| From our Minister to Children: January 2010 |
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Sunday, Jan. 3 - An Epiphany activity downstairs will be available for children.
Click here for Books of the Bible
From Jan. 10 to Feb. 7, we will be learning about the Bible in Sunday School. The Bible is one of the most important tools we have for Christian living. Because of this, we believe it is important for our children to be familiar with the Bible—how it was written and compiled, how it is organized, and where to find various stories or passages within its pages.
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On Sunday, Jan. 10 we begin our next workshop cycle, All About the Bible. I am so excited for this cycle! The goal is both for the children to learn the books of the Bible (66!), and to grasp the broad sweep of its narrative as a whole. We'll do an archaeology dig to get a sense of how the Bible came to be, create a Bible timeline, and as part of the unit, we will try to make sure that each child has their own Bible and show how helpful it is to mark it up while using it (highlighters, pencils).
The Bible is the sacred text of our Christian community. The stories and verses that lie within it are simultaneously strange and familiar, challenging and comforting, ancient and relevant. While it may not be "factual," we believe that it contains truth—the truth of the good news of God's love for the world. Do you remember the first Bible that you owned? The one that you held in your hands at a particularly challenging time in your life or faith? The Bible is that book, and it is also the living, breathing story of God's relationship with the world, and many communities of faith, including our own.
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Remember the old saying that "if you see a Bible that's falling apart, it probably belongs to someone who isn't." We want our children to have a resource like that for life and faith—one to grow up with and one that will be there when they need it. We want them to feel confident exploring the Bible, and understand it as "open for discussion." Too many people use the Bible merely to answer questions or to shut down conversation. We want our children to learn that the Bible is the starting point for questions about life and faith, not just an answer book. Making the Bible their own is a journey for a lifetime, but it can, and does, begin now. The verse that comes to my mind from Psalm 119, (thanks to a lifetime in faith communities that encouraged my hearing and study of the scripture) is: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
And since I am recalling beloved verses from the Psalms, here is another—a prayer of praise, really--for Epiphany, the season of light: “It is you who light my lamp; the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.” (Psalm 18:28). Keep sharing God's peace and light with your children and grandchildren, and inviting others to visit St. James. And may they find that there is peace and light here for them too.
Rev. Jen DeWeerth
Minster of Children
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