St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Lompoc, CA

Christian Formation at St. Mary's Episcopal Church

God calls to each of us throughout our lives. Unfortunately, our day to day lives are not always arranged so that we are poised to hear and respond to that call. In this post modern secular world that we all live and work in, our society is no longer in the business of producing Christians. The work of forming Christians now falls to the church. The church must be very deliberate and intentional in creating “a place apart”. Always in partnership with Our Lord, we seek to offer a foundation and an ongoing set of experiences that allows each of us to respond to God in our own unique way. Christian Formation is the active response to God’s call.

In this “place apart” everything that happens becomes the curriculum for our formation. Here at St. Mary’s our mission is to provide an inclusive environment where everything, from our surroundings, our worship, our outreach, our fellowship and our education, work together to tell the amazing story of our salvation through the love and grace of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Knowing our story, and our place in it, is only the first step. It is always the goal of formation to equip Christians to take an active role in bringing God’s healing and reconciling word to the world. We live into our Baptismal covenant when we recognize and put into action our specific gifts to do God’s work in the world.

Christian formation always takes place in community. At St. Mary’s we recognize that each of us begins his spiritual journey at a different stage of his life. We provide interactive learning communities to meet you wherever you are on your journey. Whether it is in an activity that is age specific or intergenerational, we hope that you will allow us to walk beside you. We invite you to join us in this “place apart” where there is always a place at the table for you.

Our Programs:

Sunday School - 9:45 A. M. Offering: Godly Play, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd [preschool - grade 3], All Things New [grades 4-6]
The Journey To Adulthood for junior and senior high - Current J2A group meets at 8:45 Sunday mornings and also for monthly Sunday evening fellowship activities.
Adult Formation classes Wednesday Evenings from 6-8:00 P.M. Includes a light supper. Next cycle begins October 29-Nov.19- The Creeds with Fr. Michael
Family Resources and support - We offer materials for parents to use at home to nurture the spiritual life of the family.
Education For Ministry - A four year program of theological education-at-a-distance through the School of Theology of the University of the South
Seasonal Activities

Learn more about the larger Church through these Links:
Episcopal Church – www.episcopalchurch.org
Episcopal Life Online – www.episcopal-life.org
Episcopal Café – www.episcopalcafe.com
Diocese of L.A. – www.ladiocese.org
Center for Anglican Learning and Leadership – www.cdsp.edu/center
Children’s Charter
Top Ten Reasons Why Children are Welcome in our Church

Godly Play
For preschool children and those in the early elementary school years we are offering Godly Play. Godly Play comes from the same roots as Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Both are based on the work of Maria Montessori and her understanding of developmental readiness for different kinds of learning and creating child friendly, self directing learning environments. Godly Play teaches children the art of using religious language through parable, sacred story, silence, and liturgical action. Through their active participation their creativity is awakened so that they can become more aware of the mystery of God’s presence in their lives. In addition to the strong foundation it provides, one of the reasons we chose this program is its accessibility. The stories and the hands on materials to tell them with can be purchased as well as made. Teachers can be trained in house and feel successful from the outset. Godly Play has been classroom tested since 1972. Churches that have used this program have seen a transformation not only in the children, but in the teachers as well. www.godlyplay.org

Education for Ministry
Our new adult offering beginning this winter is Education for Ministry (EFM), a program of theological education–at-a-distance of the School of Theology of the University of the South. Students sign up one year at a time, at a cost of $345 per year, for this four year program. Participants in the EFM program study the entire sweep of the Christian tradition from the earliest period to the present. Participants meet once a week for about 36 weeks under the guidance of a trained mentor (Trudy and Fr. Michael). Participants learn the disciplines of biblical exegesis and interpretation, systematic theology, church history, ethics, and liturgics. The program grants a certificate at the completion of the four years and 18 Continuing Education Units for each year’s work.

The program focuses on preparing participants to answer the call made at Baptism to be ministers of the church. Students belong to small “communities of learning” in which the events of each person’s life may be examined in light of the materials being studied. While the course materials provide substantial academic content, the focus of the program is on life as ministry and understanding what that ministry may be. EFM provides Christians with that basic skill which is the foundation of all Christian ministry-theological reflection. In doing this, participants sharpen their skills of personal and cultural assessment and enhance abilities to be effective in a variety of ministries.

Advanced registration for the program is absolutely required due to the expense and time needed to order the instructional materials. You will find that participation in EFM will not only teach you how to think theologically, deepen your faith, and your understanding of our Christian heritage, but also provide you with a real confidence to be a Christian minister. The bonds you will form in these small learning communities will be deep and long lasting. www.sewanee.edu/EFM/index.htm

Journey to Adulthood
The Journey to Adulthood is a complete youth ministry program of spiritual formation for 6th-12th grades. It uses Bible study, prayer, rites of passage, outreach ministries and both serious and playful activities to underscore its two guiding principles:

Manhood and womanhood are free gifts from God.
Adulthood must be earned.

There are three two-year segments of the program:

Rite-13: The first two years (6th & 7th or 7th & 8th graders) that focus on celebrating the individuality of each young person and their creative potential. The Rite-13 liturgy (A celebration of Manhood and Womanhood) is the community expression of this and a rite of passage form childhood towards adulthood.
J2A: The middle portion of the program (8th & 9th or 9th and 10th graders), engages youth with the skills and critical thinking involved in adulthood. The youth plan and embark on a pilgrimage together at the end of this segment. This experience is often the spiritual highlight of their youth.
YAC: This is a mentor-based program that helps older teens (11th and 12th graders) discern and carry out a ministry within their church or in the larger community. Vocation and development of a personal credo are also emphasized. A final rite of passage sends them out into the world as ambassadors of Christ.

J2A is based on the principles of relational youth ministry. It assumes that at least two or three adults (of both genders) will be leaders for each of the three groups and that these leaders will only serve for two years before taking a "break." This engages many more adults in building relationships with youth and providing positive role models for them. The traditional youth ministry model of a single youth "guru" (paid or volunteer) depends on the personality of that individual -- and when he/she leaves, the youth program often collapses.

J2A is designed to engage lots of adults in nurturing the youth of your congregation and community. It is designed to bring young people into full participation in the life of the congregation so they actually ARE the church of today instead of the church of the future!

An added benefit of this ministry is that it often serves as a catalyst for congregational renewal. Parents are drawn into greater participation. Youth leaders learn skills and develop a commitment to ministry that they use in other ministries when they rotate off of being leaders. Others in the congregation pick up on the energy and the ministries of the youth. So J2A is much, much more than just a way to inform or entertain our youth - it is a way of being the church that engages everyone. www.leaderresources.org/j2a

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’

And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’

To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’

But Jesus* said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’

Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’

Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’

Luke 9:57-62