Ministry leaders at Luminous Parish in Franklin, Tennessee wanted to find a form of lectionary rhythmic study that would be formative, have an Anglican framework, and be developmentally appropriate for their students. As they considered the needs of the young people at their church, they wanted teaching that would focus on those needs. Rev. Chad Jarnagin shared with the Student Leadership Network team;
“Enter Project Catechism. We decided to create our own version of a curriculum that would adhere to the Revised Common Lectionary (Years A, B, & C). We knew this would be a bit lofty for a small parish and a new Student Ministry, but we have always had a “what if” type of approach. So, what if we could just create our own version? What would we want that to look like?”
To begin this project, Luminous Parish first focused on training adult leaders and building a team to help them create the curriculum. They hosted a retreat, which created space for these leaders to focus on this new project. Their adult leaders were already familiar with the practice of Lectio Divina (Divine Reading). Chad told the SLN team, “We are [now] working on a Lectio type of catechism/study for our Middle Schoolers and High Schoolers. We begin with one passage from the Lectionary each Sunday.” Their conversation and reading will often focus on the Gospel, but they have also used this approach for the Psalm, Epistle, or Old Testament reading. Students can engage directly with Scripture, frequently hearing the passage read aloud more than once during their time together.
As the team at Luminous Parish has been creating and using this new resource, they’ve found that the preparation can be straightforward. They’ve also learned that the more prepared the discussion leader is before the class, the better the conversations have gone. Now they are continuing to build out the curriculum for the remainder of the Revised Common Lectionary while staying at least one or two months ahead of the current season. “When we have compiled the entire three-year cycle, we hope to offer this resource to other churches within our diocese as well as the great Anglican Communion,” Chad shared in his update to SLN.
The Student Leadership Network values the Gospel Story, and we are so encouraged to hear about all the ways churches are inviting students into the story of God’s saving work in Christ under the authority and truth of Scripture. If your church has an idea for helping young people engage with Scripture, consider applying for a Champion Grant to come alongside the work you are doing!
