Religious Education

Religious education offerings for children under the age of seven differ from congregation to congregation. Some have puppet plays or a simple family devotional gathering now and then before or during the Sunday service for children.

The heart of religious instruction is between first and eighth grade. It is organized differently in each congregation based on the needs of the children present, and it is intended to support the child’s experience in the Sunday service for children.

Religious instruction begins with fairy tales, nature stories and legends of the saints for children in the younger grades. It then extends into stories of the Old Testament.

Older children begin to discover the mystery of how the divine powers shape the course of history. This becomes manifest by following how all of world events led up to Christ’s incarnation on the earth, how the prophets in the Old Testament already worked to prepare His way. The children will then follow Christ’s footsteps on earth in the four gospels.

Instruction leading up to confirmation focuses on the mysteries of life and death and of new life born out of death. These lessons are more discussion based and focus on how the divine works in individual destinies, in the biographies of those who are servants of the divine.