Category Archives: Youth Ministry

Planning Calendar for 2021-2022

May 18, 2021Adult Formation, Children's Ministries, Curriculum, Resources, Seasonal Ideas, Youth Ministryplanning calendar, program planningSharon Ely Pearson

I have always believed that the Season of Easter is a time to plan and look to the future in all manner of things. Depending on where you live in the northern hemisphere, it is a time to think about planting: mapping out your garden, starting seeds, or actually putting plants into the ground. For me it was also about evaluating the past academic year in secular education or the Church.

I’ve written and shared plenty of ideas on how to evaluate your programming and curriculum. I’ll soon be posting new curriculum charts for children, youth, and adult formation. And by popular demand, I offer the Christian Formation Planning Calendar for 2020-2021 (Pentecost 2020 thru August 2021) in two formats for you to adapt to your own context and needs.

2021-2022 Planning Calendar (docx)

2021-2022 Planning Calendar (pdf)

Column 1: Date / Season
- Date
- Sunday noted on the church calendar
- Reading designation (proper)
Column 2: Sunday Readings appointed for the day (following the Episcopal version of the Revised Common Lectionary). This is not the same as the ’79 BCP lectionary or the standard RCL. Episcopalians like to tweak and amend! Track 1 and Track 2 are offered when applicable.
- Old Testament / Hebrew Scripture reading
- Psalm or Canticle
- New Testament reading
- Gospel
Column 3: Observances
- These can be civic (governmental holidays) or religious (Christian mid-week observances)
- Space to fill in your own local practice
Column 4: Church Events
- For you to fill in with your church’s events or notes for the day
Column 5: Notes
- Space for your notations

Don’t forget to plug-in your teacher trainings and workshops, conference opportunities, seasonal projects for Advent and Lent, pageant and play rehearsals, mission trips, VBS, recognitions and presentations, school vacations and holidays, and social activities. As requested, you can download a pdf version or a Word version.

Stay tuned in the coming days for the updated curriculum charts. A lot has changed in the past year with numerous new resources and a few that have been discontinued. Certainly our lens may have changed a bit in what we choose to use and adapt with new questions to ask: How can I use this resource if/when we cannot meet face-to-face and in person on Sunday (or any other time)? How is this resource adaptable for use at home and online?

A New Heart, A New Spirit

September 8, 2020Adult Formation, Christianity, Curriculum, Discipleship, From the Archives, Resources, Youth MinistryBaptismal Covenant, catchumenate, spiritual renewal, SpiritualitySharon Ely Pearson

While not new terms, discipleship and spiritual renewal are having a resurgence across denominational circles. And it is often misunderstood in terms of a “movement.”

For some, “renewal” implies a new revivalism, while for others it is simply synonymous with a particular expression of renewal such as the Charismatic Movement, Cursillo, or Tres Dias of many years ago (and in some circles continues). There are those who perceive in the emphasis on “renewal” as self-indulgent flight into personal interiority by well-off churchgoers unwilling to confront the many pressing social and political problems that surround us.

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Walking the Pilgrim’s Way

August 19, 2020Adult Formation, Children's Ministries, Resources, Spirituality, Youth MinistryChartres Cathedral, Confirmation, labyrinth, Lauren Winner, pilgrimageSharon Ely Pearson

There was a time when Jerusalem was considered the center of the world. In June of 2019 I was privileged to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land: Israel, Palestine, and Jordan. A trip I had always dreamed of, it was a life-changing experience – both spiritually and politically. (You can read/see for yourself from my post-pilgrimage reflections.) But not everyone is able to travel to Jerusalem or other holy sites around the world.

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Blessed to Bless

July 2, 2020Bible, Book Review, Resources, Youth MinistrySharon Ely Pearson

For those looking for a youth (middle school or high school) resource that would be adaptable for “distance learning” for the coming program year, Blessed to Bless: An Introduction to the Bible by Tim Sean Youmans (Church Publishing, 2020) may be an answer. Paired with watching videos from The Bible Project, this 300+ page book offers enough content for 86 sessions, broken down into four sections of two units each. BVC (Bible Vocabulary Concepts) are scattered throughout, helping to build up competency and biblical literacy that was once part of a common core education. Learn the origins of phrases such as “the patience of Job,” “Am I my brothers keeper?” and having a “Damascus Road experience.” Understand how scripture can be read literally, symbolically, or a mixture of both.

The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your land, your family, and your father’s household for the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation and will bless you. I will make your name respected, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
    those who curse you I will curse;
        all the families of the earth
            will be blessed because of you.” ––Genesis 12:1-3

Each chapter begins with a reading assignment from the Bible, followed by Tim Sean’s commentary and a few questions to consider and/or discuss. If you read two chapters of Blessed to Bless alongside your Bible, you will complete this survey of the Bible in about one year’s time. It’s written at an eighth-grade level and was inspired by Tim Sean’s students at Casady (Episcopal) School in Oklahoma City who are between ten- and fifteen-years old.

Tim Sean offers the following:

If you are a Christian and want a basic introduction to the Bible, this book is for you. If you are not religious but you want to have a sense of what the Bible contains and what it means to Christians, this book is also for you. It can be read together as parent and child; it can be sues with a group of parents reading the Bible together with their children, and it can be used for a Sunday school class for teens or adults. It’s for all types of beginners as well as those who want a refresher of the scope of our salvation story.

I can see young people being mailed a copy of the book along with a Common English Bible, which is the translation used in the text. Assignments to read a portion of scripture and a chapter in the book followed by a Zoom-session to watch a video clip together followed by discussion could be a feasible model during these times of social distancing. Most likely formation classes will not resume “in person” across the U.S. this September as churches will be focused on making worship in person a priority first.

Christine Hides of Bless Each One offers the following comment on Blessed to Bless:

Just as a cry for justice arose in our nation and religious leaders encouraged us to turn to scripture, Blessed to Bless: #AnIntroductiontotheBible by Tim Sean Youmans appeared as a surprise in my mailbox. From time to time Church Publishing sends me preview copies of books to review. This one receives my recommendation for two reasons. First, I am regularly asked for resources to help make sense of the Bible, especially the Old Testament; this book offers a wide and deep guide to approaching sacred texts. The two page chapters are an excellent accompaniment for those who wish to read the text critically and constructively. Additionally, the author has a unique perspective, as an Episcopal priest who grew up in the evangelical tradition. He pitches a large and theologically sound tent that “cultivates the best of sacramental ritualistic Christianity with the heartfelt spirituality of the evangelical tradition.”