Being formed in the image of Christ

Sunday school for youth at Good Shepherd is designed to give teenagers the tools and opportunity to discover, learn about and apply their faith.  Developing relationships with the leaders who accompany them on their spiritual journey in two-year cycles is important to the process.

Middle School (6^th – 8^th grades) and High School (9^th – 12^th grades) classes are loosely based on Leader Resource’s Journey to Adulthood/Rite 13 curriculum.  Middle schoolers’ lessons focus on recognizing and accepting God’s love and God’s many blessings in order to make a positive difference in the world.  Pulling from scripture and the writings of theologians, the lessons focus on topics such as:  Am I Normal?, I Want That!, Am I a People Pleaser?, Things Friends Do, Hunger Hurts and Your Gifts and Fruits of the Spirit.  There are also lessons built around having fun and working together, for example, selecting a charity to support, making treats for winter critters, visiting a landfill and bible scavenger hunts.  Guest speakers, often in concert with the High School class, round out the calendar.

In the first year of the High School curriculum, students study Christianity in the world and other world religions.  Lessons are based on the life and practices of Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Thomas Merton, Rumi, the Dalai Lama and the Virgin Mary, to name a few.  Students also explore the concepts of God in Nature, Beauty, Materialism and learning to listen.  Guest speakers, cookouts, fund raisers, scavenger hunts and fun/fellowship are interspersed with the core lessons.

In the second year, the High School curriculum starts with a focus on what it means to be a Christian and how to live one’s faith.  A lesson on David and Bathsheba leads off the sexuality unit.  In the late winter, youth in 10^th grade and older will have the opportunity to attend 6 confirmation classes where they will learn about the Episcopal Church and the tenets of the Episcopal faith.  A pilgrimage concludes this portion of the student’s faith journey for those who chose to take part.