LIFT prior to COVID restrictions.
Rachel E. Núñez
Director of Faith Formation
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
Akron, OH
After the initial shut-down and following the Easter season and working week-to-week with individual story and faith formation themes, I reintroduced LIFT (Living in Faith Together) as a weekly offering for Intergenerational Faith Formation. I had already purchased LIFT Summer “God Creates” and had it scheduled for our summer gatherings. We shifted gears and provided the materials as a hard copy through mail and we also included it in a member’s only e-mail. I stretched the “God Creates” curriculum over June and July 2020, having each lesson cover two weeks with the second week having a family activity to do at home or at a park. For example:
June 7 - God Creates Earth, Part 1 (Genesis 1:1-19). Read the Scripture and answer the provided discussion questions.
June 14 - God Creates Earth, Part 2 (Genesis 1:1-19).Take a nature scavenger hike (in your backyard, your neighborhood, or a metro park trail) together and explore God’s creation around you.
This took us through the month of July. It was well received, and feedback was overall positive. People liked having the lesson stretched over a two-week period, and several families said discussion questions from the first week came back up during the activities suggested the second week. The “God Creates” curriculum was excellent for the summer months. Outings to parks, servant projects of sending cards to family members and shut-ins, and finding time for sabbath as a family were great!
We also had some mid-week Zoom meetings and on Friday mornings, we had time for prayer and blessing and included the prayer provided in the Sunday LIFT material.
Looking Ahead
We look forward to trying a more structured online gathering in October. We are going to look at the “Gathering Around the Word” curriculum and try having a Zoom Sunday meeting each week following our congregation’s live stream worship service. I am hopeful that families will invite their extended families to join us as well -- grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, cousins, etc. The silver lining of virtual meeting is it can be done from anywhere in the world. If families live in different cities, states, or countries, we can all connect at the same time virtually on Zoom.
Other October 2020 IG Mix Articles
A "LIFT" During the Pandemic: Ministry with Youth
Two Questions: Christina Embree
What Do You Think?
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