APPENDIX A

Summary of Discussions regarding the

RPC Christian Education Program

The Christian Education Committee has initiated a series of discussions with interested members of the congregation concerning the future of Christian Education at RPC. We would like to highlight for you the purpose and some of the themes of the discussions thus far.

1. The Purpose of Our Discussions: to examine the big picture regarding Christian Education on macro and micro levels, envision the big dreams, think in terms of what we can imagine as the best and most cohesive Christian Education program for the entire church, understanding that education and family nurture is the foundation of what we have to contribute as a church in reaching out to families and members of all ages.

2. Our Goals for Christian Education

· We want our members to have many and varied opportunities to develop a strong sense of who they are as Christians in relationship with God, the church, and its mission.

· We want our members to know their Bible, understand what it means to be a Protestant and a Presbyterian, and have a working knowledge of church history.

· We want to provide small group opportunities for our members to share their spiritual journeys, participate in corporate prayer, and experience the joy of Christian fellowship and spiritual insights.

· We want to offer a “Teacher’s College” experience to our Sunday School teachers to deepen their own understanding of theology and moral discernment.

· We especially want our young people to have a strong sense of connection to God and the church, be conversant in Christian theology and church history, and feel drawn to opportunities for spiritual discovery. We take seriously our acknowledged obligation to nurture those whom we have baptized and confirmed as they navigate the tumultuous high school and college years in a culture of hyper-competitiveness, intense materialism, and widespread binging that rarely reinforces Christ-centered values.

3. Staffing: from our discussions it seems clear that two pastors are able to maintain the church, but to implement the kinds of programs we envision for Christian Education, a third minister will be needed. There is a demonstrated hunger for this type of ministry.

4. Many ideas surfaced for enhancing Christian Education for our young people, including the following:

· Creating more positive experiences at church such as: plays (for example, Godspell for older teens and plays about Bible stories for the younger children) in the Assembly Room, offering food, soda, coffee and casual conversation for teens, musical offerings that appeal to the young, more opportunities to build a teen community and participate in service, a teen choir in addition to our children’s choir, a teen handbell choir, “Pastor Hot Seat” and other forums for discussing difficult issues with our teens, more emphasis on memorization of key Bible verses, and more notable public milestones in our education program.

· Offering meaningful experiences outside of church such as: retreats, mission trips, youth service at the beach, and trips to fun places to build a sense of teen community.

Above all we want our Christian Education efforts to result in continual spiritual growth and renewal throughout the lives of all our congregants, the intertwining of our Christian religious foundation with everyday life, and meaningful revelation in our Christian journeys.

For more information please join us tomorrow in the Library or contact any of the following members of the Christian Education Committee: Sue Carriero, co-chair, Kristin Jautz, co-chair, Mary Versfelt, Judy Weeks-Padgett, Cynthia De Santis, Leslie Bradford, Jennifer Lent, or Meg Duckworth.

Rye, April 2007