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

Summer 2012 Newsletter

Newsletter:  Summer 2012


The skies are telling the glory of God
and the earth proclaims God’s handiwork. 
Day to day they speak and night to night
they share what they know. 
There is no speech; their voice is not heard,
yet their song goes out through all the earth.    
~   Psalms 19:1-4

May and June are very busy months in the world of Sunday Club.  We have the end of the year events – student and teacher recognition, Pentecost party, and the intense planning for Summer Stretch and Summer Club.  For me personally, this also falls during my busiest time of the year for work, there are final exams and papers in my classes, and it is a busy time with my family, with dance recitals and baseball.  And then of course there are end-of-school picnics, parties, and presentations.

Whew.

So when I was invited by the Bishop’s office to attend a Youth Ministers retreat from May 29 – 31 this year, my first thought was, “I don’t have time for that!”  My second thought was, “Will I get my own room and a bit of silence?”  When my husband told me he would do anything it took to make sure I could carve out the time to go, I knew I probably needed it more than I even realized.

Off I went.

I made many good connections with other youth ministers across Minnesota.  I learned some new approaches to children’s ministries, and talked about curriculum with others.  We all dreamed about what we could do if only….    If only there was more money…. more time…  If only we could bring to life all we envision…

But the most important thing I gained from the conference was time to process a question presented to us by the Bishop:  Why do you do what you do?  

Not what do you do or how do you do it, but why?  And, Bishop Prior said, “Because there is no one else who will do it” is not the answer. 

WHY do you do what you do? 

Life is extremely busy.  It would be easier, more simple, if I did not do everything I do.  And yet, I do it.  Life is busy for you, too.  And yet, you continue to do all you do.

I pondered the question for the entire retreat and I continue to ponder it now.  Why do I do what I do? 

In terms of St. Anne’s… I think I do what I do because the knowledge that God is around me at all times, in all manners of manifestation, brings a deep peace to my life.  At times it has saved my life.  I love helping children learn to connect to that deep peace.   And I do it because the children of St. Anne’s teach me, too.  I see the face of Christ in each them; I see their spirits glow with the divine.    

Maybe that is why I do what I do. 

And now I present to you my new favorite question: 

Why do YOU do what you do?   

During the summer months, we have some down time in regard to children’s activities here.  But still, you continue to come to St. Anne’s.  You bring your children on Sunday mornings, to sing and to pray.  You sit in the Peace Garden and you walk the path together.  You make time to nurture your children’s spiritual lives and you make time for St. Anne’s.  Life might be easier, more simple, if we all just slept in on Sunday mornings, especially during the summer.  But we do not.  Drop me an email sometime this summer  –  I really would love to know your why.

P e a c e,
Jennifer

Magnetic poetry by a Summer Stretcher
THIS is one of my whys!

Upcoming dates for your calendars:

July 30-Aug. 3: Episcopal Creative Arts Day Camp. 9 am-3 pm, St. Mark’s Cathedral. Ages 4 years through entering 6th grade. Fee: $50.00 (scholarships available) Contact Mary Lusk: MaryL@OurCathedral.org.

August 2:  Summer Stretch & Club trip to Valley Fair

August 18^th:  St. Anne’s garage sale.  If we want to do a Sunday Club bake sale at this time, we need a coordinator.  Let me know if you are interested!

September 8:  Think Globally, Run Locally 5K at Lebanon Hills in Eagan.  A great family event!  Register here!

September 30^th:  First day of 2012 – 2013 Sunday Club.  Commissioning of teachers at the 10:30 service.

Pentecost 2012!

May 2012 Newsletter

 

“Be ready at any moment to give up what you are
for what you might become.”

                                                              - W.E.B. Du Bois                                                                   

Dear Saint Anne’s families,

Last week I arrived late to Aidan’s baseball game because I had been at Nolan’s earlier game at a different location.  As I arrived at Aidan’s game, I scanned the fields within the park to find his team.  At the field closest to the parking lot, I evaluated the size of the kids on the field.  I watched the pitcher throw a hard, fast pitch straight down the middle.  This clearly wasn’t Aidan’s team:  the kids were too big, too focused, too good.  Except…it was Aidan’s team.  And that pitcher?  The tall, strong, grown-up kid pitching fast balls? 
It was my son.  I had not recognized him.

For a parent, some of the days may be long but the years are short.  We watch our babies become toddlers before our eyes as they take their first wobbly steps, our preschoolers grow overnight into big-school kids, and we don’t recognize our one-time t-ball players up on the big league pitcher’s mound, confident and capable.  It goes too fast, we always say to each other.  Yet our children can’t seem to grow up fast enough.  They throw themselves into the future with joyful anticipation.  Whatever tomorrow brings, they just can’t wait.    

The Sunday Club theme for May is Growth.   After an Easter celebration of new birth and new life, we look to what is next.  What comes after those first green shoots push out of the ground?  How can we know we are on the right path?  Where can we look for guidance? We can never know what lies ahead.  But our children know what we too often forget:  wherever we are going, God is already there. 

And it’s going to be even better than we can imagine. 

Happy May, St. Anne’s families! 

p e a c e,

Jennifer

Sunday Club Dates to Remember in May

May 20:  Last day of Sunday Club classes
May 27:  Pentecost Party!  Outdoor games, crafts, snacks and fun!

Love and Justice, Hunger Games Style

We've been bouncing around the idea of a tween/teen Hunger Games discussion group, and guess what - we need bounce no longer!  St. Matthew's Episcopal Church is hosting a Hunger Games discussion, led by Sharon Tan, Associated Professor at United Theological Seminary:

Justice, Love & Courage in The Hunger Games

A discussion for adults and young people who have read the book or watched the movie...... with Sharon Tan, Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at United Seminary

Thursday, April 26, 7:00 PM

St. Matthew's Episcopal Church
2136 Carter Ave at Chelmsford, 

St. Paul, MN

We will discuss questions like:

• Were the Hunger Games fair for the people of Panem? If not, what was unjust about it?
• Is it OK to kill other people in order to survive?
• Is it OK to lie or pretend in order to win?
• What do you admire-- or not-- about Katniss and the other characters?

Happy Easter!