Date: March 6, 2006 Contact: Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford V: 847/742-5100 F: 847/742-6103 E-MAIL: _CoBNews@AOL.Com_ (mailto:CoBNews@AOL.Com)
NEW SUNDAY SCHOOL CURRICULUM LAUNCHED BY BRETHREN AND MENNONITES
March 6, 2006 (Pittsburgh, Pa.) -- A new Sunday school curriculum, Gather †Round: Hearing and Sharing Godâs Good News, has been launched by Mennonite Publishing Network and Brethren Press.
The Bible-based curriculum offers sessions for all ages of children and youth, as well as a class for parents and caregivers of children, and a multiage option for grades K-6. Each group studies the same text on the same Sunday.
Gather âRound offers lessons for âPreschoolâ (ages 3-4, with tips for 2s); â Primaryâ (grades K-2); âMiddlerâ (grades 3-5); âJunior Youthâ (grades 6-8); âYouthâ (in a downloadable format for grades 9-12); âMultiageâ (grades K-6, with tips for older students); and âParent/Caregiverâ (for adults who care for children, suitable for group or individual study). New materials are produced each quarter of each year for every age group.
The first quarter of the curriculum is scheduled to be used in churches this fall. Materials for the fall may be ordered now from Brethren Press (800-441-3712) or Mennonite Publishing Network (800- 245-7894).
A launch event Feb. 10-12 in Pittsburgh, Pa., was also a training workshop for more than 100 Christian educators and staff of Mennonite Church Canada, Mennonite Church USA, and the Church of the Brethren.
âIt is exciting to be here to launch this curriculum,â Brethren Press publisher Wendy McFadden told the gathering. The new curriculum was dedicated at the opening worship service, during which each participant received and held a sample kit, standing in a large circle as prayers of thanksgiving were said.
Christian educators received training to promote the curriculum in their areas. They heard that Gather âRound marks a new beginning for Christian formation in the three denominations. The curriculum includes a new focus on strengthening the relationship between church and home, and an intentional emphasis on worship and keeping the focus on God. The curriculum makes a renewed commitment to the inviting of questions from learners, and the call to share the Anabaptist faith.
Presenters emphasized that Gather âRound is biblically based. âGather †Round is a new curriculum that tells the old story in a new way,â said Eleanor Snyder of Mennonite Publishing Network. The three foundational texts for the curriculum are Luke 10:27, Matthew 18:20, and Deuteronomy 6:4-9âthe shema.
Gather âRound may be the first Sunday school curriculum to offer a parent/caregiver class. Another feature is the multi-age option. A unique piece called the âTalkaboutâ helps make the connection between church and home. The Talkabout for the fall quarter, a 14-sided cardboard âball,â intrigued participants at the launch with its suggestions to spark talk about faith around the dinner table at home.
Marlene Bogard, who led the group through a sample session of the âConnectâ book for parents and caregivers, urged those who use the parent material not to think too narrowly about its possibilities. âThink motherâs group,â she said, âthink Bible study, think Wednesday evening. Itâs a flexible curriculum. â
âOur curriculum is differentâ than those of larger publishers because it shares our Anabaptist heritage, Anna Speicher said. Speicher is the director and editor of the Gather âRound curriculum. Designed for busy teachers who may or may not have time to research scripture texts for themselves, each lesson includes a short Bible insight piece by a Brethren or Mennonite biblical scholar.
âWe are trying to embed Anabaptist principles through and through,â said Speicher.
âThe basic premise is that children come into the world with a relationship with God,â in accord with Anabaptist theology, explained Snyder. Gather †Round âinvites children to discover that wonderful relationship with God,â she said.
Worship at the training focused on the shema, which begins, âHear, O Israel:
The Lord is our God....â The shema passage from Deuteronomy is the memory verse for the first quarter.
âI see this as a colorful, solid, user-friendly core curriculum for Anabaptist congregations,â said Marlene Bogard, minister of Christian nurture for the Western District of Mennonite Church USA. âIâm especially delighted in the new emphasis on providing some resources that help parents talk with their children about faith.â
Pam Reist, associate pastor at Lititz (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, was on the advisory committee for the curriculum. At the launch, she saw final materials for the first time. âIâm really pleased to see how attractive the finished product is,â she said. âItâs a very good product, better than anything else.â
âWhatâs been done is definitely Godâs plan,â said Monika Neufeld, of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, âwith a lot of people working very hard to make it happen.â
For more about Gather âRound, and to download free samples, go to _www.gatherround.org_ (http://www.gatherround.org) . Order from Mennonite Publishing Network (800- 245-7894) or Brethren Press (800-441-3712).
The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its faith in community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrates its 300th anniversary in 2008. It counts about 130,000 members across the United States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Brazil, the
Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nigeria.
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For more information contact:
Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford Director of News Services Church of the Brethren General Board 1451 Dundee Ave. Elgin, IL 60120 847-742-5100 ext. 260 _cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb@brethren.org_ (mailto:cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb@brethren.org)
***************************************************************** The Church of the Brethren Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of news services for the Church of the Brethren General Board. Newsline stories may be reprinted provided that Newsline is cited as the source. To receive Newsline by e-mail, write _cobnews@aol.com_ (mailto:cobnews@aol.com) or call 800-323-8039 ext. 260.