Exploring Self

“There is only one problem on which all my existence, my peace, and my happiness depend: to discover myself in discovering God. If I find Him I will find myself and if I find my true self I will find Him.” –Thomas Merton

Goal: Help the students better understand themselves and understand how the ancient Hebrew Scriptures - the Old Testament - still offer insight into life.

Students who complete this semester will develop reflection skills that will help them answer these questions: Who am I? Who do I want to be? How does God see me? How might my faith help me become who I want to be and who God wants me to be? Students will also discuss stories from the Hebrew Scriptures and discuss the relevance of these ancient stories to their growth and development today.

All Sunday morning classes start at 9:45am and meet in the Women’s Council Room.

Calendar: (Download PDF version here.)

September 8, 2019: Group Dynamics
Students will explore what it means to be part of a group. They will establish guidelines for class norms. As part of this, we will explore the group dynamics of the Sons of Jacob in the Hebrew Scriptures.

September 22, 2019: Origin Stories and Identity
Students will look at how origin stories impact the way that people think of themselves and their culture. We will explore the origin story in the Bible and talk about key Christian concepts such as creation, the fall, and being made in the image of God.

PARENT/TEACHER MEETING
September 29, 2019 - 11:15am - 12:15pm: Fall Schedule and Fundraising
J2A and Rite13 Parents, please join us in the Women’s Council Room after the 10 o’clock service to discuss the school year and ways you can be involved, specifically as we look towards fundraising for the 2021 Pilgrimage.

October 6, 2019: Community
Students will discuss what it means to be part of a community. We will discuss the community of the Hebrew Scriptures and the establishment of laws and ethics (i.e., the Ten Commandments) and how these concepts helped shape and govern that community. We will compare these ancient communities with our communities today.

October 20, 2019: Self-Awareness
Students will discuss what it means to grow in self-awareness and how this often causes us to ask questions of ourselves and of God. We will look at the story of Job and the questions he asked about suffering and life.

SERVICE OPPORTUNITY
November 2, 9am- 12pm: Making and serving soup for Loaves and Fishes Outreach. Rite13 will join with J2A. We will meet at Church of the Redeemer in the Parish Hall at 9am to prepare soup that will be served to people experiencing homelessness. We will need parents to help in the kitchen. Please sign up here.

November 3, 2019: Personal Vision
Students will think about their own personal vision and life goals. This might seem like a large and overwhelming question and so the students will be guided through what it means to write personal goal and vision statements. We will look at passages from the Major prophets (e.g., Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc.) and Minor prophets (e.g., Joel, Amos, etc.) as examples of ways people have talked about a vision for their life.

November 17, 2019: Relating to Others
Students will discuss the growing pains of moving toward independence and how this impacts our relationships with one another. We will look at the stories of Ruth and Esther to discuss the journey that others have gone on as they have entered adulthood.

December 1, 2019: Agency and Angst
Students will explore conflict and self-assertion. We will revisit the book of Esther and look at the conflict in that book and how she approached it. Students will have an opportunity to take a self-exploration test that helps them understand how they respond in conflict and think through ways to be open, calm, and confident when facing conflict.

CLASS DINNER
Saturday, December 7th: 6-9pm: Students and parents are invited to a pot-luck dinner in the church Parish Hall where we will discuss what we’ve learned over the past semester, share fun stories and games, and conclude by having the students share parts of their personal vision statements. To sign up for this pot-luck visit this page. Please RSVP no later than November 25, 2019.

December 15, 2019: Hopes and Dreams
Students will begin to think about what hopes and dreams they may have for their life. We will explore the book of Proverbs and talk about Sophia, the expression of wisdom in the Hebrew Scriptures, and what she has to say about pursuing hopes and dreams.