Fort Smith Times

Faith Formation Leader Connection goes deeper into intergenerational formation and curriculum needs

“How many people are out of power?” was the opening question in a Tuesday night call between Christian formation leaders hosted by the Office of Christian Formation of the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Mission associate Miatta Wilson welcomed a group of a dozen church leaders, saying, “It’s great to have people who are from various different parts of the country and time zones.” Many attendees spanning from Lake Arrowhead, California, to upstate New York appeared on camera with snowy landscape scenes outside their windows as they compared notes about the winter storms that swept across the nation. A few participants shared their concerns for weekend vacationers stuck without food, water and power in their remote locations in the San Bernardino Mountains in California, outside of Denver or near Binghamton, New York. Their churches, like other civic groups, wondered how to reach neighbors caught without the resources they needed.

Tuesday’s conversation offered aid of a different kind.

The event was the second gathering of the new monthly “open office hours” called the Faith Formation Leader Connection hosted by the Office of Christian Formation. Coordinator Stephanie Fritz greeted people from her warm RV parked in the Florida Keys and offered prayers for safety for all those affected by the winter storms, including her own daughter and grandchild, who were expected to fly from Denver to Florida later that evening.

Winter storms, remote locations and the pandemic have isolated church leaders, especially those in charge of Christian formation, which increasingly relies on part-time or volunteer labor to set a congregational vision and run a program. During the first in the monthly series, Wilson explained to the group of mostly women what inspired the Faith Formation Leader Connection, whose tagline is “Time to Connect, Learn and Share.”

“We have been looking for additional ways to connect with Christian formation leaders in a variety of contexts and may serve in local congregations or may serve in other places who might be full time, part time, volunteer, retired, working three jobs,” Wilson said of her office that also moderates an active Facebook group for Christian Formation Leaders. “We are offering one gathering during the day and one during the evening each month on the same topic.” February’s theme addressed the idea of intergenerational ministry. Fritz presented three ways to conceptualize intergenerational ministry and invited people to share examples from their church before moving to a presentation of resources from within the PC(USA) and through its partnerships. One such resource is the online training site Opening Doors to Discipleship, a resource developed with the Association of Partners in Christian Education.

The discussion focused on ways to conceptualize intergenerational ministry as a way of being together in formation that is experiential before discussing activities and curriculum meant to enhance the connections between generations. Carol Stanley, director of Children’s Ministries at Lake Arrowhead Community Presbyterian Church in Lake Arrowhead, California, described how her congregation was missing members in their 20s and 30s, as well as people 85 and older, who often move away. Stanley encouraged the group to consider what to do when a generation was missing. Pat Queen, ruling elder at Green Mountain Presbyterian Church in Lakewood, Colorado, wondered what “intergenerational” looks like when the average age of her congregation is 71. Wilson pointed out that adulthood is not a monolith, but a period that spans many generations, and encouraged the group to think of formational relationships beyond child, parent and grandparent. Queen responded that her church’s faith development commission was diving deep into resources by the Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries Network (POAMN) as it considered the various generational phases of those in the “third 30” of life. POAMN is also a mission partner of the Presbyterian Mission Agency through the Office of Christian Formation.

Original source can be found here.