Christian Education is Growing! 
Easter, 2017
 
As this school year ends and we look forward to summertime fun, a big thank you to all those who were involved in ministry with children and youth this year. What a gift it has been to work alongside you - Sunday school teachers, aides, youth group leaders, confirmation mentors - your faithful presence with our young people continues to make a profound impact on our community.

I'm excited to announce several transitions in staffing, as Christian Faith Formation at St. Bart's is growing into God's call. First, this is a moment to affirm John Prust's ministry at St. Bart's with our young people. Thank you, John, for your thoughtfulness, your steady presence, and your work to build a solid foundation for our Sunday School ministry. Beginning this summer, John will be able to focus on ministry with our middle- and high-schoolers. He will also partner with Deacon Bill for the Wednesday morning Bible study, given his great passion and gifts for adult formation. With this transition, St. Bart's will enter a search process for a permanent Children's Minister (formally "Sunday School Director"), who will be the director of programming for children 0 - 10 and their families. This year has given us all a chance to explore our specific call to ministry in this place. Here's a note from John about his ministry:

After Laurie Baxter announced that she would be stepping down as our Interim Sunday School Director last spring, the coordination of Children's Ministry was added to my Youth Director responsibilities, for which I had been hired a few months earlier. Over the past year, I have worked with Mother Mary Lynn, Children's Ministry Assistant Maureen Hovannesian, and the rest of the staff to build a foundation for children's ministry and Sunday School moving forward, including the implementation of Vacation Bible School this summer. As the year progressed, it became more and more evident that additional staff was needed, especially on Sundays if we wanted to move more quickly into our strategic plan for children and youth faith formation. I began to see myself in an interim/transitional role of assisting in the development of a wider vision for faith formation at St. Bart's, while paving the way for the hiring of someone who could devote her or his full attention to Sunday School and the faith formation of our children. This also allows me to focus my attention more fully on the faith formation of our youth. By keeping the staff we have and adding support for children's ministry, I am very optimistic about the future of faith formation at St. Bart's.

Lastly, I'm excited to let you know that my role in Christian Faith Formation is growing, too. I've been surprised this year by how much passion, energy, and vision I have for ministry with our young people and their families, both in our parish and our preschool. The Holy Spirit has been moving in exciting ways! Starting this summer, I will be stepping into a more involved role of leadership in Faith Formation.

As we live into the reality of these transitions in the next few weeks, please pray with us for continued passion, honest discernment, and open hearts. Let us all pray that we might be like children in our faith - curious, trusting, and true to ourselves. As always, you may contact Mother Mary Lynn (858-487-7111) or John Prust (858-487-7106) with any questions. 

In Christ,
Mother Mary Lynn and John Prust