and is used by Dickens to underscore his main character’s primary sin: greed—as in the description of Scrooge as “a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner. In contrast Tiny Tim , “thy childhood essence from God” according to Mrs. Cratchit.
Even with the title, “A Christmas Carol”, Dickens was using the meaning of “carol” familiar to him: a song celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Dickens created each chapter of his book as a stave, a stanza of a song. Dickens hoped the book would spur increasing benevolence, mercy and compassion between the classes in England. For Dickens this was the model of Christ The book contains many biographical references of both Dickens and his family. Dickens wrote himself into the book with Scrooge’s nephew, Fred. Ultimately, we found the book has a message for each of us. The book’s description of Christmas celebrations was a major influence on later celebrations in England.