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Futuring Faith Formation for Wider Church Ministry

NOWCYM Annual GatheringDecember 3, 2012New Orleans, LA

• Report on Christian Faith Formation and Education in the UCC• Identify where there is energy, insight, and

fruits

• List best practices

• Articulate a vision for the future

• Develop a strategy for futuring

Foundations, Findings, and Futures: Christian Faith Formation and Education in

the United Church of Christhttp://www.ucc.org/education

Overview

• How can we be curators of resources and content?

• How can we apply intergenerational approaches to wider church ministry?

The Big Picture

• Four Ages of the Church• Doug Pagitt, Community in the Inventive Age (2011)

Agrarian Industrial Information Inventive

Location Rural Urban Suburban Global

Outlook Dependence Dominance Dissection Discovery

Success Survival Repeatability Expertise Creativity

Relationships Single Culture Side-By-Side Ubiquitous Pluralistic

Church Parish Denominations Learning Center Co-Op

Church Leader Shepherd Preacher Teacher Facilitator

Shifting Focus

• From an emphasis on:• Developing religious content

• Designing programming

• Managing programming

• Teaching/Facilitating programming

• To an emphasis on:• Designing learning environments—architecture

• Curating religious content and experiences

John Roberto, “Emerging Faith Formation Roles: Architect and Curator,” http://www.lifelongfaith.com/uploads/5/1/6/4/5164069/faith_formation_curator.pdf

Best Practice #1

• The role of the Christian educator is not to be a content creator, but rather, a content curator.

• A content curator is someone who continually finds, groups, organizes, and shares the best and most relevant content on a specific subject to match the needs of a specific audience.

–John Roberto, “Becoming A Faith Formation Curator,” Lifelong Faith, Spring 2011

Why Curation?

• The increasing diversity of the religious and spiritual needs and practices of people today requires customized and personalized content and experiences.

• An overwhelming abundance of high-quality faith formation resources.

• The rise of online providers of religious content and experiences—“open repositories” of freely accessible teaching/learning content hubs.

• There is a growing demand for trusted guidance in finding and selecting quality religious content and experiences.

• The tools are now available for finding and accessing the content, storing it (websites), delivering it to people 24x7x365 (computers, smart phones, iPads), and communicating and connecting people to the content (Facebook, Twitter, email, text, etc.).


What Would You Curate?

• Congregational Programs & Activities• Community Programs & Activities• People Resources• Print Resources• Audio & Video Resources• Art, Drama, and Music Resources• Online Content: Websites, Courses, Blogs• Apps & Digital Resources• Events / Trainings


Examples

Other Examples

• Pinterest• http://pinterest.com/communitychurch/ • http://pinterest.com/rowsofsharonp/ • http://pinterest.com/revnhavelka/

• Facebook• 2030 Clergy Network• Best Practices of the Florida Conference UCC

• Wikis• http://www.uccnorthhampton.org/

• Daily blogs/resource websites• http://www.buildfaith.org/

Standards for Evaluating

• Biblical Content

• Theological Content

• Developmental Appropriateness

• Ethnic- Cultural Appropriateness

• Inclusivity

• Ease- of- Use

• Quality of Experience


Discussion

• How can we be curators of resources and content in our respective contexts?

Best Practice #2

• Faith formation requires intentional intergenerational activity through communities of practice.• Intergenerational faith formation—bringing all age groups

together to learn about their faith—is an effective way to accomplish the goals of lifelong faith formation.

• Congregations in which children, youth, and young adults are active participants and leaders in the whole life of the church are communities of vital faith formation.

Definition

Intergenerational is usually understood as members of two or more different generations having some degree of mutual, influential relationship developed through cooperative interaction to achieve common goals, as opposed to multigenerational settings where several generations are in proximity with each other, but not necessarily engaged in meaningful relationships.

—Weber, J. “Special Research Report: Ecumenical Study of Lifelong Faith Formation,” Lifelong Faith (Fall 2009)

The Big Picture

Models of Faith Formation and Learning• John Westerhoff, Will Our Children Have Faith? (2012)

•Categorical Age (Conservative Model): The learner is a valuable piece of raw material, and the teacher is the expert who molds children. “We do things to people so as to aid their growth into adulthood.”•Developmental Stage (Liberal Model): This model identifies people with their category, but the same kind of manipulation is at work as in the conservative model. The child or learner is a seed, the teacher or parent is a gardener, and the process is to care for the seeds until they grow up naturally. “Now we do things for people.” •Characteristics of Life (Integrative Model): This model is not about events but processes and brings people together by interest. The learner is a pilgrim, the teacher is a co-pilgrim, and the process is a shared journey together over time. ”We do things with people.”

Why Intergenerational?

• Young people possess innate gifts, just like adults, which should be shared for the mutual growth and learning of the whole congregation.

• 30 years of research: The active presence and engagement of an older adult (parent, grandparent, mentor, minister) is the single greatest influence on a young person’s faith.• More often than not, the active practice and transmission of

faith on the part of a parent is the best predictor of a young person’s active practice of faith throughout his/her life.

Resources/Examples

• Faith Formation Learning Exchange: http://www.faithformationlearningexchange.net/

• UCC Worship Ways• October 7, 2012: http://uccfiles.com/rtf/ww100712.rtf • November 22, 2012: http://uccfiles.com/rtf/ww112212.rtf

• UUA Resources: http://uuintergenerational.org/ • Fuller Youth Institute:

http://fulleryouthinstitute.org/intergenerational-ministry/ • Congregational examples• Rocky Hill Congregational Church, Rocky Hill, CT• First UCC, Northfield, MN

Discussion

• How can we apply intergenerational approaches to wider church ministry?

Contact Information

Rev. Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi, Ph.D.

Minister for Christian Faith Formation Research

Congregational Vitality and Discipleship

Local Church Ministries

1-866-822-8224 x3866

[email protected]

www.ucc.org/education