The year’s church school curriculum will center around a study of interfaith traditions. Ideally we will look at a different faith each month, paying particular attention to a celebration/holiday that occurs that month. There will be a big idea each month that we will connect to Christian questions. For example, in September, we will focus on Judaism, Rosh Hashanah, and New Beginnings.
A few principles that will be foundational this year:
- We don’t study other religions so that we can decide whether they are right or wrong. We study them because our neighbors are people of many faiths, because God’s world is wonderfully diverse, and because learning about one another can help us become more loving, thoughtful, and faithful Christians.
- Never let a single holiday or religious practice stand in for an entire religion. For example, Islam is much more than Ramadan, Judaism is much more than Hanukkah, Hinduism is much more than Diwali, and Buddhism is much more than meditation. The holiday is the doorway into the tradition, not the entire lesson.
So, this is the basic plan. I hope that your kids will be able to join as many weeks as possible for your family. As always, no guilt if you can’t make a Sunday here or there. I expect that we will again do special activities for the Advent/Christmas season. More to come on that later.
Thanks in advance for your support!
Lori Morse