celebrating the saints - living discipleship...celebrating the saints is offered as an all-ages...

CELEBRATING THE SAINTS

YOUTH/ADULTMELODY WILSON SHOBE

FORWARD MOVEMENTCINCINNATI, OHIO

© 2015 by Forward Movement

Forward Movement 412 Sycamore Street Cincinnati, Ohio USA 45202

Special thanks to Megan Castellan, David Creech, Scott Gunn, Eileen O’Brien, and Tim Schenck for contributing to this curriculum.

The creation of the Living Discipleship curriculum has been supported by a generous grant from The Episcopal Church’s Constable Fund.

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Permission has been granted for reprinting collects from Holy Women, Holy Men and Lesser Feasts & Fasts by the Church Pension Fund.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Class Overview 3

Sessions1. Meet the sa ints 6

2. Abraham, Isaac , and Jacob 13

3. Blessed Virgin Mary 19

4. Mary Magdalene 26

5. Peter and Paul 30

6. Luke the Evangel ist 34

7. Perpetua and her Companions 38

8. John Chrysostom 42

9. Patrick and Brigid 48

10. Augustine of Hippo 54

11. John of Damascus 59

12. Hi ldegard of Bingen 63

13. Francis and Clare 67

14. Martin Luther 74

15. Thomas Cranmer 78

16. George Herbert 82

17. J .S . Bach 86

18. Charles Wesley 90

19. Samuel Seabury 94

20. Enmegahbowh 98

21. C . S . Lewis 102

22. Frances Perkins 106

23. Martin Luther King Jr. 110

24. Harriet Bedel l 115

25. Janani Luwum and Óscar Romero 119

26. Celebrate the sa ints 125

Resources 131

About 136

Introduction

In the midst of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is nestled one of the most beautiful prayers in the Christian tradition. Paul is writing to his disciples, his students, those who have joined him on the path of following Jesus and who are learning how to live in light of Christ’s love. To these early Christians, Paul writes, “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power” (Ephesians 1:17-19).

This prayer, written nearly 2,000 years ago, resonates through the ages. Now, perhaps more than ever, what individual Christians need, what the Church needs, is to know “the hope to which God has called us…the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints…the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.” These three things represent the content of the Christian faith: the hope of God proclaimed to us in the Bible, the witness of the saints from ages past, and the great power God offers to each of us to live out our lives of faith here and now. These ideas cannot be grasped in a single moment but must be learned and absorbed and made real through a lifetime of discipleship. They are not facts to memorize but realities to encounter and experience.

We can, as a Church and as individuals, live more deeply into the reality for which Paul so fervently prays. Spiritual formation for all ages, adults, youth, and children, is one way we can seek the spirit of wisdom and revelation that God offers.

Living Discipleship is an all-ages curriculum designed to help individuals and communities know more fully the very things that Paul prayed for the Ephesians to find: the God revealed in Christ Jesus. Living Discipleship is structured in three years: one year on Exploring the Bible, one year on Celebrating the Saints, and one year on Practicing our Faith.

Living Discipleship: Exploring the Bible takes participants on a journey through the scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation. Our primary revelation of the hope to which God has called us is the gift of God’s Word, the Bible. By focusing on the vast narrative of the scriptures, we can see the great story of God’s love from the beginning of creation, through the life of Jesus Christ, and in our own time, guided by the Holy Spirit. Through the stories of scripture, we can learn that the hope God offered to the faithful in ages past is the very same hope to which God is calling us today.

Living Discipleship: Celebrating the Saints is a year-long exploration of the riches of God’s glorious inheritance made real in the lives of the saints who have gone before us. The saints witness to us what the life of faith looks like, lived out in real time, and they challenge us to live out our own discipleship more fully and fearlessly. In our journey with the saints, we also learn something of our history as we look at monks, missionaries, prophets, doctors, evangelists, and more, and learn how dozens of different people in different places and times, with different gifts and backgrounds, have taken their place in proclaiming the kingdom of God.

