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Christian Education & Spiritual Development

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols of your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. -Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NIV

Christian Education Ministry

Learning to love God, know what God requires of us and how we can serve Him in our daily lives is one of the main goals of Christian Education Ministry at CPC. The STUDY of God’s word, its APPLICATION to our lives, and the GUIDANCE of the Holy Spirit are all essential in building a strong foundation of faith in Jesus Christ. We encourage you to visit one of the Sunday School classes and take advantage of great teaching and fellowship time.

For further information about any church school class, contact the Director of Christian Education.

Sunday School           Children           Youth           Adult	Other Learning Opportunities for Children/Youth
	Preparing Children for Worship
	Preparing Children for Communion
	Confirmation
	Vacation Bible School
Nursery Ministry	Walking in Faith
8:30 Worship
9:45 Sunday School	Other Learning Opportunities for Adults
11:00 Worship	DISCIPLE Bible Study
Special Events	ACE Series
	Presbyterian Women Bible Study
	Women’s Study Group
Christian Education Team	Education Resources
CE Service Opportunities	Library webpage

All Sunday School classes meet 9:45am – 10:45am. Sunday School is a wonderful opportunity to explore God’s word and join in fellowship with other members of our family of faith. Everyone is welcome to attend!

“Train up children in the way they should go: and when they are old they will not depart from it.” -Proverbs 22:5

CPC is committed to providing Biblical learning and spiritual encouragement to each child entrusted to us. Each Sunday School class is led by adults who lovingly teach the stories of the Bible.

New for 2010-11! Toddler/twos Class: Room 121
Our new class for very young children will use a special curriculum plan, complete with snack and play from Wee Believe.
Teachers: Jen Pierce and helpers

Preschoolers: Room 122
Preschool Class is for children ages 3 and 4, who have not yet started kindergarten. This year we are using Wee Believe from the Presbyterian Church USA, which includes stories from the Bible as well as music, story-time, crafts, snack, and free play, supplemented with our custom curriculum following the major stories of the Bible.
Teachers: Belinda Weinbrecht, Connie Tillmann, Ralph Tilmann, and Megan Jarrell

 Kindergarten: Room 124
 Kindergarten is for children ages 5 and 6 who are in kindergarten. The teachers use Live B.I.G.
(Believe in God) curriculum from Cokesbury, with interactive Bible stories and activities.
Teachers: LeNelle Patrick, David Bohm, and Sarah Troiano.

Children’s Sunday School classes

All children’s Sunday School classes meet in the Christian Education building.

FAITH JOURNEY employs the Workshop Rotation Model of Sunday School for children in grades 1-5 at Cary Presbyterian! Rotation workshops encourage children to “ learn by doing”. It is a hands-on, experience-based and FUN approach to learning the Bible and applying it to our lives! Rooms 220-225 Each month, children rotate through four workshops, including: Keyboarding to the Kingdom (computer) Hands on Discovery (science) Bread for the Journey (cooking) Reel Faith (video) Mountain Top Productions (drama & puppets) Tent Tales (storytelling) God & Games (games) Creation Station (art) The scriptural basis for the program is “This is the Way, Walk in it!” (Isaiah 30:21.) The children will learn that phrase and its meaning through every workshop!

Read more about the workshop-rotation model of Faith Journey Sunday School here:

Cary Presbyterian Church understands that children have a variety of interests, skills and abilities and they want Sunday School to be fun!

That is why we use a creative model called Workshop Rotation. Children learn best when all of their senses are stimulated and engaged in an organized, constructive, enjoyable educational program of Biblical studies. We have named our workshop rotation program ‘Faith Journey.’

Educational Basis for this model: Years of research has proven what educators suspected all along—children do not learn only from lecture and reading. Instead kids learn through a variety of learning styles and possess multiple intelligences through which comes real learning and engagement with the subject. There are eight kinds of intelligence identified by professor Harold Gardner of Harvard University, and others. The point is that people learn in different ways. Having fun while learning repetitively helps. Experience is the key to real learning. Because in Faith Journey each of the workshops presents a different style of learning, the kids don't get bored. Instead, this multiple-intelligence approach enhances the learning process. Children come to know God through a variety of ways. For God's word to become part of our children's lives, it must not just be heard or read, but also experienced.

When you enter the Faith Hall of Fame (Christian education part of the building, upper floor), you are surrounded by a “cloud of witnesses,” (Hebrews 1:1) who remind us of some of the great stories of the Bible: Ruth, Abraham, Joseph, and David. Your Journey begins in here, our gathering place. Here we welcome visitors, take attendance, collect an offering,* recognize birthdays, make announcements, and talk about what we’re learning. Then the children are dismissed to their workshop for the day.

In Faith Journey, the same Bible story or concept is taught in workshops over five weeks. Each Sunday, the groups of children rotate to a new workshop for that Sunday. Kids love the repetition and it reinforces what they are learning.

