THIS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, WE RETURN TO OUR WORSHIP SCHEDULE of 8:00, 9:00, & 11:00 a.m. See you at church!

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1 From: Subject: Date: To: Calvary Episcopal Church The Visitor for September 2018, Vol. 2 September 13, 2018 at 3:00 PM barbaratoman@charter.net Calvary Episcopal Church - Rochester, Minnesota THIS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, WE RETURN TO OUR WORSHIP SCHEDULE of 8:00, 9:00, & 11:00 a.m. See you at church! A Message from our Rector Dear Friends:

2 I believe in Sunday school for children. Why do I believe in Sunday school? It is an engaging and welcoming way to help children on their journey of faith. It is a creative and fun way to encourage children, who are extremely eager to learn about God (mostly) to ask "wondering" questions about the world and the divine - questions that most children start having pretty early on. It is a venue to help support parents and grandparents, godparents, aunts and uncles in their own work of raising children to be ethical, moral, value-based adults. It teaches kids that there is a safe and loving space for them at Calvary - that there are good adults in addition to their parents who they can turn to as they grow for help, advice, and friendship. Sunday school is another entry point into the life of the faith community - and Sunday school and worship weave together to create a strong and unbreakable bond of love and care for all children that only gets more important to have when they grow up and life isn't so uncomplicated anymore. Sunday school supports worship experiences (they learn about Baptism and Holy Eucharist and praying and listening to Bible stories) and Worship supports Sunday school (they can talk about what they heard and saw - scripture and sermons and that person who came into church that was crying). I believe in Sunday school for children, and I believe in children attending Worship too. Both of these are grounding experiences for us Episcopalian seekers,and above all, in Sunday school and in Worship, our children, our teenagers, and our adults(!) learn about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit - they can put some words to the things that they already know, because children know about the mysterious Divine in their lives. But the very most important thing of all, is that in Sunday school, in Worship, at coffee hour, all around this place, all people learn, if they don't already know it, and remember f they do know it, that they are beloved of God. That they matter and always will. That they have a profound purpose as people created in God's image. That what they say and do matters. That they are loved. Sunday school for all children and teenagers starts this Sunday, September 16. I hope your kids will give it a try. Sometimes families have to choose between Sunday school and church, because life is complicated. Whatever you decide, parents, is best for your family, I will support you all the way. I am looking forward to seeing you all. in love, Beth+

3 Sunday School is Starting this Sunday!!! Sunday School for ages 4 years old through 12th grade begins this Sunday. All students, teachers, and parents will meet in Crawford as we kick-off the year together with prayer. Kate will be in Crawford to share a bit about the program year and get a chance to meet any parents who are available. We'll come back together in Crawford at the end of the hour to celebrate with a treat. All are welcome! I'd like to say a special thank you to all who have offered their time in any capacity for teaching this year. Whether a returning teacher, new teacher, or willing to substitute, we could not offer our children the learning and nurture we have promised at their baptismal vows without these dedicated people. Please take time to say thank you to them as you see them! Travis Amundson Cassie Kennedy Tim O'Neill Barbara Toman Lisa Thomas Jennifer Taber-O'Neill Colleen Timimi Andy Dunn Colleen Spillers Julie Tschumperlin Lance Vrieze Brian Hornberg Lynette McCoy Aaron Potretzke Katie Ruddy John Winter Mary Freedman Nina Sargent Ellen Youngers Amy Crockett Jill Amundson Following is some more information on the classes we offer. If you know of anyone who might be interested, just send them our way on Sunday! GODLY PLAY: pre-school and pre-kindergarten (ages 4 and up) Godly Play will follow the regular class flow and include all of the core Godly Play stories. They will start by sharing prayer requests, they will then get ready to hear the day's story, they will ask wondering questions, and they will choose "work" to do during freetime. This "work" can include playing with any of the story sets in the room as well as making art.

