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Christian Education

Christian Education is an important and growing feature at Advent Episcopal Church. Programs are offered for children in preschool through high school, all of which meet at 9:30 AM on Sunday. The Adult Forum class meets at 9:00 AM on Sunday. In addition, there is a Wednesday evening Bible study.

Godly Play (age 4 to 2nd grade)

Godly Play is an approach to working with children to support, guide, interest challenge, and help them on their spiritual journey.  It assumes that children have a sense of mystery of the presence of God in their lives.  The children enter the stories presented.  They are encouraged to wonder and respond and then share a feast.

Godly Play closely follows the format of the church service. The sessions operate in three segments, all based on a Biblical theme for that lesson. A story is told using figurines. The story is first told by an adult. Following this, the children do age appropriate crafts, or optionally do a retelling of the story. The lesson always ends with a feast (which adults might recognize as juice and cookies!).

Children's offerings are used to provide animals in developing countries through Heifer International.

The group also presents the annual Epiphany Pageant.

All Things New (3rd through 5th grade)

All Things New offers children a more in depth study of familiar stories heard in Godly Play as well as several new stories.  The children experience these stories through Bible study as well as art response.  The curriculum also includes opportunities for children to explore Episcopal prayers, sacraments, and traditions.

Rite 13 (6th and 7th grade)

This curriculum as well as the J2A curriculum provides Christian formation for our youth.  This is a two-year program that addresses the specific needs of preteens and teenagers.  Rite 13 assists young people as they take their first steps away from their families into their own lives.  Rite 13 liturgically celebrates God given gifts of manhood and womanhood.  The young people understand through their classes that adulthood must be earned.

Journey to Adulthood (8th through 12th grade)

This curriculum also a two-year program is a continuation of Rite 13 as it provides a liturgical frame for our youths’ experience in our modern culture by celebrating individuality and creative potential.  J2A provides guidance and instruction in skills needed for successful adult participation in church and society.  Youth involved in the J2A program have an opportunity to prepare for confirmation if they desire to do so.

Adult Forum

This Adult Education class meets from 9:00 to 10:00 on Sunday mornings. The class members come up with and decide on the topic to cover over a several week period. Fr. Dan Handschy leads the studies. Visit the Adult Forum blog to see what is currently being discussed!

Wednesday Evening Bible Study

This class combines Holy Eucharist and a brown bag supper with Bible study. This study is always a based on the scripture lessons that will be read on the following Sunday. We approach the scriptures from two angles. Fr. Dan reads them (and translates the New Testament scriptures from the Greek) and gives the historical, exegetical background (about 1/2 our time) and then the group wonders aloud how this applies to our life as Christians, or asks questions. We have covered lots of recent scholarship about the Bible in this way.

During Lent, we do a series on the Wednesdays of Lent. This past Lent, we discussed "What makes us Episcopalians". We covered the sacraments, the organization of the denomination, moral theology; it was a great deal of fun. Last year, we did a series called, "The serpent in the garden." We talked about how sex/gender issues have shaped christian moral reason down through history, and our lives to this day.

Contact Fr. Dan Handschy if you are interested in the Wednesday Bible Study class.