Jan De Vos, Minister of Education Report - Nov 2007
As I drove down Burton Street the other day amid falling leaves and late afternoon sun, I was suddenly struck by the fact that this is my first autumn as an orphan. What an odd thing. My father died in May of 2003, and my mother this past June, and that makes me….an orphan. My parents were primary faith shapers for me. And I continue to reflect on that faith shaping component long after parking my car. Our denomination has designated this academic year as The Year of Faith Formation. At COS we are taking that theme and developing our 2007-2008 Sunday/Wednesday offerings with that theme in mind. My parents, especially my mother, were intentional about the faith practices that were part of my growing up years. And I think intentionality, focus, clear goals can only help us as we continue to offer our selves to the Lord, as we sing on Sunday in worship, “Take me, take me as I am, summon out what I shall be…..”
So, how are we fleshing out intentionality toward spiritual formation here at COS? Ah, I am glad you asked! In the area of Adult Education, resident Brion Brooks has done “the lion’s share” of assisting/planning/facilitating Sunday and Wednesday programming. Mary Loeks’ Thursday morning Isaiah study is well attended.
Wednesday nights at COS have gotten off to a great start. After feasting on Ellen Westrate’s wonderful soup, adults gathered in the Fellowship area for class time with Jack Stewart, hearing about the early New Testament church. The Girls Club, under the leadership of Jane Lang, has taken the Faith formation theme and integrated it into every one of their meetings. Each meeting begins with a carefully crafted devotion that includes music, a meditation with a strong spiritual formation focus, small group conversation and prayer. Each small group has a prayer partner from the staff or the COS congregation. Girls Club is larger this year than last, with around 40 or so girls attending. The small groups also attend “workshops” during the evening. We are prayerfully considering how to incorporate faith formation more intentionally in the Cadets program.
And how many COS members does it take to keep Little Lambs, Children’s Worship, and Church school running on Sunday mornings? Would you believe around 75 men, women, and talented young people? I only need ONE MORE adult volunteer for church school leadership and Jack Roeda will take me to Schuler for a cup of coffee and the book of my choice! (Anybody reading this feel moved to volunteer???? Call me!!!)
KIDS HOPE USA is “on the verge” of getting off the ground. We have 11 mentors and 11 prayer partners at this writing, which is exactly where we wanted to be for our first year of this mentoring program. Maureen Stewart is co-directing this program with me. We will train mentors Oct. 27. Ridge Park Academy has been very welcoming as we have begun our initial forays into the world of elementary education. Maureen and I hope we will have mentors in the school starting in November.
And here’s something to look forward to, to put on your family calendar: The Advent Event, Sunday evening, Dec. 2, 6-8 p.m. Janice McWhertor and I are working together to craft a wonderful experience for COS families with young children. Worship will be suspended that evening and families, including families from Coit CRC, will travel to a variety of stations in our Fellowship/café space, each designed to point folks in the direction of the real reason for the season. Our hope is to make this an annual event, adding more stations/layers each year.
And one more new thing, a thing that is making me not just a little nervous, the fourth Sunday of a number of months I will be hosting a class for parents of children in our program with the intention of sharing our faith formation vision as that works out in Little Lambs, Children’s Worship, and the new church school curriculum we are trying this year, FaithWeavers. I also plan to give parents some ideas for “parenting in the pew.” My two heart callings are teaching and story telling, and I plan to present my material for the class from those two places—just a little teaching and a lot of story telling!
Posted by: Administrator