4 as well as making art. WHIRL: GRADES K, 1, and 2 The Whirl class will follow the Whirl curriculum by Sparkhouse. This is the foundational curriculum that leads into the rest of the curriculum our program uses. It focuses on learning the Biblical stories and lessons through short videos with a common set of characters and responsive activities and art that will help lead them through the liturgical calendar. This means they will be learning similar lessons as the rest of the parish in worship to help spur conversations of continued learning at home. CONNECT: GRADES 3-5 The 3rd-5th class is continuing with the Connect curriculum. Connect is the precursor to the popular Re:Form middle school curriculum. Connect seeks to highlight how bible stories 'connect' with one another, and like Re:Form it uses short DVD clips. This class will also help kids follow the liturgical calendar along with the rest of the parish as they engage those different seasons through legos. RE:FORM: GRADES 6-8 The Middle School class will be continuing with the Re:Form curriculum. We will be building in lots of games, activities, youtube videos, and current events into our discussion times. This class continues to look at the arc of Biblical stories and then digs deeper into how those stories impact our faithful lives today. It is a class that is a fun mix of community, discussion, and exploration! BRANCHING OUT: GRADES 9-12 The High School class will meet every week starting in Menefee as we work toward creating their own comfortable room and place of 'home' at Calvary. This class will take on a very new look and format with a diversity of voices teaching and a curriculum that Kate has written specifically for this class. They will be focusing on what it looks like to be rooted in at Calvary while branching out and exploring their faith in new ways. Every week we will focus specifically on three things: learning and exploring new spiritual disciplines that will help them experience God and spirituality in new ways, community and how to build a supportive village in the midst of God's people, and lastly connecting faith with current events and topics while they learn to critically think through their own response as a faithful person. This class is also being designed to help our youth prepare for Confirmation as they continue to grow in their own faith journey. Hunger at Home Calvary's response has been very positive to the outreach theme of "Hunger at Home." If you missed the announcements on Sunday or in the last Visitor, please visit the Calvary outreach page (click here for the link). The page provides an explanation of our two paths for engaging the Calvary community in outreach and has a link to the document with information about the agencies,

5 document with information about the agencies, organizations, and contacts that are doing work with hunger in Rochester. These opportunities are currently available for all of us at Calvary to reach out to so we can begin to discover how God is at work in our neighborhood. As Luke enthusiastically suggests to us in his Gospel: "GO!" All are welcome to a meeting to plan the flowers for next summer's Oasis Garden. It will be at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 23, at Joan Rabe's house at 6906 Autumn Court NW, in Rochester. We welcome opinions on things we should keep the same or things that ought to be changed. No RSVPs needed. If you can't make the meeting, but want to get your 2 cents in, contact Joan at or joan.rabe@icloud.com ADULT FORUMS KICK OFF ON SEPTEMBER 30 ST. CUTHBERT S PILGRIMAGE REFLECTIONS Our first Adult Forum of the new Program Year will be a presentation by the pilgrims who walked St. Cuthbert s Way this past summer. Mark your calendars for 10:10 a.m. on Sunday, September 30 in upstairs Crawford Hall - there will be plenty of pictures and stories, as well as reflections on the spiritual work that framed the pilgrimage. A Message from our Sexton On Friday, September 28 beginning at 1:00 p.m the floors in Brackenridge Hall and the main hallway will be cleaned and polished. These spaces will not be accessible again until Sunday morning, September 30. Please plan accordingly.

6 30. Please plan accordingly. If you are holding a meeting or event at Calvary, please contact Stuart Gage (sexton@calvary-rochester.org or ) to reserve the space. We don't want rooms to get double-booked. PRAYERS Submit a Prayer Request QUESTIONS? DONATE Tithe.ly WEBSITE Visit our website Calvary Episcopal Church 111 Third Avenue SW, Rochester, MN Unsubscribe barbaratoman@charter.net Update Profile About our service provider Sent by office@calvary-rochester.org in collaboration with Try it free today