God's Abundant Grace

“We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of
God that has been granted . . .” 2 Corinthians 8:1

The apostle Paul begins most of his letters with some salutation that refers to the great grace of God that has been granted to believers, and the beginnings of 2 Corinthians 8 is no different. Christians have received a great grace through Jesus Christ and those of us who follow in footsteps of the apostles are also called to share the grace we have been given with others. At Christ Church, one of the many ways we see this grace being shared is in the Church School.

Adults who teach, mentor and lead worship with our children each Sunday morning are doing their very best to share the grace of God with the youngest members of our parish family. These adults serve as stewards of the faith that they graciously share and pass on to our children. Christians are formed. None of us becomes mature in the faith without the assistance of others sharing our experiences of what it means to follow Jesus. We would not have our faith without the faithfully stewardship and witness of those who work with our children Sunday after Sunday.

Being a steward of the faith is a calling worthy of respect and support. We tend to think that to teach Church School, we need to be great repositories of information about Christianity. Folks tend not to want to teach because they feel they don’ know enough; we get confused over which prophet came first, what an epistle actually is and in which Gospel can you find the parable of the leaven. None of this is required, nor is it important in the long run. Teaching in the Church School is a leap of faith made out of what we have experienced of God’s grace and goodness in Jesus. Our thankful hearts and a willingness to share them is all teaching is about. The rest of it comes with good curriculum materials (which we have) and support from the Director of Family Ministries (all it takes is a phone call or an email). As in most of Christian life, the Holy Spirit meets our intentions and once we commit to sharing the faith, what we need to do so is provided for us.

So as you think about how you can be a faithful steward of the grace you have been given in Jesus over the next few months, please give prayerful thought to teaching in the Church School. We still have openings to teach in the 3rd & 4th grade and I am looking for one more teacher in the 5th and 6th grade. We also can always use volunteers to fill in on a Sunday morning when a teacher is absent or to help out with a special craft or outreach project. And as you continue to pray about how you might be a faithful steward, please remember Kim Lysaght, Diane Gaitely, Patty Smith, Barbara Diener, Melyne Nagel, Kim Rutherford, Kevin Ruddy, Joe Barr, Nancy Lankford, Ginny Yerardi, Bob Keener, Sarah Heath, Dusty Hecker and Joe Leghorn in your prayers. These stewards need your support in prayer to be faithfully with our children each Sunday.

Faithfully,
Elizabeth

"We Will, with God's Help

One of my very favorite moments during the Baptism service is when the congregation is asked, "Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support these persons in their life in Christ?" And we answer back, "We will with God's help." When we take part in a baptism as members of the Christian family, we become responsible for forming the faith of that new Christian in our parish family. As the service then moves to the part where the baby or children or family walk down the aisle and are greeted by the congregation, we tend to focus on how cute the baby is and not think so much about what we have just promised to do.

But long after the baby has gone home and changed out of the christening gown, we remain charged with the responsibility of helping that child of Christ grow into a mature faith. It is an awesome responsibility - and one that is also full of fun and wonder along the way. None of us really believe that we are mature enough in the faith ourselves to form the faith of others - and who among us really is? But the Holy Spirit rests on each of us and works through us whether or not we have theological educations and completely understand what we profess to believe ourselves.

We must nurture our faith and give the Holy Spirit something to work with. Attending Bible study, reflecting on the weekly lessons, daily prayer and meditation, talking with our partner or another member of the Church are all ways in which we can invite the Holy Spirit to help our faith grow. But that is not enough. No matter where we are in our faith journey, we are also called to share what ever we know and have experienced. Whether we are two or ninety-two, a Christian has been touched by God's love in Jesus and can share that with others.

The Church School is one place where we make manifest our promise to"support these persons in their life in Christ." To pass on our faith to the next generation requires adults who are living out their baptismal promise in an intentional and specific way by committing to teach. At Christ Church, we are blessed with many adults who do just this the seventeen Sundays a year that Church School meets. Some of them are very experienced Christians who are easy about sharing their faith and comfortable with questions. Many of them arrive on Sunday with curriculum materials clutched to their chests, hope in their hearts and a prayer on their lips. And no matter what they know or don't, the Holy Spirit works through them, and our children learn that not only do they matter to God, they matter to these adults who take the time to be with them on Sunday mornings. After almost twenty years as a professional Christian educator, I have come to believe that this is the only Church School lesson that really matters - if they leave here on Sunday morning knowing that God loves them and so do we, we have been faithful to our vow to support them in their life in Christ. The tools for living out that love come along through constant exposure to the great stories of the Bible, from participation at worship, from sharing laughter and fellowship with others who are hungry for the Good News of God in Christ and who are trying to figure out what it all means together. A Church School teacher needs only a willingness to be a channel of the Holy Spirit. We all know more than we think we do and teaching Church School lessons is a good way to figure out what we already know and fill in some of the blanks of what we don't.

So - here is my invitation to you to prayerfully consider joining the Church School teaching team and support our young Christians in their lives in Christ this fall. We still have spots that only YOU can fill. I will guarantee that you will have fun, learn more about your own faith and meet some pretty awesome Christians there. And really, where else in your life can you play with glitter glue and model magic?

Faithfully,

Elizabeth