12/06/2022 - Advent Blessings
By: Deborah Kirk - Making DisciplesAdvent Blessings from the SNEUCC Faith Formation Team. May the miracle and mystery of this season bring you joy! Debby Kirk Debbie Gline Allen Sean Amato
Blogs
Blogs
11/09/2022 - Slow Me Down, Lord
By: Deborah Kirk - Christmas Making DisciplesIn my life and work, I am often anxious for change. When starting a new project, I can be in a rush to see immediate results. I can get discouraged when wading through ...
10/12/2022 - Practice, Practice, Practice
By: Deborah Kirk - Making DisciplesWe practice because we value a skill and we want to do it more efficiently or smoothly. We repeat something over and over so that it becomes second nature. Once the mind ...
09/06/2022 - Habit Forming
By: Deborah Kirk - Making DisciplesAs we emerge from the isolation of Covid, families have a multitude of activities, demands, and responsibilities competing for their time. We need to re-establish ...
08/09/2022 - Formation Through Immersion
By: Deborah Kirk - Making Disciples Young Voices ProjectService experiences are a way to embody faith, to go beyond abstract learning, and practice compassion in tangible and personal ways. Service helps youth to learn empathy...
07/07/2022 - Home Grown Faith Formation Leaders
By: Deborah Kirk - Leadership Development Making DisciplesInstead of waiting for a veteran Faith Formation leader to apply, why not cultivate one who may already be planted in your own backyard? We often look outside our church ...
05/11/2022 - Charting a New Course for Faith Formation
By: Deborah Kirk - Making DisciplesThe disruption caused by Covid has prompted us all to take stock and re-assess. This is a good time for faith formation leaders to step back from the day-to-day details ...
03/08/2022 - No Excuses!
By: Deborah Kirk - Making DisciplesWe can help volunteers to gain confidence and move to what John Westerhoff calls “owned faith,” by offering discipleship development in small bites.
02/10/2022 - “Will families ever come back?”
By: Deborah Kirk - Making DisciplesWhat does Faith Formation look like in post-pandemic era? We struggle with how to build relationships and make personal connections when contact is so limited. The ...
01/10/2022 - Take Heart, Take Part
By: Deborah Kirk - Justice and Witness Making DisciplesThe universe is bending, but we cannot leave all the work to God. We are not only invited, but compelled to take part in the work of building a universe where God’s love ...
11/09/2021 - Talking About Faith Begins With Listening
By: Deborah Kirk - Making Disciples Worship & SpiritualityEvangelism. That is a word that makes many mainline protestants feel uncomfortable. Some are reluctant to talk about faith for fear of being judged as overbearing, or ...
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10/12/2021 - The Practice of Generosity
By: Deborah Kirk - Making Disciples StewardshipJust like prayer, service, and worship, generosity is a spiritual discipline. It is a practice that can be modeled and taught, it is a habit that, with intention, can be ...
09/14/2021 - Where Do You Worship?
By: Deborah Kirk - Christmas Worship & SpiritualityEighteen months of Covid has taught us that the church is not the building, and that physical distance does not necessarily mean spiritual distance. We have found sacred ...
08/10/2021 - The Constancy of Change
By: Deborah Kirk - Making DisciplesThe edge of the ocean is different every day and there is always some remarkable beauty to discover. It made me think of the quote from Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher ...
07/07/2021 - Take Your Faith Formation Leadership to New Heights
By: Deborah Kirk - Leadership Development Making DisciplesThe work of faith formation is challenging. It takes more than purchasing the perfect curriculum or implementing the hottest new lesson plan. We are called to bring the ...
06/07/2021 - In Celebration of Faith Formation Leaders
By: Deborah Kirk - Leadership Development Making DisciplesThe last fifteen months have been stressful for you, your families, and your work as faith formation leaders. Everything shifted, and EVERYTHING related to your work had ...
03/08/2021 - Confirmands Engage in Interfaith Exploration
By: Deborah Kirk - Making DisciplesThe Interfaith Exploration was offered as an opportunity for SNEUCC youth to hear various stories of call. “God is persistent, even though we sometimes push God away.” ...
02/08/2021 - Embrace the Questions
By: Deborah Kirk - Making DisciplesThough they sometimes feel like a rejection of faith, adult mentors are called to honor the questions, to respond with openness, to testify to the mystery and the truths ...
12/09/2020 - Adaptation in the Season of Advent
By: Deborah KirkMusic is such an important part of the holiday season and church worship planners are going to great lengths to incorporate favorite carols. Some have made use of radio ...
11/10/2020 - Inspiring Gratitude
By: Deborah Kirk - Making DisciplesWe know that gratitude is central to spiritual well-being, but recently, social scientists in various academic settings have affirmed that this practice enhances mental ...
10/07/2020 - A Library With A Rich Menu for Disciples
By: Jennifer deSimas Deborah KirkIn a recent interview, Jennifer deSimas, Director of the JP Webster Library related her work to faith formation. "One of my roles is to organize events that explore not ...
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09/14/2020 - Youth Join Race Equity Work at Newman
By: Deborah Kirk - Making DisciplesChristy Wynveen of Newman Congregational shares reflections on her new position as Minister of Faith Formation and recent youth study group on the book The Hate U Give.
07/06/2020 - How Does Your Garden Grow?
By: Deborah Kirk - Making DisciplesAt Silver Lake, campers have the opportunity to tend the community garden. Environmental justice is one of the elements of the mission statement and we teach about the ...
06/23/2020 - Ensuring the Journey of Faith for Young Adults Continues
By: Deborah Kirk - Making DisciplesDear Pastors, Youth Leaders, and Parents, As you celebrate graduates in your congregations, I join you in offering praise for the youth and young adults achieving this ...
04/06/2020 - Look at the Birds of the Air
By: Deborah Kirk - Making DisciplesJesus gives us instruction for anxious times in the comforting words found in Matthew 6:25-34, reminding us to let go of worries about the future and suggesting instead ...
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03/24/2020 - What Can I Do? Outreach in the Time of Corona
By: Deborah KirkChurches are invited to copy this post, add their own information, and disseminate it in their congregations. As the Coronavirus spreads from town to town and schools ...
10/04/2019 - National Youth Event Impact
By: Deborah Kirk - Making DisciplesI remember my first National Youth Event in 2008. I was working as a youth leader at a local church and had gathered a group to go to University of Tennessee. After an ...
10/10/2018 - Many Voices One Mission: Cultivating Collaboration
By: Deborah Kirk - Conference programming Justice and Witness Many Voices, One Mission Together, As One"As we dedicate ourselves to building God’s kingdom, we must define what it looks like in the local community." —Debby Kirk
05/16/2018 - Many Voices, One Mission: Collaborating In Covenant
By: Deborah Kirk - Church Innovation Conference programming Leadership Development Making Disciples Many Voices, One Mission"The blessing of a caring community will be realized in countless ways." — Debby Kirk
05/07/2018 - Seek And You Will Find- Nurturing Young Leaders
By: Deborah Kirk - Conference programming Leadership Development Making Disciples"Do you know a young seeker who has an inquisitive spirit? Is there a youth in your congregation who is ready to explore faith at a deeper level?" — Debby Kirk