This week we’ll be exploring the class website, figuring out the various mechanisms we’ll be using to communicate with each other, and just generally engaging in what Maria Harris calls the curriculum of “koinonia” (or community). I’ve introduced myself already a bit on the weekly page, so here I’ll simply add that I’m eager to get to learn with you all.

One quick note: there is no specific tag to use on your summary post this week, as we’re all focused on introductions. Please be sure to click on the category “introductions” though, or your post won’t show up.

Group 3 is comprised of all MA CYF students at various stages in our degree plan.  It will be fun to share our common areas with each other over the next few weeks.  Our ages and experience levels vary greatly, but we all have a passion for Christian education.

Faith Development:  Family church involvement played a significant role in our faith development as group members.  One member stated that his mom was “relentless” in getting him to church.  Several members of our group grew up in the Lutheran church.  In addition to family influence on our faith, church played a significant role – Sunday school, confirmation, and youth groups all guided our education.  Pastors played important roles in our faith development, too.  Participation in church camp ministries also helped with faith formation.  Formal religious education at seminary has also been instrumental in educating group members about faith.

Knowledge of other religions:  Our knowledge of other religions comes from direct exposure to members of other faiths and from formal education.  One member grew up around people of varied religious backgrounds and experienced a wide variety of religious traditions.  Another member studied and researched to gain a better understanding of world religions.

Opportunity to teach about our faith:  All members of our group have shared and taught their faith in some capacity.  We have taught Sunday school from age 2 through high school, taught confirmation classes and lead youth ministries.   We have taught our own children or family members about our faith. Several members were camp counselors and small group leaders.  We all have a passion to share our faith with children and youth and with those of different faith backgrounds – or no faith background.   Most of the group members have always been involved in the Christian teaching ministry in some capacity.  There is a strong sense of call with the group members to share our faith journey stories with others.

A typical question you have when you meet new people is will we have something in common or will we be polar opposites? For our group I definitely saw that we have a lot in common especially when it came to how we  learned about our faith.  All of us were initially exposed to our faith through various classes whether Sunday School or confirmation and then also through worship. However when it came to further exploration of what our faith meant to us some of us discovered it through self-teaching, others through mentors, family members and conversations and yet others just through life experiences.

As for our groups’ exposure to other religions, we had a diverse response. One of our members stated that he has been exposed to a wide variety of cultures and religions, while others in our group stated their exposure has been very limited. However, each of us had knowledge of at least one other religion outside of Lutheranism.  

Finally, when it comes to education and sharing our faith, it is obvious that each and every one of us has a passion to for that subject. It was interesting to see that the people/students that we teach and share our faith with range from 3 years old through adulthood.  The last thing that stood out for similiarities is that we are all excited to share our faith with each other and learn from each other as well.

Our faiths in God began for all of us in our early years.  Each of us was raised in homes with the church as its center, each leading us through Sunday school and Confirmation.   In our youth, we discovered life in the church included a life lived for God.  We were given opportunity to question and discern at life with God.  Our families and our church lead us in our faith journey.

 Education has been a great source in giving exposure to other religions.   Collegecourses and group discussions regarding different faiths help us to better understand the world around us.  

 One of us went outside the comfort of our homes and spent a semester in Thailand.It was here she learned of the Buddhist traditions, taking time in retreat with the monks.  She was also able to teach the people of Thailand of her life in the United States, as well informing them of her own faith life.  In sharing our faith to those who are open and in discernment allows for us to really know what we believe and why. 

 Whether talking to our young children, teaching in Sunday school or youth group, or going to far away lands, God has called us to share the promise of His Love through Jesus Christ.  We feel blessed and honored to be our Lord’s messengers.

Looking at our introductions, I first noticed a generational span from Amanda who is a little younger than my son with Wendy and Dean in the middle (I suppose 30’s) to me approaching retirement.  At Luther I feel more akin to the “older” women in the distributed learning M DIV program who put off the call to ministry.  During J-term last year in the CYF core class, there was only one woman who I suppose is a bit younger than I so we felt odd when the other students remarked on our ages as if we were too old for the program.   CYF program seems mostly geared to youth rather than children’s ministry with children being more tolerant of old people.  Wendy was in that class so perhaps she can tell if I am being too sensitive to ageism.   I have started reading Joan Chittister’s book “The Gift of Years” so perhaps that is why I am thinking of the age issue.  To quote the book “What am I when I am not what I used to do? And does anybody really care? And what does that have to do with growing into God?”

