Children serve communion to each other after serving worshipers at Trinity Lutheran Church, Pembroke Pines, Fla., during a weekly intergenerational worship service that doubles as Sunday school.
19 “We meet people where they are: using technology,
language and active learning concepts that match our 21st-century lifestyles,” said CEO and President Beth Lewis. More and more congregations are creating their own
materials. “Congregations aren’t purchasing as much as they used to,” Hess said. “People are writing their own materials to gear it to their situation.” Giselle Coutinho, pastor of Bridge of Peace Commu-
nity, Camden, N.J., and members create curriculum for the congregation’s “Family Bible School,” which meets on Tuesday nights preceded by a dinner for the 25 to 45 children who attend. For example, aſt er a young person was shot and
killed near the church, they talked about how afraid the disciples were while in the upper room. T e discussion allowed children to voice their fears of living in one of the most impoverished and violent communities in the country.
Comment
Karen Matthias-Long, associate of the bishop for youth and family ministry, and curator of synodical resources for the North- eastern Pennsylvania Synod: One of the things that really bothers me is [that church] is one of the few places where all generations come together. And what do we do after we enter the doors? We separate chil- dren and put them in classrooms. That’s not helpful because we can learn from someone older or younger than us.
20
www.thelutheran.org
Christina Gray and her daughter Sarah, 4, put their heads together at Trinity to create a wind chime during an intergenerational, highly inter- active worship service that provides faith for- mation. The chime’s components were selected to symbolize Christian beliefs.
“How do we speak to that and proclaim the resurrec-
tion in the middle of scary stuff ?” Coutinho asked. “So we are always creating curriculum, which is exhausting. It requires pulling from many resources. You need very creative people to do that. T ere are no materials that really address what it means to be in a setting like this.” Faith formation also takes place during worship.
“T ere are probably just as many or more children in worship than adults sometimes,” she said. “T ere are a lot of kids who come to church alone. For me it’s about being present, giving them boundaries and letting them know God loves them and Jesus is their Savior. “I don’t always like the phrase this church is a family,
but that’s what members say. T ey consider themselves a faith community, the body of Christ.”
‘Flips Sunday school on its head’ Two years ago, Trinity Lutheran Church, Pembroke Pines, Fla., replaced traditional Sunday school with “Worship Together,” a participatory blend of intergen- erational worship, family faith formation and Sunday school for children, youth and adults. “Parents can’t aff ord three hours [to attend church
and Sunday school],” said Keith Spencer, pastor. “[Our congregation] absorbs Sunday school into worship and wraps up in one hour.” T ey put on puppet shows, re-enact radio-theater,
create artwork, and write haikus and lyrics as ways to learn Bible stories. Eighty-year-olds share highs and lows with teens. Parents do skits with their children. And 11-year-olds train 5-year-olds on how to distribute communion.
EILEEN SOLER
EILEEN SOLER
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