The rotation schedule is posted in several places in and around the Faith Hall of Fame. Simply consult where a certain age group will go on any particular Sunday. Each group has several adults who shepherd the children to their workshops and are with the group each Sunday. These folks are the constant companions for the children’s faith journeys, a weekly presence.

Teachers lead workshops in their area of interest, thus using their skills and gifts. Teachers stay in their workshop…teaching the same lesson each week to a different group, getting better and better, adapting it to the age level group they are leading for that week. Teachers can sign on for many units, or teach just one. New teachers allow our children contact with more adults in the congregation—a core value of Cary Presbyterian educational ministry.

Special Classes for Children Getting to Know My Bible (for THIRD graders and their PARENTS)
The church presents the Good News version of the Bible to each of our third graders each year. Because we don’t just want to hand the children a Bible without help, and because research shows that the single most important part of faith development is the parent’s involvement, this year we are creating a special three week unit and including parents. The class will be held during Sunday school in Faith Journey on September 12, 19, and 26 so that the third graders will really “get to know my Bible.”

Middle School is for youth in grades 6–8. This year, the group will use an interactive survey course of the whole
Bible [“To Know the Bible”] so they can see the full sweep of God’s activity, concentrating on the New Testament In the New Year, they will learn about Christianity in times past and present.
Leaders: Jennifer Bryant, Barb Munch, Denise Peoples—Room 103 (MS Room)

Senior High is for youth in grades 9–12. What do we believe as Presbyterian Christians, and how do we interact
with those who believe differently? The group will study other religions and other Christian denominations to define
and sharpen our convictions. Later, the students will deal with FAQs about faith.
Leaders: Ed Jones, Deb Stalls, Harold Weinbrecht—Room 105 (SH Room)

CPC offers the following adult classes. Come gather with other adults for fellowship, learning and to be challenged to grow in your faith. All classes are on Sunday mornings at 9:45. Visitors always welcomed!

For further information about any church school classes, contact the Christian Education Coordinator.

Our Nursery Ministry cares for our youngest members. The nurseries are located in age-appropriately equipped rooms in the Christian Education Building. They are staffed by loving childcare providers that work alongside a rotation of parent volunteers to provide a warm and welcoming environment for our children.

Childcare is provided during all worship services, the Sunday School hour and special services and programs throughout the year.

Nursery locations are as follows:

For our volunteer nursery helpers, see Nursery Schedules.

To arrange special nurseries, contact the Office Manager.

For more information, contact the Nursery Staff Liaison, Jen Pierce.

This three-week series will be offered for FIRST GRADERS and their PARENTS during Sunday school on August 29, September 5, and September 12. This is a special unit in Faith Journey. Children and parents will learn about the bulletin, the order of worship, the sanctuary, and the sacraments. The goal is to help worship become more meaningful for the participants, and help engage the children in worship itself. This is especially significant since first grade is the time when children no longer attend the nursery. [Note: the nursery is provided for children who are six years old or younger. Children over six are expected to be in worship with their families, as there is no accommodation for them in any of the nurseries, and because we strongly believe that all God’s people need to worship together.

This three week series is offered for first, second and third graders during the Sunday school time and is taught by a CPC pastor. The class explores the meaning of communion with the goal of helping children better understand this sacrament.

Cary Presbyterian Church offers ongoing adult Bible studies, including The DISCIPLE Bible Study program. DISCIPLE is a program of disciplined Bible study aimed at developing strong Christian leaders. It focuses on the disciple as learner, believer, follower, proclaimer, and servant while providing the fellowship of a small group for study, prayer, preparation, support, and servanthood.

This September, we will be offering two classes of Disciple I and possibly Disciple II or III, depending upon need and desire. YOU are invited to join one of these
groups:

• Disciple I - BECOMING DISCIPLES THROUGH BIBLE STUDY: Schedule TBA
  
  Disciple I is an intensive, 34-week journey that moves from the biblical story of creation to the New Jerusalem (Genesis – Revelation). It is a prerequisite for all subsequent intensive Disciple courses.
  
  
• DISCIPLE II: Into the Word, Into the world: Schedule TBA
  
  A 32-week study of Genesis–Exodus and Luke–Acts, this study teaches Bible study skills that take the learner deeper
  into Scripture and reinforces the importance of keeping Bible study related to witness and service in the world.
   
• DISCIPLE III: REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE: Schedule TBA
  
  Remember Who You Are. This 32-week journey confronts the persistent questions of the prophets and Paul: What are the priorities in your life? In society?
  
  

Centering Prayer, traditionally called contemplative prayer, is a method of prayer which prepares us to receive the gift of God's presence. It consists of responding to the Spirit of Christ by consenting to God’s presence and action within. It furthers the development of contemplative prayer by quieting our faculties to cooperate with the gift of God’s presence.

For further information, contact Diane Garber.