CHRISTIAN EDUCATION: This autumn there will be a variety of opportunities for Christian Education at Good Shepherd.
Sunday School for children resumes in September. Registration will take place on Sunday, September 12, after the 10AM service. The ever-popular Blessing of Backpacks will also be offered that Sunday at the 10AM Sung Holy Eucharist and (due to special request) at the 8AM Rite I Holy Eucharist as well. Following the 10AM service there will be a special Pancake, Egg, and Sausage breakfast. Sunday School classes begin on Sunday, September 19, at 10AM. More information on Sunday School is available below.
Adult Christian Formation also resumes in September. Classes will be offered on Tuesday evenings at 6PM. Each class will be about 45 minutes followed by time for questions and comments.
On Tuesdays, September 7 and 21, I will teach a class entitled: The Gospel according to Saint John : A Crash Course in the 4th Gospel. The Gospel according to Saint John is quite distinct from the other Gospels according to Matthew, Mark and Luke (commonly grouped together as the Synoptic Gospels). It contains events in Jesus’ life that are not narrated elsewhere, it contains teachings and sayings, such as “The Good Shepherd”, “The Way, the Truth, and the Life”, and “The Word” which are uniquely Johanine, and the timeline of events is difficult to match with the timeline in the Synoptic Gospels. Whether you have never read the Gospel of John or you have read it many times, this class is for you. The class will offer participants a starting point if they are new to the 4th Gospel, and it will offer those who are familiar with it the opportunity to move ever deeper. A list of suggested reading is available on the parish website calendar or from the rector.
On Tuesday nights, October 5, 12, 19 & 26, at 6PM, I will offer a class entitled Liturgics & Worship: Why we do what we do (and we don’t do some things other Christians do) in church. The class is designed to offer answers to any and all questions you have ever had about why we do certain things on Sunday (and also why we don’t). “Why do we kneel?” “Why do we have seasons?” “Why does Easter move around?” “Why is Christmas in December?” “What is incense and why don’t we use it all the time?” “Why does the priest wear such an extravagant poncho?” “Why can’t we skip certain parts of the service?” “Why do we do the Confession sometimes and not other times.” “Why do we use water in Baptism?” “Why can’t we always sing hymns everyone knows?”… You can find the answer to these and many more questions you might have… but only if you come to the Tuesday evening class in October!
On Tuesday nights, November 9, 16 & 23, at 6PM, we will have Tuesday Night Dinner & Movie Series: The Gospel of John (2003) (uncut and unedited). Join a jovial group of Bible Watchers on Tuesdays in November to watch a complete cinematic take on the Gospel according to John, narrated by Christopher Plummer, on the big screen in the Parish Hall. The movie is approximately 3 hours long, so we will divide it into three parts, each about one hour long. Food and beverages are potluck. A signup sheet for food and beverages is available in the hallway.
Breakfast Bible Study returns Wednesday mornings at 8:00 AM in September, October, and November. We will study the Prophetic Books of the Old Testament. This class is the second part of last year’s breakfast Bible Study, when we studied the prophets found in the Old Testament histories. You do not need to have completed last year’s class to participate in this year’s class. All are invited, breakfast is BYOD (Bring Your Own Donuts!). Coffee is provided by the rector!
I am pleased to announce that Good Shepherd will host an EFM (Education For Ministry) Group. Participants study the entire sweep of Christian tradition from the earliest period to the present, covering biblical exegesis and interpretation, systematic theology, church history, ethics and liturgics. The group will meet at the Church on Monday evenings from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM. Participants in EFM commit to the class for the entire academic year. The enrollment fee for this year is $460. For more information please speak to Wilfried Haensch in church or at 914-945-3913.
Finally, I’d like to give brief advertisement for the Saint Gabriel’s Conference. Though it will not be an official parish retreat, I hope that we can send a group of parishioners to the Conference at the end of October at which I have been asked to be this visiting priest. Saint Gabriel’s is a conference/retreat for adults located in Massachusetts that began as an offshoot of the Saint Michael’s Conference for high school and college age young people; my wife Nicole and I both attended Saint Michael’s Conference, as did a number of my best friends. Saint Gabriel’s will take place over two nights and two days, beginning on Friday evening, October 29, and concluding Sunday, October 31 – I will be back for Sunday services at Good Shepherd, but the Conference doesn’t end until around noon on Sunday. The Conference will feature two class periods (with a selection of classes for each period) and a discussion group period (also with different options for discussion), Evensong on Friday and Saturday nights, and Sung Holy Eucharist, on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Registration forms are available in the church office and the enrolment fee is $225. Enrollment before September 10 is discounted by $10.
I invite you to take one or more of these opportunities for education this autumn. Some of my favorite memories are the Christian education classes I have taken at Conferences, Churches, and of course, in Seminary. I have also enjoyed teaching many different classes as a priest, classes that I may have led, but classes I also learned a great deal in. Learning about what I believe in has strengthened my faith and made it possible for me to do more every-day evangelism. I hope that these classes will be opportunities for everyone at Good Shepherd to grow in Christian faith and knowledge. If you are interested in any of these classes, but you cannot be present when they are offered, please speak to me and we can work something out (I am willing to double up on when the classes are offered if need be).
