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Your Faith Your Life Your Faith Your Life Leader’s Guide by Jenifer Gamber with Bill Lewellis Foreword by Kate Gillooly Morehouse Publishing NEW YORK l HARRISBURG l DENVER Copyright © 2009 by Jenifer Gamber and Bill Lewellis. All rights reserved. No part of this guide may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Morehouse Publishing, 4775 Linglestown Road, Harrisburg, PA 17112 Morehouse Publishing, 445 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Morehouse Publishing is an imprint of Church Publishing Incorporated. Church Publishing Incorporated 445 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10016 www.churchpublishing.org Foreword Your Faith, Your Life: An Invitation to the Episcopal Church, is an exciting and engaging examination of what it means to be an Episcopalian – what we believe and how we practice that belief. With this Leader’s Guide, Jenifer strengthens the connection between informa- tion and transformation, between the data of the Episcopal Church and our daily lives. Seekers in the Episcopal Church—not just those new to our ways, but anyone with a renewed sense of inquiry and hunger for “the more,” all of us at some point—seem to need both the facts about this entity called The Episcopal Church and some guidance in making it our spiritual home. We are eager to learn information, but only as it holds potential for our own transformation. This hunger for both is a tall order to fill. Somehow, miraculously, Jenifer and Bill have done just that. They have provided a framework for exploring the basic tenets of the Church and the connection of that data to everyday faith and life. The Leader’s Guide of- fers both structure and flexibility for group sessions. It offers both standard prayers found in the Book of Common Prayer, and a method for writing our own prayers. It provides a series of open-ended questions for each chapter, as well as a detailed list of where to go for addi- tional resources. As I read through the Leader’s Guide, I found myself getting excited about new possi- bilities – new opportunities to engage with people on a deeper level about their faith and their lives, new ways to look at the same, old questions, new formats for classes and groups and even for individual conversations with people on the journey. That excitement fuels my enduring passion for formation in the Church. Formation uses information to lead to transformation. Formation happens as I read these materials and plan for their wider use in my commu- nity and ministry. Formation happens as I contemplate Lonergan’s five imperatives for my own life. Formation happens as each of us seeks to respond to an inner desire for God in our lives, and formation happens as we journey down that road together. May this resource be a blessing to your own transformation and to your ministry of formation in the Church. Kate Gillooly Minister for Christian Formation and Program St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, OH President, NAECED (National Association for Episcopal Christian Education Directors) 3 Your Faith, Your Life Leader Guide 4 Your Faith, Your Life Leader Guide Getting Started... Your Faith, Your Life: An Invitation to the Episcopal Church, is more than a guide to the Episcopal Church. It invites readers to consider how, in the context of Episcopal worship, belief, history and call to mission, God is working in their lives today. The book provides numerous opportunities for readers to reflect within the chapter, and each chapter offers five questions to guide a journey of transformation toward authen- ticity. The framework is based on Bernard Lonergan’s imperatives: be attentive, be intelli- gent, be reasonable, be responsible, and be in Love. Choosing a setting and structure The book can be used in a variety of settings: for a Lenten study, a Sunday-morning or mid-week adult forum offering, or an adult class for newcomers. As you plan your study, keep the audience in mind. You may want to spend more time on the information of the church in a newcomers’ class. Even in this class, however, be sure to reserve time for shar- ing personal faith stories. This Leader Guide offers ten sessions, but sessions can be com- bined or expanded to fit four to twelve week classes. Everyone has a different leadership style. Some prefer to lecture; others are more com- fortable facilitating participant-centered conversation. Choose which you prefer and select resources accordingly. The questions found in this Study Guide provide an alternative set of questions to those in the book that would work well in a more lecture-style setting. The end of each section in this Guide offers additional resources, including videos. Beginnings and endings Consider beginning and ending each session together in prayer. Beginning with prayer grounds participants and the conversation in God and acknowledges this as a holy activ- ity. Each chapter in this Leader Guide offers a beginning prayer. Participants can take turns offering closing prayer or you could invite the group to write a closing prayer together each week. Not only will this result in a closing that reflects your time together, it will offer participants practice composing their own prayers. When writing a prayer together use the form of a collect: O God (attributes of God revealed in the conversation) We ask for (petitions) So that (purpose of the petition, which may include ministry or vision of wholeness)1 Framing questions It is important that your time together be a safe space to explore and ask questions. Ask open-ended questions that invite participants to share their thoughts and give permission for people to pass on sharing. If you will be inviting participant to share personal stories, you may want to establish group norms, agreed-upon ways of being together in community. Norms set the boundaries of speaking and listening and establish your time together as a safe space. Some common group norms are: 1. Be willing to participate. 2. Keep details of personal stories within the group (confidentiality). 1. This set up is from Education for Ministry’s Common Lesson and Supporting Materials. Used with permission. Your Faith, Your Life Leader Guide 3. Speak from your own position (use “I” language). 4. Respect and allow differences. 5. Listen to one another. Not all classes require group norms. A lecture-style class, for example, may not benefit from setting norms. Be prepared for the possibility that setting a norm of confidentiality may invite participants to share very personal and emotionally charged stories. The first gathering During this first session, take time to get to know one another, sharing names and something about one’s self. Doings so sets common ground within the group. The first chapter in this Leader Guide offers basic get-to-know-you question. I like to begin groups in which we are sharing our stories by distinguishing between the word “dialogue” and “discussion.” The word “dialogue” comes from the Greek dia (through) and logos (words). It is an exchange of words for mutual understanding. Alter- natively, the word “discussion” comes from the Latin dis (apart) and quartere (to shake). A discussion is the shaking apart of an issue for the purpose of looking for answers or coming to agreement. In her book, The Sacred Art of Listening, Kay Lindahl tells us that while both are valid means of communicating, the difference is one of context. When we are sharing our faith stories, we are not doing so with the intention of agreement, but of mutual under- standing. Invite your group to enter the conversation in the spirit of dialogue. Parts of the Leader Guide About the chapter provides a brief summary of each chapter. Read this summary if you, yourself, haven’t had the time to read the chapter. Following the summary is a list of keywords. These are the bolded words in the chapter. Their definitions can be found in the glossary at the back of Your Faith, Your Life. Opening prayer offers a prayer from The Book of Common Prayer that relates to theme of the chapter. Consider using Books of Common Prayer at your gathering so that participants come to know its riches. Questions for reflection or group conversation provide a set of questions that supple- ment the questions at the end of every chapter in Your Faith, Your Life. The questions in the book invite readers to consider their own lives while the questions in the Leader Guide re- late more directly to the concepts in the book. You might invite participants to journal with the questions in the book and use the questions in this guide when the class is gathered. One way to explore topics in each chapter together is to ask, “What in the chapter sur- prised or challenged you?” and “What in the chapter affirmed your experience and beliefs?” Extended study provides suggestions for further exploration. They are intended for groups choosing to meet over more than ten weeks. The closing prayer provides the framework for writing a group collect as a way to close your time together. Additional resources lists books, articles, and videos that provide background material for the leader or to be shared with the group. The companion website, www.yourfaithyourlife. org provides additional resources.
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