by Mark D. Hinds (with gratitude to Charles Wiley)
Beginning in fall 2015, children of the church and those who love them will have a brand new and exciting way to explore and claim their lives together in Christ. “Growing in Grace and Gratitude” will help your church embrace your children in the love and grace of God, and invite them to worship and serve God in grateful ways.
The curriculum is designed for children in preschool through fifth grade. It is narrowly graded for preschool, kindergarten–second grade and third–fifth grade. A multiage version will also be available. “Growing” will be available in both English and Spanish language versions (“Crecemos en gratia y gratitude”).
The curriculum will be available in both print and online versions. Accompanying the quarterly leader guide will be the color resource, “Stories, Colors, & More,” and the annual music CD, “Music & Melodies.”
“Growing in Grace and Gratitude” will also provide free resources for the home, including “Grace Sightings,” helps for the parent and caregiver, which will be available online and in an e-book. The e-book will also include each Sunday’s Bible story and Bible story art. The online resources and the e-book will be made available free of charge.
As we began the development process for a new denominational curriculum, we asked the question, “Why do we need a Presbyterian curriculum?” After all, most church watchers concede that we mainliners are struggling to find a way in a post-denominational era. What difference can a denominational curriculum make in such a time?
My colleague Charles Wiley, associate director for the Office of Theology and Worship, argues that the problems with denominational identity today come from a focus on policy, controls and organizational bureaucracies. As Charles says, “it feels as if our motto, our brand, our tagline is something like: Presbyterians — we are the people that brought you presbyteries.” It may be true, but it is hardly a compelling vision to motivate a church or create a new curriculum.
The answer to the question, “Why do we need a Presbyterian curriculum?” is that we need a vision from the core of our identity that compels us to practice Christian community, proclaim the gospel and work for justice. That vision, according to a growing number of people around the church, is a commitment to grace and gratitude.
As Charles says, grace and gratitude convey the deepest sense of our theological and spiritual vision. They succinctly and powerfully convey our picture of God, the gracious one who comes to us in creation, in the law, in the prophets and ultimately in the person of Jesus Christ. The God who sustains us with the ongoing grace of the Holy Spirit. The God who calls us through the church. God who is for us.
And our only appropriate response is gratitude. Gratitude for our lives, for treasure, for community. Gratitude that compels us to share the love of Christ in community and to do justice and love mercy for all God’s children. Imagine a church shaped by grace and gratitude! Imagine children and those who love them shaped by grace and gratitude!
That’s why we need a Presbyterian curriculum. We need to shape our people according to the most central aspects of who we are. And who are we?
MARK D. HINDS is associate publisher of Congregational Ministries Publishing.
