By:
Where have we been?
Where are we going?
How are we doing?
Who’s doing the doing?
With far greater eloquence and far less brevity, these are the questions that the Special Committee to Study the Reformed Perspective of Christian Education in the 21st Century is being asked to consider. This committee was created out of the 222nd (2016) General Assembly of the PC(USA). You can read more about our work and our charge here.
As we set out to tackle this huge task, we knew that we wanted to come to the people who are working in Christian education on a regular basis, both to inform you on our work, and perhaps more importantly, to be informed by you all on your work in Christian education.
Our group has six very specific charges to address, which we have divided into three working groups:
• A group to look at the historic role of Christian education and also the current state of Christian education (both in the PC(USA) and ecumenically)
• A group to look at the role of Christian educators in the larger church including how they are certified, what benefits (including Board of Pensions) are available to them, and how to make these opportunities for professional growth and benefits more widely utilized and communicated.
• A group to look at Racial Ethnic congregations and educators with a focus on how to partner with these constituents for resourcing and support.
Our overarching goal within all of these areas is “exploring means of creating awareness and increasing value in the field of Christian education while helping the entire church think critically and faithfully about the necessity for Christian education in our ever-evolving reality.” What will Christian formation look like as we move forward? How will formation be integrated in worship and mission? What other questions do we need to be asking as we continue to think about Christian formation within our Reformed tradition?
As the Special Committee to study the Reformed Perspective of Christian Education in the 21st Century prepares for a face-to-face meeting next month, we especially would like to hear from the membership of APCE as we try to assess what “the current state of Christian Education” is. Please click here to answer some general questions and share specific feedback. In addition, if there are others in your congregation or in your communities who are leading Christian education in any capacity, please forward this on to them.
As we continue to immerse ourselves in these tasks, we ask you to keep the special committee in your prayers. We also would like you to share your thoughts, insights, experiences and suggestions with us. Keep your eyes open for different opportunities to share information with our committee.
Committee Members: Sung Hee Chang , Emily Chudy , Becky D’Angelo-Veitch , Stephanie Fritz , Elba Irizarry-Ramírez , John Johnson , Melissa Kirkpatrick , Charlotte Nance-Allbright, Matthew Rhodes.