We're RE-Imagining Church!

Hello my friends! It's the middle of August, which means the start of the church year and Religious Education are right around the corner. Our theme for this church year is RE-Imagining Church. As with all things right now, we're going to move forward in ways we've never done before. For the foreseeable future, our church services and activities will still be virtual. With that in mind, we have three goals for Religious Education for this church year:

• Keeping connections open
• Flexibility 
• Engaging for kids and parents

As we've been planning, we’re moving through with the understanding that everyone’s needs are different. Some people want all of the online content and Zooms. For others, weekdays are more than enough, especially depending on the age of kids. This is ok! We're in an unprecedented season, and wherever you and your family are is exactly where you need to be. With that said, we're RE-Imagining how RE looks.

This year, we will have two main groups: Lower School(preschool-5th grade) and Upper School(6th grade- 12th Grade). Each month we will have a new theme(similar to what we had in the spring). For September, our theme is Renewal. We have created websites for each group, with content and "lessons" tailored to the theme. These will include short videos, stories, crafts, activities, and more. These themes will be carried over into the larger Small Group Ministry program, to further larger community engagement. 

Online gatherings will still be happening! The first Sunday of the month(with the exception of September) will be RE-Imagining Chapel. We'll meet over zoom at 10 am for a monthly live chapel, all together as an RE community. This will be a time for families to see and interact with each other, light a chalice, share with one another, and introduce our monthly theme.

For Upper School, we'll have online gatherings on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month at 10 am. Once in the zoom, depending on that day's grouping, we'll break into smaller age-specific groups. Youth will vote, through their website, on topics discussed based on that month's theme. 

Lower School will also be meeting online, but based on the information gathered in the spring/summer, we need your help in determining the best day. If you have a smaller human in the Lower School community, please fill out this SHORT survey:  https://forms.gle/BzpYfyke8sifsR7a8. Based on the results of this survey, we'll start scheduling meeting times. 

Again, nothing is perfect. After listening to our families however, this feels like a way for us to meet a lot of the needs brought up. To start off the year with a little bit of joy, we'd like to send home to families kits with some supplies and surprises need for the year. In order to do this, we need you to answer this SHORT(as in 3 questions) form:https://forms.gle/E5j2pbTLYCWcPJPP7. We know the choices families are making right now are not easy. Thank you for continuing to engage in our community, however, you are able to right now. You're all doing a spectacular job navigating these unknown waters. 

In Peace,

Amanda Esko 

Director of Religious Education