Page 8 - Presbyterian Connection, Spring 2020

Connection
LEADERSHIP
Loved and Chosen: Fall Bible Reading Challenge
8 SPRING 2020
PRESBYTERIAN
presbyterian.ca
Participants of the Bible reading challenge.
By the Rev. Bethany McCaffrey, Melville Presbyterian Church in Scarborough, Ont.
“How do we encourage daily Bible reading on a congregational level?”
It started with this simple ques- tion asked by the Session at Melville Presbyterian Church in Scarborough, Ont. The answer grew into a six-week challenge that saw about 50 adults and 20 children and youth reading stories from the Old Testament to- gether. With help and support from Tori Smit, our Regional Minister for Faith Formation with the Synod of Central, North Eastern Ontario and Bermuda, a reading plan was created that allowed families to read along using one of two children’s story Bi- bles (provided at no cost to families through generous donations from in- dividuals in the congregation).
While the initial goal was to sim- ply read scripture, the challenge itself gained greater purpose as we sought to use it as a way to prepare for Advent, to understand the story of God’s people from the very begin- ning, and to find our place in the fam- ily tree of God’s people. The reading plan itself was simple, families using story bibles were given an average of five readings a week while those reading from their bibles were given complementary scripture references for all seven days of each week. A
short weekly commentary, discus- sion starter questions and a short prayer were also provided. Families and individuals were encouraged to talk together about what they were reading.
To bring continuity to the project, the Sunday School classes also fol- lowed the challenge, choosing one of the stories from the previous week as the focus of their Sunday lesson, as did our weekly adult studies. Wor- ship and preaching also picked up the major themes as we traced the story of God’s people through the Old Testament together from Genesis to the Prophets so that we were ready to hear the voices of the prophets during the Advent season.
To keep a visual reminder of where we were in the story, we gathered wooden figures to represent the various people found in our weekly readings. We placed these figures on the communion table following the children’s message and enjoyed adding new figures each Sunday to our display. Participants were further encouraged to write their thoughts, questions and reflections on each reading onto distributed paper leaves and to add them to a large tree trunk placed in our fellowship hall. It was a delight to watch our family tree grow every Sunday as the kids collected the leaves and stuck them on the branches. We were also grateful to
have a TFE student, Mirim Kim, join us to work alongside our young fami- lies and participate in our bi-monthly WeeWorship program to facilitate learning and celebration specific to our youngest worshippers around the theme of the challenge.
One of the greatest strengths of a challenge such as this one is that it was accessible and adaptable to all ages and stages. Friends and members who were unable to attend church for any reason were able to follow along at home and know that they were participating with every- one else. Leaves and reflections were mailed to the church to be added to those already on the tree. Large print versions as well as a digital copy of the devotional were distributed to those who needed them, and the weekly readings were also sent out by email. Others found that they preferred to listen to the daily readings instead of reading them, which is easily done thanks to the multitude of audio ver- sions of the Bible available today.
For some, it was their first time reading portions of the Old Testa- ment, while for others, it was an opportunity to “connect the dots” of the stories they had known for years. Still others challenged themselves even further and filled in the gaps by reading the portions of scripture not covered by the designated read- ings. Some of our young families
found that it was easy to work a daily story into their routine. Others found that they were playing catch-up over the weekend, but the joy in however anyone, young or old, chose to par- ticipate in the challenge was that we were all being nurtured by God’s word in a way that united us and encouraged intergenerational discus- sion both on Sunday mornings and throughout the week.
The feedback on the challenge was positive with the most common question being, “So, when is the next one?” By the time this article goes to print, Melville will have begun their second challenge (reading the Gospel of Mark through Lent) and we’d love to share it with you. The Loved and Chosen: Our Family Tree
fall reading challenge is available on the synod website (cnob.org) with our Lent reading project available for download as well. We encourage you to make it your own and challenge your own congregation to read God’s word together.