Formation
Sundays @ 9:00 am | Adult Formation Class: 1 Corinthians
Sundays @ 10:00 am | Children’s Sunday School: Godly Play
Wednesdays @ 5:30 pm | Evening Prayer
Wednesdays @ 6:00 pm | Discussion Group: The Music of Lent, a Way to Pray
The Episcopal Church defines formation as “lifelong growth in the knowledge, service, and love of God as followers of Christ . . . informed by scripture, tradition, and reason.”
“Christian formation is a lifelong process, occurring in community, that shapes you into the person God created you to be.” — The Reverend Dr. Pamela Dolan
Sunday Morning Adult Formation Class
Sunday Morning Adult Formation takes place in the parish hall at 9:10 am.
On Sundays at 9:10 am, starting March 8, in the Parish Hall, we will explore Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, a masterpiece of pastoral theology. The young church in Corinth would, in this day and age, be described as a “troubled parish.” They argued about almost everything: should Christians get married or stay single; go vegetarian to avoid meat that might have been sacrificed to pagan idols; should married couples have sex or abstain?
Their confusion was understandable, considering they were adjusting to a brand new faith in a very complicated world. Paul’s deft response offers deep insight into how maintain unity in a community at a challenging time, and there’s a great deal we can learn from the struggles of our ancestors, as we chart a course forward.
If you’ve never studied Paul, I Corinthians is a very straightforward way into his supple thought. If you know Paul well, you’ll enjoy one of his most accessible yet richest letters. The letter has 16 chapters, so our exploration will likely last around four months, but don’t stay away because you might miss a few Sundays. Ample notes are distributed, in part to make catching up easier. It’s a lively conversation, where questions and comments are always encouraged, and we glean wisdom on how to live out our faith better day to day.
Children’s Sunday School: Godly Play
Winter/Spring Session will run from Jan. 11 - May 24.
We will not hold regular Sunday School during the Christmas Holiday
or Easter Sunday.
January 11 is the beginning to our regular Godly Play Sunday School Sessions that begin at 10:00 am, the children joining worship at the Peace. This Winter/Spring session, children will begin with exploring the Epiphany Lesson. From January through February, we will focus on many of the Liturgical Action Lessons. We are so excited to welcome the children, storytellers, and doorkeepers back to the circle! If you are interested in volunteering for our children's program, please reach out to Kathy Smith (please email the office for contact information).
Children’s Ministries & Events This Spring
Reflections on Lent and the Journey Toward Easter
Lent is a solemn and serious season. Over the past few weeks in Sunday School, our children have been thoughtfully exploring and learning about the life of Jesus. As Easter approaches and the world blossoms with the arrival of Spring, we are preparing to celebrate Jesus in new and meaningful ways.
Special Easter Celebration: Egg Hunt for Our Youngest Parishioners
To mark this special time, we warmly invite the church community to help us surprise our youngest parishioners with an Easter Egg Hunt on Easter Sunday. There are three ways you can participate and support this event:
Donate Supplies: We are seeking contributions of candy, small toys, stickers, and other items suitable for placing inside Easter eggs. Please ensure all candy is nut-free, coconut-free, and individually wrapped or sealed. We typically have between 13 and 18 children attending and will need approximately a dozen eggs per child. A box labeled “Easter” is available on the table in the Sunday School Room for your donations. Kindly place your items in the box by Good Friday so they can be hidden Easter morning.
Help Hide Eggs: The Egg Hunt will take place rain or shine. If the weather is favorable, we will hide the eggs in the garden and back area. Should there be inclement weather, the hunt will move indoors to the Parish Hall. Volunteers who wish to help hide eggs are invited to meet at 9:00 am in the Parish Hall before the children arrive.
Assist Our Smallest Participants: Some of our youngest children may need extra help during the hunt. We hope to enable parents to watch and capture photos of these special moments. If you would like to assist our littlest participants—helping them hold their baskets and search for hidden treasures—please reach out to us.
Sunday School Schedule and Upcoming Events
Sunday School will continue through May 24. During the summer months, we will return to weekly chapel gatherings.
Parents' Night Out
On May 15, from 5:30 to 8:30 pm, we will host a Parents' Night Out. Children will enjoy fellowship, a meal, a movie, games, and crafts, while parents can spend time together or simply enjoy a night off. We encourage children to dress comfortably. Please watch for the sign-up for this event, which we hope will become a quarterly tradition.
Wednesday Evening Prayer & Discussions
Current Schedule
5:30 pm Evening Prayer on Wednesday Nights
6:00 pm Discussion: The Music of Lent, a Way to Pray
Seasonally we have Evening Prayer at 5:30 pm in the church on Wednesday evenings. One of our four daily offices, this is a service of prayer and scripture that concludes a day nicely. At 6:00 pm, we transition into the parish hall for a discussion group, which finishes at 7:00 pm.
You can choose between worship or study or do both.
The Music of Lent, a Way to Pray
Starting on Wednesday, February 11, we will start an exploration at 6:00 pm of “The Music of Lent, a Way to Pray,” which will continue through the season of Lent, until the end of March. We take great enjoyment and entertainment from music, often listening to our radios or playlists or vinyls or CDs throughout the day. In a way, what we like to listen to serves as the soundtrack of our lives, subtly shaping how we feel and what we think.
However, music can alter us more profoundly when we use it as a way to pray, a means of meditating on God and our relationship with God. The choral tradition of sacred music for Lent and Holy Week is vast and powerfully moving. As we prepare for Lent and strive to draw closer to Jesus through the season, maybe creating a Lenten playlist might offer us a way to grow in our faith and spirituality.
We start each Wednesday with Evening Prayer at 5:30 pm, and our discussion afterwards at 6:00 pm lasts about an hour. We will listen to some amazing music and discuss how those pieces could serve as companions on our Lenten journey. Each session will be a one-off, so it will be easy to join in at any point in the series.
Foyer Groups & Prayer Circles
Foyer groups are monthly gatherings of 6-8 people who share a meal in someone’s home or out as a picnic or at a restaurant, going Dutch. Nobody needs to be Martha Stewart. Something simple and wholesome works just fine. The whole point of a foyer group is pure fellowship. No other agenda beyond sharing stories and strengthening friendships. Groups will be formed with an eye to geography and compatibility, while trying to help people meet others they may not know well. These are temporary groups, with fresh sign-ups and new groups being formed every 6-8 months.
Prayer circles are weekly gatherings of 4-5 people who meet somewhere for an hour to pray for and with each other. This is a more intimate and purposeful experience, which can also make it a very powerful experience. These small groups provide support and comfort during challenging times and encouragement as we try to live more faithfully in relationship with Jesus. Simple guides will be provided to help structure these groups, guidelines—not rules—that can be modified as the group decides. Prayer groups, because they are smaller and meet more often, tend to grow much closer, so they are not temporary groups and will not be reformed on a regular basis.
