Christian Formation for Small Congregations
Darby Puglielli, in conjunction with over 40 parishioners from St. Dunstan's, created a new intergenerational program to replace their Sunday school. The innovative program is called Growing In Faith Together (GIFT)™. Sunday morning during the program year from 8:30a.m. until 9:45a.m., all ages gather together to eat, socialize/fellowship, sing, read and discuss the Bible story for the day, and react to it through drama or art.
A hot, homemade, nutritious breakfast is served after the 7:30 service (starting at approximately 8:30a.m.). At 9a.m., formal formation time begins. This includes an opening with children’s song, reading from the Bible, drama, art, discussion, and closing with praise music. For the last few minutes before the 10a.m. service starts, there is time to socialize/fellowship.
Prior to this year, a Sunday morning formation time would consist of 2 teachers each in 4 classrooms (children, youth, adults) and 0-2 participants per age group. Critical mass was lacking. So, listening to the congregation, Puglielli created GIFT™ to span both morning services, serve a breakfast that people would want to get up early for, and explore Christian spirituality through a variety of mediums. During the 2007-2008 program year, GIFT™ averaged 20% of the combined Sunday morning attendance. The largest age range was 0-86 years. Children, youth, and adults were engaged as participants, leaders, and team members.
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