At St John’s Lutheran Church in Lakeville, MN winter comes early. It’s cold by mid-October. So we have from Rally Day to mid-October to use the outdoors creatively. During Radio Church (a drive-in parking lot service), we will offer a Back-to-School Blessing, Drive-Thur Bible Blessing, a Teacher Installation, First Communion, and an Affirmation of Baptism service. Thanks to the St John’s Return Team, we now have added an Outdoor Total Family – Sidewalk Sunday School (for the first 6 weeks only then going online) and an Outdoor Classroom Confirmation (first 3 weeks).
Here is what we will be doing for Outdoor Classroom Confirmation:
- Safety Procedures and Process: Wed Confirmation Program – Outdoor Classroom Model Procedures for Covid (Thanks to Amanda Boe, Children, Youth and Family Director at St John’s – She is amazing at writing process and procedures!)
- Why Outdoor Classroom? Confirmation ministry is relational ministry, which during this time of COVID 19 being together is hard. To help build relationships, we are hoping to use Wednesdays, September 16, 23 and 30 to have outdoor classrooms divided by grades and gather around bonfires. TBD.
- Check-in: Highs and lows will be a big part of this outdoor classroom as we get to know each other. Faith5 is a great model of ministry to do around a campfire.
- Bonfires: No s’mores but it gets cool quickly in Minnesota. We will need a total of 6 bonfire rings with wood. I have a volunteer who is willing to come and build the fires in advance. Everyone will bring what they need: chair, water bottle, Bible, pen and paper. Masks needed.
4. Cafeteria Confirmation Curriculum: The lunchroom table is where the action at school happens. It’s the time students check in with the friends, eat some grub, and make conversation. Cafeteria Confirmation is an a la carte menu for helping students build faith, community, and identity. Cafeteria Confirmation wants students to have resilient faith and feed them what they hunger for…food for the body and food for the soul to serve this world in need.
Curriculum design is in process by a group of pastors and youth directors, and it connect a favorite food to faith. Check out below the “Eat It” section that will kick off a food and faith conversation. (No, we want be serving food but there is a “take out” section in the curriculum for parents and students to eat this food together and share in faith questions.)
| Eat It – Food and Faith |
| ….work in progress……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… |
| Baptize = Lemonade: In our baptisms, God claims us as children of God. It’s like turning water into lemonade, baptism is refreshing and sweet. |
| Embrace = Pizza: Pizza is a way to embrace life. Each person eats their pizza just a little different, and that’s how we are made, too. We are all just a little different from embracing God’s way life. |
| Breathe = Smoothie: Breathing is essential to life. We inhale and exhale. It’s moves in and out so smoothly. Have you ever drank a smoothie through a straw? It reminds us to breath. |
| Love = Chicken Noodle Soup: Nothing says love (especially when you are sick) like a bowl of chicken noodle soup. It’s made by people who love you just the way you are. |
| Abide = Spaghetti: Noodles are smothered, covered and abide in a red sauce all tangled up together. So no matter how noodlely life gets, you can eat spaghetti and be reminded that God’s love smothers, covers and abides in you. |
| Connect = Hot Chocolate: Let’s meet at the coffee shop and connect! Hot Chocolate for you, and coffee for me, and together, let’s share our faith. |
| Need = Tacos: Life is like eating tacos. You know what you need on yours, and I know what I need on mine. We all need different things in life and faith. |
| Dwell = Choc Chip Cookies: Deep dwelling in living in God’s word requires something sweet. Why? Because it is hard work but the reward is great, like a chocolate chip cookie. |
| Independence = Easy Mac: We all search to be independent. But it takes baby steps. Sometimes it is not as easy as Easy Mac makes it. Life in faith is more than three easy steps. It’s for a life time. |
| Peace = Cup of Tea: How do you like your tea? Hot? Iced? Either way, when we take time to make tea and sip it slowly, it calms our soul. Tea is peaceful. |
| Justice = Apple Crisp: When life is unfair it’s like a rotten apple. We all desire to be treated fairly and when we see rotten apples we are called to stand up for justice. |
More information on this curriculum coming soon.
5. Online: There will be an online option available for those not able to join the outdoor classroom. After 3 weeks, all confirmation will be online.
Please contact Heather at pastorheather@sjlcl.org or Amanda at Amanda@sjlcl.org for more information.
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