Mike writes:
It seems like we haven’t met for a class in months. It was good to get everyone back together.
Tonight’s lesson focused on an introduction to Baptism.
We started with a discussion of groups the students belong to and flowed from that to the concept that Baptism brings them into another group – the Church.
We covered the story of Jesus’s baptism in the Jordan River and briefly touched on the concept of original sin.
In response to some questions, we briefly touched on the concept of sin. We talked about intent and the difference between a mistake (getting an answer wrong on a test) and a sin (cheating on that same test.)
The last segment of the chapter in the text was a story about a church group that organized a transportation service for elderly who needed rides to the grocery store. This introduced the idea that as members of the Body of Christ, we are responsible for caring for others. The students seemed to catch on to this idea. We talked about just who we are supposed to care for.
We told the class the story of the Good Samaritan to demonstrate the concept of “neighbors.”
This segued nicely into the charity drive that is a part of next week’s program.
Next Wednesday (December 16) the students will go directly to the church for a Christmas program presented by the third and fourth grades.
We are asking each student to bring something to support the Interfaith Hospitality Ministry. (If you are not familiar with this, ask your son/daughter. We talked about it.) The targets of the IFM are homeless FAMILIES, who are housed in area churches for a week at a time per church. They need items like toiletries, school supplies, towels, diapers, and so on.
Very important!!! We challenged your son/daughter to NOT take the easy way out by just asking Mom or Dad to pick up something at the store. We asked them to use some of their allowance to purchase something, or to ask to do some extra chores around the house to earn a few dollars towards a contribution. We emphasized that the benefit is as much in the giving as in the receiving. It doesn’t “count” if they don’t make a contribution of their own. Please help us out on this, and provide your child with an opportunity to make this donation something that comes from them.
On a related note, the Interfaith Hospitality Ministry is a very worthy project. St Peter’s hosted several families for a week in August. I believe the parish is signed up for three separate weeks in 2010 (two in the summer and one week at Christmas time). A good group of parish families volunteered to support this project by providing meals, hosting over night and hosting in the evening. This is something that can involve the entire family and your children can get something positive out of it. I encourage you to consider volunteering your family for this project in 2010.
I will not be able to attend next Wednesday’s program. Mrs. Worthington will be there for the 5th grade. So I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas! We’ll see you in 2010.
St Peter the Apostle CCD- 5th Grade 