unday School is an integral part to our children’s faith formation. It lays a strong foundation to a person’s education as a Christian, an education which is a life-long process.
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“…let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
In our Sunday School classes, we aim to be God’s Growing Lights: Being the Light of Christ. Our current structure includes the following classes: Little Lights (Nursery through age 4), Spark (Grades K-2), Shine (Grades 3-5), and Trinity Teens (Grades 6-12). Classes meet during the academic year on Sunday mornings after the 9:00 a.m. service and run concurrently with the Adult Education programming (10:15-11:15 a.m.).
As we aim to nurture the spiritual lives of the children, we also desire to provide a safe, clean, and happy Christian environment for the youngest members of our church family. All volunteers working with children and youth have completed a diocesan training session called “Safe Church, Safe Communities.”
Beginning in fall of 2022, we implemented our new K-5th curriculum created by members of Trinity’s Christian Formation and Family Commission and our Director of Spiritual Formation for Children and Youth with input from our Rector. Trinity’s curriculum uses wondering questions, age-appropriate crafts and activities, themed snacks, and Hey-O Animated Bible Stories. Trinity Teens will be working through Confirm Not Conform, an Episcopal curriculum that provides a safe place for teens to explore the breadth of the Christian tradition, to ask questions and express their doubts, and to discover what they truly believe. This curriculum will be used as a guide for discussion and education. Conformation in our diocese is offered to those 16 and older.
Trinity’s curriculum goals incorporate important Episcopal teachings including:
Liturgy: To ensure familiarity with the structure of our Sunday service and symbols used. To build familiarity with the format of Episcopal prayers and some of the specific prayers used in our communal worship.
Church Calendar: To learn the rhythm of the church year through the six church seasons, principal feasts, and other noted days on the Episcopal Calendar. To build familiarity with symbols and practices for these seasons and holidays.
Sacraments: To learn about the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist and understand how they are practiced in the Episcopal Church. To have an overview of the Baptismal Covenant and understand Holy Orders as part of the various ordained ministries in the church. Older youth will learn about other sacraments as well.
Holy Scripture & The Church: To become familiar with key Biblical stories from the Old and New Testaments. To understand those stories as containing important lessons about our relationship with God and how God wants us to live our lives, care for creation, and treat each other. To know the broad outlines of church history from the time of Jesus until now.
Outreach & Service to Others: To teach the central importance of outreach to living a Christian life. To help identify needs and give children opportunities to engage in outreach. To teach about broken systems of the world in contrast to the reign of God and how we can make a difference in fixing those broken systems.
Faith Practices (Personal & At Home): To encourage children and teens to be aware of their spiritual life and to take steps to nurture it. To equip families with resources and materials for faith practices at home.
We hope you will come learn with us on Sunday mornings!
Interested in joining the Children’s Formation Ministry? Please contact us at children@trinitybloomington.org or at 812-336-4466 ext. 110 for more information.