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Living Discipleship: Practicing our Faith offers a survey of the basic beliefs and practices of The Episcopal Church, focused especially on The Book of Common Prayer and our liturgical and sacramental traditions. These beliefs and practices remind us that we are the inheritors of the immeasurable greatness of God’s power that transforms each of us and strengthens us to serve the world in Christ’s name. In practicing our faith, we learn how to live as disciples, not merely one day a week but every day of the week.

Living Discipleship is a tool for churches and leaders who have the same prayer for their communities that Paul prayed so many years ago. It is, we hope, a resource in helping Christians come to know more fully God in Christ: the hope, the glorious inheritance, and the immeasurable power.

OVERVIEWWelcome to Living Discipleship: Celebrating the Saints. This curriculum is a year-long study of the lives of the saints, with twenty-six sessions that explore different named saints in The Episcopal Church’s calendar. Designed for use in weekly Sunday formation time, each session is approximately an hour long. With twenty-six sessions, this means that Celebrating the Saints can function as the Sunday formation curriculum in a church for an entire program year. Yet the lessons are also easily adaptable: each class stands on its own and can be used independently or rearranged in any order. Thus your parish could choose to use only a selection of the lessons, engaging in a study of the saints for a semester or a season. Alternatively, you could use the sessions as a summer curriculum or even at a time outside of Sunday morning. The possibilities are endless.

Celebrating the Saints is offered as an all-ages curriculum, so it contains corresponding lessons for adults and children on the same topics each week. This all-ages format allows families to come to church and learn about the same general thing, each in their own class, and have a shared starting point from which to go home and talk, discuss, and debate about “what they learned in Sunday school.” If you choose to change the ordering of classes, be sure to consult with all of the course leaders, so that everyone will still be “on the same page.”

Through Living Discipleship: Celebrating the Saints, you will meet thirty new saintly companions over the course of the year. You will learn about church history, as we trace the development of the Church over time through the lives of some of its most faithful followers. You will learn about the spread of the Church around the world, as you study saints from near and far and see the faith that unites them all. You will learn about all the different ways that the love of God in Christ has been made manifest in different times and places by vastly different people: in martyrs, monks, and musicians; through peasants, poets, and politicians.

You will learn, as you meet the saints on this journey, that they are not the stained glass figures you might imagine them to be. Every single one of the saints was a living, breathing, flawed human being, not so different from you and me. And yet, these saints managed to allow God’s grace to work in them such that Christ’s light shone brightly in their lives. They were witnesses to the world of the transforming love of Jesus Christ.

Perhaps the saints you encounter will inspire you to follow Jesus in new ways, so that you can be a witness of the Good News of God in Christ. Perhaps you will invite the saints to pray for you and with you, for they are companions with us in our earthly pilgrimage, the great cloud of witnesses surrounding us even now. Perhaps you will come to know Jesus more deeply, as you see him reflected in the lives and witness of those who have gone before us in the faith.

Welcome to a year of Celebrating the Saints.

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Class overview

With the exception of the first and final sessions, each class of this curriculum follows a similar structure:

OPENING COLLECT @ For each week, the opening collect is the one appointed for the assigned saint from the liturgical resources of The Episcopal Church. These prayers are rich with tradition, connecting us to the prayers of the Church through time.

ENCOUNTER THE SAINT @ The materials for each week include an outline with a brief biography, as well as suggested resources to find more information about the assigned saint.

@ The leader of formation may choose to present this information to the class this week. Another option is to have individual members of the congregation sign up in advance, so that a different person presents each week. The person presenting should be given the brief biography and bibliography of possible resources. They could also be encouraged to do some research on their own.

@ There are also three to five images provided for each saint. One or more of these could be displayed during the presentation (electronically or via print), or could be used as the basis for some discussion. Links to these images are available on the Living Discipleship website at www.livingdiscipleship-fm.org or can be displayed in the PowerPoint (also downloadable from the website).

