Children’s Instructor Reports on Religious Studies Class

The Religious Studies class will begin with instructor the Rev. Barbara Whitney on March 23, 2013, at the Rectory-Abbey from 1:30 to 2:30 pm. It is for Community children aged 5–11. There will be two groupings: ages 5–7 and ages 9–11. The children who currently attend are: Mikayla Wilsey (11), Sabrina Savoy (9), Jamie Wilsey (9), Alycia Rodriguez (9), Sophia Savoy (7), Bianka Patel (7), Carus Wilsey (5), and Kendra Grady (5).

For the first 30 minutes, the children will all be together. Class will begin with the ICC’s version of the Lord’s Prayer. Following that we will have a discussion about pertinent topics. The children will be in their separate groups for the second half of the class. Rev. Whitney will work with readings with the older group, and teaching aides will read to the younger children. Toward the end of class the children will do art projects or reports that apply to the readings. They will finish the artwork and reports as homework and turn them in the following Saturday.

Discussions will be about such topics as the Community’s calendar as it compares with the secular and traditional  Christian calendar, Jesus as a physical and spiritual being, the many messengers of God from the Great Religions, Jamil as the final messenger who announces a universal spiritual religion for all peoples, no matter what race, creed, or gender, etc. The class will read and talk about certain passages in Jamil: Child of Light to exemplify the discussions. The class will talk about their own spiritual Light Bodies that feed upon the spiritual food of Light from God and the Worlds of Light. The class will also talk about the light color spectrum, purples and blues in the morning to oranges and reds in the evening and learn that they need to be exposed to all colors in order to stay healthy and that they can receive colors in many ways: through physical foods, colored clothing, stones, colors in our environment, from the sun at different times of the day and year, etc.

The class will learn that people have used stories, myths, and legends to help explain their religious teachings and will read and talk about stories of many different faiths and discuss the virtues they discuss, such as love, kindness, understanding, patience, compassion, and courage. The children will also read passages about Jamil, Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, Viracocha, Quetzalcoatal, and others that exemplify these virtues.

The class will discuss the meanings of certain readings given during the Saturday Chapel Service and discover how they relate to the topics that the class is learning about.

In summary, this class will help Community children understand who they are in their physical and spiritual worlds, and it will provide them with a background that will prepare them to be ready to learn about The Teachings in a more in-depth way after they are emancipated at age 15.

The class is a continuation of the Religious Studies course taught earlier by Dr. Rowena Kryder.

submitted by Barbara Whitney
Religious Studies Instructor