Today I was in Columbia for junior clergy meetings. Mrs. Miller supervised the class. After prayer, they viewed the second part of the DVD, “Rich in Mercy: A Life of Christ.”
Today I was in the church assisting with Grade 2-5 Confessions. Mrs. Miller supervised the class. The students prayed and then watched the DVD “Rain,” which introduced the question of evil and its proper understanding in God’s plan of love.
There will be a quiz on Monday, February 25, on the bible verses, Judges 21:25 and Psalm 8:4-5.
After prayer, the class went over the role of the “judges” in ancient Israel, especially their role as a source of unity and stability. The full list of the 16 judges was given to the students, as well as Judges 21:25 and Psalm 8:4-5. The students were then initially introduced to the subject of sin, evil, and suffering. This will be our focus over the next couple of weeks: How can sin, suffering, and evil exist in a world that we consider good?
Today, after prayer, we discussed the complementarity of the human person’s body and soul. The students were assigned a two-page essay about a person who was missing a portion of what it means to be human (missing something either from his/her soul or body). The essay is due on Tuesday, February 19. I had to leave the class early due to pastoral duties, but the students were allowed to begin work on the essay in class.
Today for class we only had a few minutes. Due to the Middle School Confessions after the School Mass, we were only able to go over a few announcements. I regret that we did not have the opportunity to pray as a class.
Today, after prayer, the students elected a “judge” of the class. The judge’s responsibilities will be to coordinate the patriarchs and matriarch in their organizing of the tribes. The student elected judge will serve as a type of classroom president. The idea is to slowly introduce the students to the role of the judges in the Old Testament. After the election, the class reviewed the sacrament of Confession. Two students did a role-playing confession, and then the students were shown a video on God’s unconditional love.
Today, after prayer, the class discussed the lessons they learned during the tribes day last Thursday. Several questions were presented and each tribe had to present an answer. The point of the discussion was to make sure the students understood the lessons of the day. Each student was asked to write an essay: ”What I learned on Tribes Day.” It’s due tomorrow (Tues).
Today in class, after prayer, the students worked on various team-building and leadership activities. The focus was on the word “Communication”. At lunch the tribal rally continued with small group activities across the street at St. Mary’s Field. In the competitions, the Tribe of Benjamin took first with three tribal points, the Tribe of Naphtali took second, and the Tribe of Zebulun took third. The purpose of the day’s activities was to build teamwork, leadership, a spirit of Christian sacrifice, and communication.
