GUILFORD-A local, progressive church is upgrading its children and youth programming for the fall, featuring the return of a staff member and a locally designed, progressive middle school curriculum.
Starting Sept. 6, Guilford Community Church (GCC) will hold Sunday School for three age groups:
• Batunga Bibimba will supervise the youngest children through preschool in the playspace, which houses toys, books, and places for parents to join their children as needed.
• JoAnne Heckman will be returning to the area to teach the elementary children, grades K–5, continuing with the curriculum, A Joyful Path, which teaches empathy through stories and experiential learning. Designed to engage children physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually, this year’s curriculum will explore the foundations of Progressive Christianity in the teachings of Jesus.
GCC’s Christian Education committee and its interim pastor, Allyson Platt, have created an entirely new format for middle school children to provide a diverse understanding of the multiple faiths in our area and beyond. Through December, the team will introduce various faith traditions within other Christian groups, such as evangelical, Catholic, Quaker, and African American Christian traditions, as well as the United Church of Christ.
Members of the Christian Education committee will meet with the young teens in three-week rotations. The first will be Tom Green exploring evangelism with the group on Sept. 6. On Sept. 13, the group will attend a neighboring evangelical church service. On Sept. 20, the youth will discuss their experience and impressions.
In the winter and spring, young teens will explore various religions and spiritual practices. The format will be similar to the fall: one week of introduction and discussion, one week visiting another house of worship, and the third week discussing their impressions.
Staff are looking for community volunteers from different traditions to share their personal spiritual journey with the middle schoolers. Those interested being a guest speaker, contact Sue Owings (skowings@gmail.com) or Mary Alice Amidon (maryaliceamidon@gmail.com).
This Town and Village item was submitted to The Commons.