“Courageous Connections” is Theme of This Year’s Faith Formation

Love is the Answer, Courage is the Key

If you are paying attention to the reports on how we’re all doing as a society, the news isn’t great. The CDC has declared loneliness as an epidemic, and Gen Z has been identified as the most depressed and anxious generation ever. It’s easy to start feeling hopeless in the face of those and so many other realities, but as Christians we know that death doesn’t get the final word, and there is reason to be hopeful.

Reports are also showing that the antidote to loneliness and the best way to help our young people thrive is to surround each other in caring and connected community. A sense of belonging and purpose, the simple fact of being known; these things can make all the difference between languishing and flourishing. And here we are with a church family—the perfect place to start building the connections we all need to survive.

The Mayflower Faith Formation team has been researching, planning, training, and praying about what we can do to help our children, youth, and families. We are meeting these concerns head-on by developing and offering curriculum to help manage mental health, connect and communicate effectively across generations, and live into our collective and individual callings to build God’s dream of justice on Earth.

The theme for this year is “Courageous Connection,” and we are weaving this message of community and empowerment into everything we do. We have lots of work to do, but we can do hard things, and growth doesn’t happen in our comfort zones.

Parents, grandparents, and anyone else who interacts with children on a regular basis: Join us during the education hour on Sunday, September 17, for an introduction to all the new programming units, and a discussion about how to continue the conversations that start in church at home.

2023-2024 Programming Line-up

Music Together: for babies through pre-k children and their parents/grandparents, 9:45-10:45 am starting September 17. Meet in room 207 for this fun and interactive music and movement program. This was a huge hit last year.

Sunday morning faith formation classes (aka Sunday School): for kindergarten through 7th grade, 9:45-10:45 am starting September 17. We will begin each session by meeting together in the garth (rain location in the hallway between the main building and the Christian Education wing) for an opening prayer and music before dispersing to grade-level classes.

8th grade OWL: Sunday mornings, 9:45 to 9:45 am in the OWL room (200, at the top of the stairs). Parents are invited to attend an informational meeting on Sunday, September 10, at 8:45am, in the Chapel.

Confirmation for 9th graders: Parents and prospective confirmands are invited to attend an informational meeting on Sunday, September 10, at 11:45 am (after the Gathering Sunday festivities and lunch), in the Chapel. Confirmation will typically meet a couple of Sundays each month from 4-6 pm in the Fireside Room.

Youth Group (9th-12th grade): Sunday mornings, 9:45-10:45 am, in the Youth Room. Come check out the new amenities and meet the new leaders!

Special classes and discussion opportunities for Parents and Caregivers will be available periodically during the education hour on Sunday mornings (between services). This fall will focus on building healthy communication with your child/youth. See Development Psych for Parents & Caregivers below for details. We hope you will come participate in the discussions, learn, and connect with your fellow Mayflower parents.

This year we are using Google Forms for registration. Please fill out one form for each child in faith formation.

Students in kindergarten through 8th grade register here.
Students in 9th through 12th grades register here.