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Two months out


about our intergenerational Sunday school (the telling of Bible stories and large group reflection) with the goal of getting everyone involved and keeping it simple by limiting the amount of preparation,” Spencer said. The publicity explained: “Imagine chil-


Keith Spencer, pastor, and Kristin Berkey-Abbott of Trinity Lutheran Church, Pembroke Pines, Fla., participate in Sunday school improv.


Congregation ‘improvises’ with Sunday school


W


hen Trinity Lutheran Church, Pembroke Pines, Fla., set out to infuse Sunday school with improv, members didn’t know what to expect. But Kristin Berkey-Abbott had a vision of


“rambunctious, yet controlled, play.” In her blog prior to the first day of Sunday school in September 2010 she wrote: “Come, Holy Spirit. Move through us in exciting ways, as we try to give our youngest members the Scripture stories that will sustain them.” Fittingly, they started at the beginning: the creation story. Seven volunteers each represented a day of creation. When God creates rain, a child did a rain dance. When God creates trees and other vege- tation, a boy stood in the yoga tree pose. When God creates creatures, a teenager led them in “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.” The narrator recorded sound effects, so each time the text said “It was morning” a cock crowed. When “it was evening,” there were cricket sounds. Trinity’s improv ministry wasn’t the first time members had exper- imented. Six years earlier, leaders had noticed the positive response to interactive Bible drama during children’s time in worship. They decided their Sunday school opening could use similar pizazz. About the same time, Trinity’s pastor, Keith Spencer, was working on a doc- torate of ministry, requiring him to design and implement a contextual project. He chose an intergenerational Sunday school with interactive Bible storytelling. Four teams introduced Bible stories by either act- ing them out, creating songs or using puppets. “We learned that everyone loves puppets,” Spencer said. “The kids and adults laughed. The youth took key roles [and took to pup- pets like fish to water]. We broke into small groups where anyone could be the leader for the discussion of the stories.” Leaders tried to involve entire families, but not everyone was into the new method. So after a couple of years they went back to a more traditional approach, Spencer said. But then, only a handful of chil- dren participated. Bible IMPROV was their response. “We sought to use what had worked best and been most exciting


dren’s theater meets Sunday school meets Improv … with a passionate desire to help folks know, love and live out God’s ... word. With some popcorn thrown in.” Trinity is experimenting again this sum-


mer, in its constant search to creatively tell the stories of faith. Now it’s working on “a new fusion of worship and interactive inter- generational Sunday school,” every Sunday at 10 a.m.


Spencer’s tip: We always focus on telling the stories, no matter what format we use, and involve as many people as possible. Create teams so one group doesn’t have to shoulder the burden. Make whatever you do intergenerational rather than just kids. You want them together. This is how faith formation really happens. Oh, and definitely include popcorn. Contact Spencer at drpk@earthlink.


net.  Good


one! Summer


sack lunches


During the summer, Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran in Peachtree City, Ga., works with other churches and the county to provide sack lunches for children. Last year more than 40 people—from toddlers to grand- parents—helped assemble the lunches every Monday, and 26 drivers ran 11 routes to distribute the food. An average of 324 children were fed each week for a total of 3,084 sandwiches for the summer, said member Mary Brunso.


Does your congregation do a specific ministry in November, December or January? Send details (or your best timeless idea) to julie.sevig@thelutheran.org. July 2012 39


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