      I appreciate Amanda’s honesty about being an atheist because there are a lot of people who act like there is no God but won’t call themselves atheists.  As a young person, she has struggled with her faith and emerged stronger for it.  I wonder if RCIA helped for being an investment of a year in faith formation as a lot of other Christians switch denominations easily without understanding the doctrinal differences and certainly without the time commitment or intensity.

     For all of us, our families played a major role in faith formation especially our mothers.  Perhaps, it is different for males but I recall reading that if the father attends church that is a great incentive for the children, especially boys to continue attending.  From Dean and Wendy, I get the idea that faith has to be lived to have a continuing impact.  For me it was more a tradition to maintain until my mother’s death and the aging process made me turn from concentrating on my career working long hours or taking work home in the expectation of winning my boss’ approval.  I made my work an idol without even realizing what I was doing.  I still attended church but didn’t spend much time with God.  Looking back over my career, I don’t think it was worth all the time I put in to gain a slight advantage over others only to feel dissatisfied now that I wasn’t a better mother to my son now grown or more involved at church.  Now I am working on my prayer life and spiritual formation and going beyond intellectual knowledge to experiencing a devotional life in prayer and lectio divina.  Reading Parker Palmer’s “To Know as We are Known” really resonated with me because I am largely an objectivist due to my training in science without realizing that is at the heart of my dissatisfaction with work until I read his book.  I also realize how my introduction contains a lot of “doing” things with children rather than “being” so I still have a lot of work to do on my objectivism.   I have always liked studying history to understand myself and others better and now understand how science could be better taught through the history of science and as the process that scientists go through to discover new knowledge by working with peers (though when I was a research technician, I saw a lot of cutthroat competition to publish results).  I had a wonderful biology teacher in high school whose passion inspired me to earn a degree in biology.  Palmer’s book has inspired me to share these thoughts with this group.

Faith comes to us in many different ways. In thinking about how we learn about faith, everyone may respond differently; however, despite these differences there are connections. First of all, family was a common theme in how we learn about our faith. While family was a common theme there were great differences in how a family can impact faith. For some family may help encourage individual learning and growth. For others faith can be learned through the life of family members – whether that is through a profession, religious belief or how families are structured.

Secondly, education seemed to be another common theme in how we learn about our faith. Education shapes the way that we think, learn and experience the world around us. Faith can be shaped not only through educational institutions, but also through our education received through the Church, family and friends. We may all come to know and experience faith through different ways in life and how one person learns about faith may not work for someone else. God works in wondrous and mysterious ways and it is important to recognize how we come to learn about our faith.

Learning about other religions can also come through a variety of ways. It seems that in learning about other religions, experiencing the religion to some extent has a great impact on our learning and understanding of the religion. Through knowing someone of a different religion, we are at times invited into their life and are able to experience some aspects of their religion through their life. In addition to friends, family or people who can invite us in and share another religion with us, we can also learn about religions through education, discussion and forums. Opportunities to learn about other religions can occur through coursework in college and in other educational institutions such as grade school or graduate school. Discussions with others can be a helpful way to also learn about other religions. These discussions take place at times through our churches, bible studies and other groups and organizations. Discussions with others can start to initiate our learning about other religions.

Teaching others about faithis a little more difficult to break apart. When we think about teaching others about their faith things can be complicated. At times we wonder if we teach someone about faith or if we help them to explore faith. Learning can be personal at times and whether or not someone learns something may not always be expressed publicly. While it can be difficult to discern whether or not we teach people about faith, we turn to experiences where we have worked with children in Sunday school or working with youth in Confirmation or other youth ministries opportunities. It is also important to think about situations that may not be formed or structured and reflect upon how faith can be taught when it is least expected. Even when people are not expecting to learn, they may leave with new insights regarding faith.