Sunday School

We hope everyone is doing well and has had a successful return to school.

 

Have you ever wondered how Sunday School began? When did kids first start going to it?

 

One could argue that Martin Luther set things in motion with his Small Catechism, a book meant to simplify theology so that parents can teach their kids at home during the week when they weren’t in church.

 

But Sunday School as we know it was truly started at historical St. Mary’s Church in Nottingham, England in 1751. Originally, the church selected laypersons to teach children reading, writing, arithmetic, and the Bible. At the time, a formal public school system had not yet been created, so St. Mary’s actually pioneered one of the first formal schools.

 

An Anglican layman and journalist named Robert Raikes was an avid supporter of the concept of Sunday School. He looked at the many impoverished youth in England and believed that if they could receive a good education and knowledge of catechism and scripture, it could help them make better choices in life and keep them out of trouble and out prison.

 

Sunday Schools grew at a rapid rate in the late 1700’s. As formalized educational systems and school districts began developing across the world, Sunday School programs no longer needed to focus on reading, writing, and arithmetic. They instead began teaching catechism and The Bible every Sunday before the morning services. Some churches even began proving breakfast to the children, many of whom were poor and might not have gotten to eat that day without the church’s help.

 

So Sunday School was created as a response to childhood poverty and the idea that supporting them and giving them a religious education could give them a healthier life and keep them out of trouble. And the creation of these religious programs was what led to the development of formal secular public school education. And it is no coincidence that the first one-room schoolhouses in our country all had a curriculum that was similar to those of the first Sunday School programs.

 

The Sunday School program at Faith Lutheran Church exists for the same reason that Sunday School was created. We want to support, educate, and inspire kids. We recognize that poverty exists in our congregation. Some need fed food to eat, while everyone needs fed spiritual food. We support the Backpack Program through Harborcreek Schools to help ensure that our local kids have adequate food and nutrition. And we provide weekly Sunday School, led by lay volunteers from our congregation to feed kids with spiritual lessons and Biblical teachings.

 

Please remember that signups are still available for you or someone you know to be a guest teacher this year for one or more Sundays between September and December and next year between January and May. If you are interested, please contact the church office or Pastor Jean and we can give you more information. Background checks and clearances are required but are free to you and can be done online relatively quickly and easily.

 

Sunday School will be held at 9:00 AM between our morning church services. Please scroll down to see our SUNDAY SCHOOL CALENDAR 2021-2022 listed below!

 

 

Also check out our printable coloring page above as well as the link to coloring/activity pages below.