“A little munchkin gave this picture to me a few months ago. When I asked her to tell me about it, she said, ‘Bunnies love carrots and so does the alien. And God loves them both.’ I love that this kiddo understands two deep truths: That no matter how different we are, there are always things that connect us to the other. AND that God is so big that He ALWAYS loves the other: the ones that look different or vote differently or believe differently or are broken differently (even if the other is so different that they have three eyes and live in a whole other far away foreign world). God looks upon the person that we look on with disdain and He calls them His beloved. This picture now serves as my reminder whenever I am tempted to “other” another, that God doesn’t ever see the other. He just loves indiscriminately, fully, extravagantly. Every time. Everyone. Everywhere. When Jesus said that we have to become like children to enter the kingdom of heaven, I think this is what He was talking about. It’s why I go to church with a bunch of preschoolers and kindergarteners every Sunday.”
—Mary Dorsett
Long Beach Christian Fellowship (Long Beach, California)
“The Shine lesson introduction of “mountain and valley” experiences of second grade students was a real connect. Most everyone wanted to share with their friends and hear from their teachers as well! Our frustration became not enough lesson time. Even with other great beginning theme ideas came the request for “mountain highs and valley lows” sharing each Sunday. The problem was having ten chattering cherubs! Actually, they learned to meld and be very sympathetic and caring!”
—Patricia MacGregor
Berkey Mennonite Fellowship (Goshen, Indiana)
“It is always fascinating to hear children putting the stories of the Bible into their own words after a Sunday school Bible story. After I taught the story of Jesus’ baptism, one of the three-year-old children in the group told her grandma during Sunday lunch, ‘When Jesus was born, it was under a river in Holland!’ I don’t know where the Holland part came from, but we had talked about our Christmas celebrations and reviewed the story of Jesus’ birth before starting the story of Jesus’ baptism that day. When I told a friend about this child’s retelling of the baptism story, she said, ‘That’s why we tell the stories every year!’ I know this child knows more about Jesus’ baptism now. On another occasion when my son was a preschooler, before he could read, he sat down with a Bible after church one Sunday during Advent. He announced, ‘I will read the Bible!’ and he turned to pages full of words and “read” them, saying ‘Hope!’ ‘Hope!’ ‘Hope!’ ‘Hope!’ as he turned each page.”
—Judith Farris
Emmanuel Presbyterian Church (Sarnia, Ontario)
Our August theme is “Get Ready”! We’d love to hear what you do to prepare for the start of your faith formation year. How do you decorate or arrange the room? What supplies do you gather? Do you connect with families ahead of time? Send your tips and ideas for starting the year to blog@ShineCurriculum.com by August 16 for inclusion in a future blog post. Feel free to include a picture!