Christian
Education
The Christian Education program at Norwich Congregational
Church spans all age ranges.
We offer Sunday
School on Sundays during the 10:00 AM Worship. The
curriculum we use is "The Inviting Word." The children
participate in the beginning of the worship service, joining in hymns, call to
worship and hearing the first scripture reading. Following a
Children's Message, they exit with their teachers. On Communion
Sundays, they return to the service to participate in communion with their
parents.
- Nursery (which is available throughout the service)
- Kindergarten-1st grade
- Grades 2-3
- Grades 4-5
- Grades 6-8
Our Confirmation
Program takes place in the 8th Grade. It sometimes
includes a one-on-one mentoring program with adult members of the
congregation. The schedule each year is determined by the needs of
the members of the class. This year, the class will be confirmed in
April.
We offer two Youth
Groups, led by our Associate Pastor Mary Brownlow. Both
groups focus on fellowship and community service and are open to youth from
outside our congregation.
Junior High Youth
Group meets
on alternate Sundays, usually right after church. Their activities
have included sledding, movies, quilt-making for at-risk babies, the annual
Crop Walk and an intergenerational pancake breakfast.
Senior High Youth
Group meets
on Sunday afternoons. Their activities have included movies, games
and cooking. Each Spring Break this group participates in a work
trip to the South. Their focus has been to rebuild churches that
were burned down. This trip also includes members of various school
and church groups from the area. Throughout the year, the travelers
help raise funds to cover the cost of the trip.
We also offer a variety of Adult
Education programs throughout the year. Our weekly Bible
Study group meets on Wednesdays at noon for a bag lunch discussion of the
week's lectionary. Several times each year a group is formed to
study a specific area of the Bible. In the recent past, groups have
studied "Christ & God," a Kerygma program, and "Women of the
Bible." These groups set their own schedule, usually meeting
Sunday after coffee hour for 8 - 10 weeks.
We also
offer Second Hour programs after coffee hour and Evening Discussion Groups. These
programs are quite varied and have included Ambassador Mohammad Mahallati,
Muslim cleric and former ambassador from Iran to the UN; Rev. Adora Lee, an
advocate from the UCC who spoke on "Large-scale Agricultural Practices and
Sustainable Development;" and Kylie Fauth of ACORN whose talk "We Are
All Africans" updated us on her fact-finding mission to sub-Saharan
Africa. Barbara Duncan has led groups on sustainable living and
';Deep Ecology.'
