Education
Trinity has a tradition of providing Christian education opportunities for all ages on Sunday mornings during the school year (August through May). The children’s Sunday School classes are divided by age group. Several adult Sunday School classes offer flexibility for each to find a class fitting his or her own style and interests. Read on to find out more about Trinity’s Christian education opportunities.
Rotation Station
Rotation Station is Trinity’s fun and exciting Sunday school opportunity for preschool to 6th grade children. The program focuses around the six “Stations” of Cooking, Storytelling, Games, Music and Movement, Science, and Computers. Gathering Time brings all of the children together at the beginning of Sunday School with music and an introduction to the topic for the day. After Gathering Time the adult leaders for that day shepherd the children into age groups, then to their Stations. The Stations are centered around teaching a particular Bible unit using fun and engaging hands-on activities. Through the course of a study unit each age group has the chance to experience all of the Stations. Example study units are the story of Jacob, and the story of Abraham and Sarah. The kids have a great time with this program and, in the process, absorb some basic Bible knowledge and important lessons about what it means to be a Christian.
Confirmation Class
The Confirmation Class provides a forum for Trinity’s 7th and 8th graders to examine their faith as they contemplate joining Trinity Presbyterian as full-fledged members. The group is led by an adult church member (presently the church’s pastor Buren Blankenship) who often engages other church members in the class activities. This class gives the youth members an opportunity to explore the origin of the Presbyterian church, the meaning of the church’s beliefs, Biblical texts, and how each of the class member’s beliefs mesh with those of the church as a whole. In the true spirit of Trinity Presbyterian, open discussion and examination of each member’s individual beliefs is encouraged. The class culminates with each class member who elects to join Trinity giving a personal statement of faith during a Sunday worshhip service, then being welcomed into membership. This is an enriching experience for both youth and adults.
High School
Trinity’s High School Sunday School class meets in the Youth Room. Snacks help to fuel the group’s thought processes as they discuss life issues from a Biblical and teen perspective. The class often watches appropriate movies which serve as a catalyst for their discussions. The wall-mounted LCD TV in the Youth Room is great for movie viewing, and the teens enjoy the comfortable seating provided by the cushy couches and chairs. The adult class leaders use many resources giving scriptural references for the discussion topics and relating these to real-life situations for today’s teens.
Adult Alternative
The Alternative Class has been in existence since about 1988. Its mission is to learn about and discuss topics that confront Christianity today and in the past. This offers a broad spectrum of subjects to discuss on topics such as understanding Islam, the ” Drug War”, Christianity and gays, US policy and aid to Africa, and much more. The class is quite informal and open discussion prevails. Wherever three or more are gathered together, the Alternative Class exists.
Adult Library
The Adult Library Class is named for the room in which it meets. The group uses a variety of resources to study the application of Christian faith to modern issues. The resource materials include the Bible, books (e.g. The Purpose Driven Life, Dinner with a Stranger), movies, and the expert knowledge of Trinity members and guest lecturers.
Adult Seekers
The Seekers class is an intergenerational faith inquiry group. We examine group-selected spritiual texts together. The readings range from contemporary trade books of diverse religious doctrine to chapters and books of the Bible taken verse by verse. The purpose of our group is to develop our own personal discourse of our individual Christian faith journey. We value–even possbily demand– for ourselves the exploration of mutiple, diverse faith and non-faith perspectives.
