Bibles!

As we start a new Sunday Club year, children new to Sunday Club, and children moving up from one Sunday Club group to another will receive a Bible of their very own from Saint Anne's.  Lydia and the Sunday Club team have picked these as our favorites to give out, for now.  Please see Lydia's letter below about each Bible.  If you have another favorite, please share it with Lydia or one of the Sunday Club teachers.  It is always fun to explore a new Bible and find new favorites to share.

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Dear St. Anne’s Families,

We hope you like this new Bible, a gift from St. Anne’s Church.

We have chosen 4 age-appropriate Bibles, to help our young St. Annians learn to know the Bible stories, to grow in their appreciation of the Bible, and to expand their understanding of how the Bible is part of every Christian’s ongoing faith development.  Episcopalians hold that truth is revealed through scripture, tradition, and reason (the famous “3-legged stool” of Anglicanism). To keep the stool balanced, we need to understand our tradition, be willing to think critically (bringing our experience and observations into the conversation), and also be biblically literate. 

Spark Story Bible

For our youngest members, as they enter Sunday Club (age 3 through Kindergarten)

Published by Augsburg Fortress, Spark Story Bible has short, clear narratives and whimsical illustrations that help the stories come alive for young children. At the end of each story are questions that help children think about the story more deeply, and apply some part of the story in their own lives. For example, “The Israelites were scared. Have you even been scared? When? What did you do?”  “Make up a dance that Mary might have done after she heard the good news.” Spark Story Bible is perfect for parents and children to read at bedtime, one chapter at a time.

International Children’s Bible

For Sunday Club kids who are in grades 1-4; honoring the transition from Kindergarten and becoming a reader

This translation is intended for a 3^rd grade reading level. The back of the Bible says: “The International Children’s Bible is the Bible children can read and understand. Most children’t don’t understand adult words like ‘atonement,’ ‘redeem,’ or ‘oracle.’ And dozens of such difficult words are commonly found in the modern versions of the Bible. In this proven translation of the complete Bible, the words have been carefully selected just for children.”  This Bible includes:

•    Children’s dictionary/index, with more than 200 entries, explaining difficult words and phrases.

•    Simplified footnotes explaining Bible names, customs, and phrases

•    Colorful maps, showing key cities and lands.

The International Children’s Bible is a great Bible for parents and kids to read together, and for kids to begin to read on their own.

The Daily Message: Through the Bible in One Year

For Sunday Club kids as they move into Middle School, grades 5-8

The Message is a modern translation by Eugene Peterson, a renowned scholar and pastor. It was written to be “a reading Bible -- one that communicates the timeless truths of Scripture in contemporary language.” The Message is set out in paragraphs, and uses 21^st century language and imagery. In this particular version, Old Testament, New Testament, and Psalms are interwoven and arranged for daily reading. Each day’s reading includes questions for reflection, for example: Do you believe everything you just read? Why or why not? or 1. What would be your reaction if God asked you to live by the standards presented in this passage? 2. Imagine you are God. How would you respond to the psalmist’s plea?  This is a great Bible for people of any age who want to get a sense of the Bible as a whole, in contemporary language that connects with our times.

The Harper Collins Study Bible

For students in 9^th-12^th grades

This is the Bible used in many seminaries for serious, scholarly Bible study. St. Anne’s has presented this Bible to our confirmation students for the past several years, for use during their 2-year confirmation preparation. It is the translation recommended for worship in the Episcopal Church -- the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).  The Harper Collins Study Bible is the full Bible with Apocrypha, concordance, maps, footnotes, and introductions to each book and section. Beginning this year we will present it as a mark of passage into High School. It will be useful during confirmation preparation and beyond.

Enjoy!

Faithfully,
Lydia + 

 and the Sunday Club team

September2012 Newsletter

 September 2012

“The body is a community made up of its innumerable cells; its inhabitants.” 
- Thomas Edison  

                                                             

Dear Saint Anne’s families,

We parents, living here in this corner of North America, are not short of opportunities for our children.  Sports, music, dance, art, language, drama, choirs, scouting.  Our countertops are piled high with “opportunities” galore!  As my family decides where we will spend our time and our money – where we can say, “Yes, we’ll be there” and where we say, “We won’t be able to make it” - I’ve been thinking about what makes a community.  Why, where, and how does community happen?

And as Sunday Club teachers are preparing for another year, I’ve been considering what is it that makes the Saint Anne’s community?  A church community is often thought of as a place where “good” people do “good things”.  And yes, churches often are, and often do.  But if that’s all, we could be good, caring people who stay at home on Sunday mornings to take a break from our crazy schedules! 

Last week, after the opening hymn and prayers at the 10:30 service, Nolan, my brand-new 2^nd-grader, curled up in his chair and closed his eyes.  “I’m going to take a little nap during the next part,” he said, “but wake me up for Communion, please.” 

Of course.  As usual, the children get it right so naturally. 

The Greek word “koinonia” appears in the Bible many times.   It is the word often translated as “Communion”, meaning the breaking and sharing of the bread.  But just as Communion has many layers, koinonia also means more.  It is also translated as: “fellowship”, “sharing”, “participation”, “contribution”.  Koinonia.  Communion.  Being present.  Vulnerability.  Offering gifts.  Accepting gifts.  Allowing transformation.  Stepping together into mystery.  Community with a capital C.

When Nolan said he did not want to miss Communion, I think what he did not want to miss was the opportunity for Community.  The gathering together, shoulder to shoulder, to feed and be fed. Acceptance.  Belonging.  The knowledge that each of us is a part of one sacred whole.  Connection to the deep mystery and deep truth that continually shapes and forms us. 

And who would want to miss this?  Our children get it right so naturally.

This is why, even as we’re overwhelmed by our calendars, bursting with homework and clubs and lessons and sports, we parents perform the heroic feats it takes to get everyone fed and dressed and out the door on Sunday mornings.  Because we know we are each a part of all that koinonia is and because we know that koinonia, with all of its nuanced meanings, is a critical part of who we are.  And because when we become so busy that we forget why it is exactly that Sunday mornings are worth the effort, our children are there to remind us.  Wake me up for Community, please!

As Sunday Club teachers meet and plan for this year, there is a buzz and hum in the air.  We can’t wait to step - and hop and skip and leap! - into Community with you and your kids again. 

p e a c e,

Jennifer