Jr High |
Columbine United Church is “Where Faith and Life Meet”, and our Middle School Sunday morning program meets this age where they are with a unique blend of power tools, crafts, and Bible Study.
The program meets during the school year (September through May). (During the summer the youth take a break and provide leadership for the summer children’s program.) Most Sunday the youth meet in the Youth Room.
Because we have crafts and paint and tools, the youth should dress in clothes that go with paint and tools. Leave the Sunday Best for another setting. Jeans and reasonably modest top are good. Closed toe shoes are recommended; it hurts when you drop a hammer on bare toes.
Crafts and Construction in the Youth Room
We understand youth this age are not going to sit still and listen to the teacher drone on, and we don’t expect that. The first half-hour of our class is spent in hands-on crafts. Usually we have available both a traditional art-type craft, and a construction craft with electrical parts or power tools. The youth are instructed in safety, and in the proper way to use the tools, and are given as much guidance as they wish in how to build the craft. Youth who wish to do their own projects are given freedom to do so, within reasonable limits. Most projects take several weeks to build.
Bible Study in the Youth Room
We have targeted our Bible Study towards 6th and 7th graders and their need to question EVERYTHING they’ve ever been told (although we never check IDs and youth a little younger or a little older may well fit in). We know the youth heard the sacred stories when they were kids, but now they don’t just accept, they question, and they’re ready to hear the stories again from a more mature point of view. No relevant question or objection is out of bounds, but we will often ask the youth to try to explain why they think the way they do. The Bible Study discussions mix readings from Scripture with discussion of
- What does this mean to me?
- Do I think it happened exactly this way? What might really have happened?
- How were the people in this story like me or my family?
- How did the people in this story feel, and how would I have felt if I were there?
During this time we provide snacks like cinnamon rolls and flavored water because these are middle school youth who have not have been fed for 30 or 40 minutes and will be getting peckish.
Volunteer Opportunities
Parents are always welcome in our classroom. If you have a craft skill you can teach, or a project you can present, or you can help supervise the power tools, please let us know. If you would like to help present the Bible Study, we welcome that also; just be prepared for what the youth might say.
For More Information, please contact
Dwight Rudolph, dwight@columbinechurch.org, power tools leader
Diane Hicks, dperrigo@cs.com, art crafts leader