@ When practical, the materials also contain an excerpt from writings by the assigned saint, or writings about the saint by a contemporary.

ENGAGE THE SAINT @ Each week there is at least one suggested activity to engage some aspect of the assigned saint’s life and witness. Additional suggestions for generic activities are included in the appendix; these can be substituted for any given week. This allows the leader to adapt the curriculum to the context in which it is being taught.

EXPLORE THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE SAINT AND OUR LIVES

@ A list of reflection and discussion questions is included for each week, with some general questions and some questions specific to the saint assigned.

@ These questions are designed so that the class can discuss them all together or break up into small groups for discussion.

EXPAND @ Each lesson also includes a list of suggested resources for those who are interested in learning more about the assigned saint.

CONCLUDING COLLECT @ Each week you are encouraged to close with the collect of the assigned saint that began the day’s session.


ORDER OF THE CLASSESThe saints are listed in this curriculum in chronological order, both for ease of access and because that ordering allows a parish to use the curriculum to trace the development of church history and theology through the lives of the saints. But, of course, that is by no means the only possibility for how to encounter the lives of the saints. A few other possibilities are suggested below:

@ You could study the saints as grouped by theme (artists, prophets, teachers, missionaries/martyrs, etc.). This could allow for greater comparison and contrast among the weeks, giving room to explore how people have lived out similar vocations in different places and times in the life of the Church.

@ You might choose to reorder the saints so that they coincide with seasons and events in the church year. Saint Francis could be studied on the Sunday closest to his feast, the Blessed Virgin Mary during Advent, or on a Sunday close to one of her feast days, and so on. This might be especially appropriate in parishes that observe some or all of the lesser feasts and fasts in their weekday worship.

@ Choose the ordering of the saints in consultation with the children’s leaders, so that the interactive aspect of the curriculum, where all ages are studying the same thing, is not lost.

DISPLAY POSSIBILITIESThis curriculum includes an image of each saint that is studied, for reference and for fun. These images, or others that you might find and use, allow for a variety of display possibilities. This is a wonderful visual reminder of the journey that the congregation is on as they engage the lives of the saints week by week. You can invite students to put up the saints one by one as they study them, either in the parish hall, in another central location, or in classrooms. This serves as a visual reminder that can be helpful, not only to children, but also to those of all ages. It allows you, either individually or as a group, to occasionally go back and look at the saints you’ve studied and remind yourselves about their stories. It also might encourage you to make connections that would otherwise be missed or raise questions that would be helpful to explore. We include a variety of display possibilities that you can adapt to your situation, but the options are limitless. Links to further images are available on the Living Discipleship website, under the Celebrating the Saints, then Resources tab. You may also view them by downloading the PowerPoint for this curriculum (also available on the website).

Some possible suggestions: @ Timeline: Make a timeline along one wall (or even around the entire room). You can put in a beginning date and end with “today.” You can leave the line blank, or select some big historical events as time markers. Each week, as you study the assigned saint, put the image up at the appropriate place on your timeline. Take the opportunity periodically to trace the movement of the saints through history and see where you are headed.

@ Cloud: Scripture describes the saints as “a great cloud of witnesses.” Use that image for your saintly display. On a prominent wall, make a big cloud out of paper. Each week, you can add the picture of the assigned saint to the cloud. You could choose to place them randomly or to group them by theme.

@ Stars: Another image often used for saints is “stars shining in darkness.” Put up a dark blue or black backdrop on the wall. Cut out a variety of star shapes and put an image of a saint in each one. Each week, add the assigned saint’s star to the wall. Watch over time as the lights come to fill in the darkness.

@ Map: The saints studied in this curriculum come from all around the world and are representative of the saints recognized by the Church. Put up a world map somewhere in your church. Make pins with the names or small pictures of the saints on them. Add each week’s saint to the map as you study them. Notice the spread of Christian witness around the world.


