| Sugar
Blood Jesus: A Memoir of Faith, Madness and Cream Gravy
Thomas
Dukes
.
ISBN 978-1-878009-61-6 -- $19.95 retail -- Available February
2009
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I
Belong to God!
An Intergenerational Study of Baptism in the United Methodist
Church
Carolyn
Tanner
In
a manner similar to her communion study for children and youth,
Carolyn Tanner offers a six-session study of baptism, based on
By Water and the Spirit. The six sessions explore concepts of
God’s love and grace that we experience in baptism.
The
concepts explored are:
- Baptism
identifies us as people for whom Christ lived, died, and was
resurrected.
- Grace
is God’s free gift.
- Baptism
is the sign of the New Covenant.
- Baptism
is always a sign and means of God’s grace for people
of any age.
- The
lifelong journey of faith begun in baptism is supported by
others.
- God’s
grace comes to us in many ways.
Tanner includes Bible stories, music, crafts, puzzles, and mission
education as part of the study. Many reproducible pages.
ISBN 978-1-878009-58-6--Paper--$24.95
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Review
of I Belong to God
Taylor Burton-Edwards, OSL
Baptism
in the United Methodist Church is still most commonly administered
to infants and young children. Until now, however, study guides
to help pastors and congregations understand the denomination’s
official teaching about baptism (“By Water and the Spirit”)
have been limited to an excellent resource by Gayle Carlton Felton
which is designed primarily for the vocabulary and learning styles
of older youth and adults. With I Belong to God, Carolyn
Tanner has offered the United Methodist Church a truly intergenerational
study guide, one that can engage parents, older members of the
congregation, youth, and the children and their siblings who may
be preparing for baptism or wish to learn more about the baptism
they have already experienced.
As
she did in This Holy Mystery, a study guide for children and
younger youth, Tanner presents the entire text of the official
study document in one column, with teaching guides that incorporate
all the senses and learning styles of children and adults in another,
with a comprehensive set of handouts and activity guides in the
appendix. Each of the sessions of the study guide corresponds
to a section of the original teaching document, a total of six
sessions in all.
Though
young children are included as significant participants in this
study, the hands on learning and worship experiences Tanner has
designed involve no “dumbing down.” Instead, there
are creative suggestions for each age and stage of learner that
can help each understand the core message of each section of “By
Water and the Spirit” in ways they can most effectively
relate to it. Learn by doing segments in each study can include
music, bible study, creative use of water, discussion or discovery
of mission, and crafts, and the appendix includes many examples
for each of these activities for each session.
I
Belong to God could easily be used as a six week, perhaps
Lenten, Sunday School setting, or as a “stand-alone”
study at any time of the year when candidates of several ages
are preparing for baptism, or as a guide for a church baptismal
retreat. Its intergenerational and flexible format also makes
it ideal for several small churches to share in a common time
of learning and affirmation of God’s gift to us in baptism.
Br.
Taylor is Prior for the CyberChapter of the Order of Saint Luke,
and Director of Worship Resources with the General Board of Discipleship
of The United Methodist Church.
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