Our Mission: Supporting lifelong faith formation in the home and congregation |
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Dear God,
Thank you for making all things new. Thank you for all that you've allowed into our lives this past year, the good along with the hard things, which have reminded us how much we need you and rely on your presence filling us every single day.
We pray for your Spirit to lead us each step of this New Year. We ask that you will guide our decisions and turn our hearts to deeply desire you above all else. We ask that you will open doors needing to be opened and close the ones needing to be shut tight. We ask for help to pursue you first, above every dream and desire you’ve put within our hearts.
Amen.
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A Message from our President, Diane McGeoch
NEW CREATIONS The New Year of 2022 is upon us. We may feel excitement and anticipation, or we may feel dread and anxiety. And we may feel these emotions all at once, mixed up together, a little of this, a little of that, a lot of this or that. I was using a blender recently for a new smoothie recipe, and I was amazed at how quickly the ingredients got mixed up into something new. This new year can bring new opportunities and new beginnings, a new creation. These new creations take time and the work of the Holy Spirit.
Those of us involved in faith formation ministries are always creating something new. A teachable moment, an a-ha for a child, youth, or adult, a new relationship brought about by a faith formation ministry. These new creations are continually mixed in with existing relationships, programs that have been offered for a while, ministries with which everyone is comfortable. Our calling is to manage the new and the old and the yet to be.
One of the gifts of the Christian Education Network of the ELCA is the opportunity we have to dream together. We can strengthen our existing programs in conversation with one another. We can bring something new into being through collaboration. This network is currently collaborating with Lifelong Faith Associates for a series of webinars “Designing Faith Formation for the Future”. The second of these three webinars will be Thursday, January 13th at 8 pm Eastern “Building Community and Relationships” with Jane Angha. The third one, “Formation for Christian Living,” is on March 10 and led by John Roberto.
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Learning Strategies and Recources for Boundless Love |
Daily Themes
2022 ELCA Youth Gathering Theological Explanation of the Daily Themes contains reflections from six theologians on the general theme of Boundless: God Beyond Measure and the five daily themes.
Using Storybooks with Boundless Love
Putting the "Saint" Back in St. Valentine's Day
How did the “Saint” disappear from Valentine’s Day? Can we “re-Christianize” the celebration of this popular holiday? Who is Saint Valentine, anyway? Check out this resource from Building Faith.
Grace Unbounded: Devotions for Lent 2022
Augsburg Fortress provides daily devotions for adults and older teens for each day from Ash Wednesday to the Vigil of Easter. Each devotion begins with an evocative image and a brief passage from the Gospel of Luke (the gospel focus for 2022, year C in the Revised Common Lectionary). The writers then bring their unique voices and pastoral wisdom to the texts with quotations to ponder, reflections, and prayers. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus reaches out to all kinds of people. No limits, no restrictions, no boundaries—not even death—can stop his love and grace for all people. Also available in Large Print and as an eBook.
A Season of Grace: Lent Devotions for Seniors
Creative Communications provides a collection of meditations by senior authors for seniors to encourage reflection on Christ’s journey to the cross and the empty tomb and encourage them to share with younger generations the grace they have experienced through Jesus, our risen Savior..
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Title: Love is the Way: Holding onto Hope in Troubled Times
Author: Bishop Michael Curry
Reviewed by: Diane McGeoch, Christian Education Network of the ELCA
Bishop Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, shares his personal story in this book, which speaks to the process of living and growing into the new reality of the continuing pandemic. The bishop addresses the ongoing struggles of racism, violence, poverty, and injustice, taking the encounters from his life and sharing how these led to lessons and relationships infused with love. Stories from his ministry show again and again how people overcame divisions and created loving relationships.
Bishop Curry begins by defining agape as love that is focused outward, love that acts for the well-being of someone else. The opposite of this kind of love is not hate; it is selfishness. Agape love is a verb because it is centered on action, seeking to do good for others. He quotes from 1 Corinthians 13 and explains to whom Paul was writing – people who were fighting with one another. He also uses Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail to outline the need for mutuality and community.
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Christian Education Network of the ELCA |
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Check out our Facebook group and
join the conversations!
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Building a community which equips, encourages and empowers those engaged in lifelong faith formation in a changing world, the CENetwork will:
- Identify and evaluate resources and educational opportunities
- Facilitate communication and conversations
- Offer guidance, networking and mutual support
- Nurture spiritual growth online and face-to-face
How You Can Support the Christian Education Network
You can become a member or make a one-time donation via PayPal on our website; or, you can purchase from AmazonSmile and designate The Christian Education Network as your charity. We receive a percentage of the proceeds!
Contact Us
CENetwork of the ELCA
PO Box 250009
Holly Hill, FL 32125
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