Class overview

ADDITIONAL CLASSES This curriculum is designed to cover twenty-six weeks: an introductory class, twenty-four saints, and a closing class. In the Appendix, we include suggestions for a few additional classes, which might be appropriate for certain contexts. These could be used in addition to the existing classes, lengthening the curriculum, or could be used as a substitute for one of the twenty-four saints classes. Additional classes might include:

@ All Saints’ Day class

@ Saint of title (guidelines for designing a class about your church’s name-saint)

@ Art and iconography of saints: learn about some of the visual symbols used to designate certain saints. Explore your church buildings to see what saints are depicted and how you recognize them.

@ “Patron” saints: have each person discover who their patron saint is (Were they born on a saint’s feast day? Do they share a name with a saint? Is there a saint with whom they identify?) Challenge each person to learn something about their saint and then come back and share with the group.

RESOURCESThis curriculum is designed so that it can be led by any member of the congregation, clergy or lay. Most of the class sessions are discussion-based and require no special knowledge beyond what is provided. If, however, the person leading the class would like some further information for background, the following resources could be helpful:

Websites @ www.livingdiscipleship-fm.org: the Living Discipleship website published by Forward Movement includes many resources, including links to images and PowerPoint presentation.

@ Lent Madness, www.lentmadness.org, a fun and engaging program to learn about the saints sponsored by Forward Movement.

@ For those saints who are also honored in the Catholic Church, information can be found at www.catholic.org/saints

@ Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org) is often a surprisingly reliable source on the saints. Because it is an open source website that anyone can edit, you should be careful to verify what you read there before you share it as fact.

Books @ 131 Christians Everyone Should Know by Mark Galli. Includes some of the major historical saints.

@ Brightest and Best: A Companion to Lesser Feasts and Fasts by Sam Portaro. Cowley Publications, 2001.

@ Lesser Feasts and Fasts and Holy Women, Holy Men are publications of The Episcopal Church that include a very brief biography of each saint.

@ The Oxford Dictionary of Saints by David Farmer. Oxford University Press, 2011.

@ Stars in a Dark World: Stories of the Saints and the Holy Days of the Liturgy by Fr. John Julian OJN includes a more in-depth biography and reflection on each saint. It is an excellent resource.


MEET THE SAINTS

ENCOUNTERBegin by sharing the following information with the group: Being a Christian is a powerful thing, in part because it means we never have to be alone.

@ As Christians, we have the presence of God with us always; God who became incarnate for the explicit purpose of being fully with us as Emmanuel; God the Holy Spirit who dwells in us and empowers us to do God’s will in the world.

@ We also have, of course, the presence of the Church, the community of believers surrounding us who challenge us and support us through all the times and seasons of our lives.

@ But even more, as Christians, we are a part of the communion of saints, the vast collection of people across space and through time who have lived lives that proclaim the Jesus that they know and love.

There is often (understandable) confusion about what it means to be a saint.

So what, precisely is a saint?Definition of “Saint”It comes from the Greek word ἅγιος (hagios), derived from the verb ἁγιάζω (hagiazo)

@ The word saint literally means “to set apart,” “to sanctify,” or “to make holy.” Thus saints are those who are set apart, sanctified, or being made holy.

@ In a very real sense, this means all believers are saints.

• Followers of Jesus Christ are set apart from the world. We believe that we are sanctified by God, and we are being made holy by the power of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ.

OPENING COLLECTAlmighty God, you have surrounded us with a great cloud of witnesses: Grant that we, encouraged by the good example of your servants, may persevere in running the race that is set before us, until at last we may with them attain to your eternal joy; through Jesus Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 250)


MEET THE SAINTS • The word “saints” is often used in this way in the Bible:

To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:7)

To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who aresanctifiedinChristJesus,calledtobesaints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours…” (1 Corinthians 1:2)

In both these passages, the saints are synonymous with all the believers. All faithful people are called saints.

And yet, the Church through the ages has recognized certain people as Saints (with a capital “S”). The Church has chosen to “set apart” certain individuals and call them Saints.

