Education

Education at Church of the Servant takes many forms. Each encourages spiritual growth through questioning, searching, discussion, reflection.

Adult Christian Education is on Summer Vacation. Beginning in September, Topic/Series and Bible Workbench will be presented on Sundays from 9:30-10:30 AM in the Parish Hall. The following is the schedule for 2008-2009.

The Topic / Series are either lectures or facilitated discussions on various topics ranging from the study of books in the Bible to related topics such as ‘Our Spiritual Selves’, ‘Art and Angels’, ‘The Comparison of Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity’, and ‘Evolution’. The topics are selected by Christian Ed. attendees. September 7, 14, 21, 28; October 5; November 23, 30; December 7, 14, 21, 28; February 15, 22; March 1, 8, 15, 22; May 10, 17, 24, 31; June 7 and 14th.

Bible Workbench explores various themes and patterns in the biblical story while trying to answer what is happening in the text, how the story or text is happening around us, and how this story is our story. It is a lectionary Bible study that involves exploration of text, commentary, readings from literature, questions and journaling exercises rather than simply offering facts and opinions from a teacher. October 12, 19, 26; November 2, 9, 16; January 4, 11, 18; February 1, 8; March 29; April 5, 12, 19, 26; May 3rd.

Young Servants are children in grades k-5. This vibrant group of servants gathers from 9:30 - 10:30 on Sunday mornings in two groups, K-2 and 3-5. Babysitters watch over the nursery (birth to 5 years) during Sunday services.
Lessons are taught by two teams of teachers who volunteer their time to guide our Young Servants as they discover Jesus and the rich traditions of our Episcopal Church. Lessons follow the Revised Common Lectionary and plans are provided in a cooperative venture between the Episcopal Council of Christian Education and the Ministries with Young People Cluster of the Episcopal Church.

The Rite 13 program leads to a service when the child is approximately 13 years old. It recognizes that the child is growing up and will be searching for role models outside of his/her parents. The service encourages the members of the church to recognize this, too. The program lasts two years.

The Journey to Adulthood program is for teens, usually 8th to 10the graders, and lasts two years. At the end of the second year, the group goes on a "pilgrimage" to a previously decided destination. The purpose is to learn to be independent of the parents, to work in a group, to experience a culture unlike their own, to do a service project, and to reflect on the individual's spiritual journey. Our group chose to go to Nova Scotia this year.

The final step is Young Adult Leaders in the Church (YALC). After the pilgrimage, the students are in this group until they graduate from high school. They serve as good role models for the younger groups.