“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105

Dear Friends:

We are a blessed community to grow in the knowledge of God in Christ under the leadership of our Children, Youth and Family Minister, Dana Hale and the amazingly supportive Ministry Team led by Elaine Isner. Along with Elaine’s team Kathleen Bellis oversees the youth, Tracy Parkerton, Rebecca Carroll, Emma Irby, Maura Clos and Melissa Woodhead stand in leadership with children and youth of all ages as Michelle Walter serves as the team’s vestry liaison. We give thanks for remarkable body of loving, faithful leaders, who with transforming generosity serve with endurance, vision, patience, joy and abundant love. Read Dana’s update below and learn more about God’s gift of Children, Youth and Family Ministry. Some important dates to remember: Sunday September 2, we’re blessing teachers and helpers in Family Worship, Saturday September 8 from 4:00-7:00 Fall Fun Day will be filled with a Bikathon, tasty food, Bounce House, great music, silent auction and fun for all; and Sunday September 9th Sunday School begins at 9:45 a.m. May the holiday weekend bring you rest from your labors. Blessings, Hillary

We are excited and ready to begin a new year of Sunday School! The Children, Youth, and Family Ministry team is devoted to making Sunday School a meaningful experience for all, and we have spent months in preparation. Our continued growth has led to the addition of another Sunday School class. We are delighted to be able to offer faith formation for everyone in preschool through high school.

Lower Division (Preschool and Kindergarten) will enter their second year of Godly Play.We will tell the same core stories again as Godly Play is meant to be a spiral curriculum. The hope is that each time we hear the story, we can go a little deeper into it. We are a little older with more life experience. We have grown and developed and can make new meaning. This is true for all of us, no matter how old we are. A year of development makes a big difference in a little one’s life, and I’m excited to see how they respond to the stories this year as we wonder together.

Middle Division will use Godly Play as well. Children will hear some of the core stories and also branch into extension stories. These extension stories go into more depth about a character and how God worked in his or her life. We will learn more about Adam and Eve, Moses, Joseph, Isaiah, Mary, and many of Jesus’ parables. I highly encourage you to volunteer with Lower or Middle Division and experience a Godly Play session for yourself. Our team spent some time together at a training session last year, and the vestry experienced Godly Play at their retreat earlier this Spring. Godly Play does such a beautiful job of drawing us in, even as adults, and allowing us to revisit stories that invite us to wonder about God and how God works in our lives.

Upper Division will be exploring the Bible chronologically over a two-year period through a new curriculum called Holy Moly.I’m so eager to dive into these stories that will help us get a better sense of the Biblical narrative and see God’s love and faithfulness throughout time. One of my favorite parts about this curriculum is that it will help connect us with scripture! During each lesson, we will spend some time in our new Bibles. The children will receive their own NRSV Bible, the same version our readings are taken from in worship. In addition, there are fun, age-appropriate reading, writing, and drawing prompts scattered all throughout to help them better connect to a story or character.

We are expanding this year to add a class for 6th and 7th graders. Our focus is on how we are called and learning to listen for God’s call. We will begin with people in the Old Testament who were called by God: Abraham and Sarah, Moses, Samuel, Ruth, and Daniel. Each of these people answered God’s call but not without difficulty, struggles, and conflict. Later we will look at how various people in the New Testament were called by Jesus and how their interaction with him transformed and nurtured them. This class will also spend one Sunday morning per month contributing to an ongoing outreach project that Epiphany is already engaged in: Food 4 Thought, Hot Meals, Hypothermia, etc.

Youth Confirmationbegins September 16 and continues for eight weeks for all youth interested in exploring their faith and making a mature commitment to the faith as an Episcopalian.

Youth in 8th grade and upwill meet after worship to deepen their faith and strengthen their relationships. They will be looking at Biblical lessons through a modern lens to discover how our faith is relevant in our everyday lives. What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus today? What role does faith play in our relationships with others? What are our spiritual gifts and how can we use them to serve the community? These questions are valuable in helping us develop a deeply rooted faith that will sustain us into young adulthood and beyond.

We would love to have you as a helper in any of our classes. I feel certain you will be blessed by the children and will discover something new.

Dana Hale
Children, Youth, and Family Minister
Epiphany Episcopal Church
(703) 466-5200  ext. 106