Sunday School begins this fall in a B.I.G. way
In churches throughout the Baltimore-Washington Conference, more than 48,000 people, almost half of them children, returned to Sunday school on Sept. 8.
Many churches rolled out special activities to mark the occasion.
The children at Emmanuel UMC in Scaggsville learned about Discipleship with an example from Dr. Seuss' book, "Yertle the Turtle," who wanted to rule by standing on top of other turtles only to fall because the turtle on the bottom burped.
'Our faith will fall unless we train through Bible study and discipline," preached the Rev. Stephanie Vader. "There is a disconnect with the world that is not
After six months of planning, Vader, a fan of Dr. Seuss, picked her favorite eight Seuss books and developed a sermon series for this fall.
She ties the theme to children's sermons and the Sunday School students collaborate with art and other activities. Recently, the children each drew pictures of their faces and topped them with colorful red and white striped hats from "The Cat and the Hat."
But amidst the frivolity, Vader brings home important spiritual points. For example, from a popular Seuss book, "What Was I Scared Of," Vader spoke of letting go of fear. She used the example of the immigration issues and the fears that church people have.
Drawing children, whose lives are filled with a vast variety of stimuli, into Sunday School often requires special measures.
One United Methodist curriculum is addressing this by "trying to bring the 21st century to Sunday School." Live B.I.G. calls on students to "sing, shout, laugh, act, dance, create, run, jump, fly, think, speak and relate their belief in God."
Many area churches, including Emmanuel UMC, are using the Live B.I.G. (
"It's fun and it relates to their world," said Donna Meoli, director of Christian education at Emmanuel. "We have between 80-90 children in Sunday school and it also addresses different learning styles as boys and girls learn differently," she said. At this time only the third, fourth and fifth graders are using the Live B.I. G. curriculum while other age levels are using different Cokesbury resources.
Recently, during a Bible lesson on Moses, a burning bush prop sat in the Sunday School, the children had to take their shoes off as they entered because they were entering holy ground. "They get a chance to move around and do activities with this curriculum," said Meoli.
Colesville UMC in Silver Spring has been using the Live B.I.G. curriculum for the past two years. "The materials cross ethnic lines," said Debby Keaton, director of Christian education. "We are a fairly diverse church and in the
Live B.I.G. kits (kindergarten-high school) include 12 DVDs, one per month, weekly lesson, a vignette in which a situation is addressed and children can dialogue about their choices and opinions with their Sunday school teacher.
Keaton, who has been a Christian educator at Colesville for the past eight years, likes the format of using DVDs, videos and contemporary Christian music.
"If you try to sit down and talk to the youth and ask a question you will get a
Other churches in the region also started out the new Sunday school year with special features.
Frostburg UMC kicked off their Sunday school with a Rally Day with a homemade ice cream social and clown ministry following worship.
"We're hoping to kick it up a notch with Sunday school this year," said the Rev. Rebecca Vardiman.
Mount Zion UMC in Myersville has begun a new intergenerational Sunday school class for pre-teens through adults using the book, "Jesus Christ for Youth."
"We will be studying the life of Christ from birth through ascension," said the Rev. Mary Worrel. "I am excited about this study."
For more information on Live B.I.G. go to www.ilivebig.com.
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