@ The Church does not make Saints; the Church merely recognizes people whom God has made Saints.

@ And having named Saints does not diminish the call of all God’s people to live as saints. Instead, these Saints are meant as witnesses who testify and remind us of our call to be saints; they are meant as companions who, through time and space, journey with us and spur us on to love and good deeds.

Saints as resourcesThe Saints are an incredibly important and oft-overlooked resource in our life of faith.

@ Their lives, writings, actions, and experiences reveal to us what is possible through God’s indwelling Spirit. Their witness shows us how the story of Jesus doesn’t end with the empty tomb or even with the generation of apostles and disciples who immediately followed Jesus. The lives of the Saints continue the Christian story, stretching from the time of Jesus and even up to this very day. @ The communion of Saints surrounds us. They are companions on our journey, reminding us that we are not alone and that the difficulties and questions that we encounter are not new but have been wrestled with and struggled over by many who have gone before us.

@ They are teachers of the faith: they teach us theology as they encounter ideas about God and discover what is within the bounds of what we call Christianity and what lies beyond.

@ They teach us Church history, as they show us what it looks like to live out the Christian life and faith in different ages and places.

@ They teach us spiritual disciplines, as they struggle with how to encounter God in their daily lives and how to live faithfully in and amongst the cultures in which they find themselves.

@ They teach us how to live, and perhaps just as important, how to die, as they face trials and dangers without fear, neither denying nor defying death, but trusting in the One who created them and loves them always.

What a Saint is not @ A Saint is not a perfect person.

• Saints have foibles and flaws just like the rest of us.

• Peter denied Jesus, not once, but three times.

• Augustine was infamous for living a profligate life in his early years.

• Almost all of the Saints encountered moments of deep doubt. Many of them also struggled with pride, anger, or prejudice.

• The thing about saints is not that they are perfect, but that they allow God’s light to shine through their imperfect selves. They allow even their imperfections to be used to serve God in the world, to glorify God.

• They are not people who are perfect or fully holy but people who have submitted themselves to be made holy by God.

• Their imperfections remind us that we too can serve God in amazing and radical ways, as imperfect as we are.

@ A Saint is not a superhero.

• Although it can sometimes be a helpful comparison for kids, it’s not actually true.

• Saints don’t have any extra, special powers. They weren’t bitten by radioactive spiders, and they don’t come from an alien planet.

@ They are human, fully human—people just like you and me.

@ The amazing things they do aren’t because of any magical power, but because of God’s power working through them, of God’s life living in them.


@ Their humanity reminds us that we don’t need superpowers in order to witness to God’s power and promise; we can do that as fully human as we are.

A Saint is not just a “good person” @ There are lots of lists of great human beings or most influential people. Saints are not another of those lists.

@ Saints are special, not because of the good that they did, but because of the way that they proclaimed, not only with their lips but also in their lives, the God who is made known in Jesus Christ.

@ They are notable, not for themselves, but for the power of God working in them and the way that they made themselves transparent so that the love and light of Jesus could shine through them more clearly.

A Saint is not one-size-fits-all @ As you will see in the coming weeks and months, saints come in all sizes, shapes, and colors:

• Men and women

• Old and young

• Rich and poor

• Lay and ordained

• From every nationality and race and ethnicity

@ Their diversity reminds us that we too can live faithful, holy lives, no matter our status or stature, and that God can call or use anyone as a member of the Body of Christ.

Over the course of this year, we will meet some of these Saints. We will hear about their lives, sometimes in their own words. We will see how they have been depicted in art and iconography. We will engage in discussion and activities that will draw us deeper into relationship with them. And we will ask lots of questions.

• About who they were and who they weren’t

• About what enabled them to live the kinds of lives they did

• About how they challenge us and how they comfort us

• About what they teach us of God and what they teach us about ourselves

• About how we might be called to emulate them

ENGAGEDivide the gathering into three groups. Each group should have a flip chart or a large piece of newsprint. One person should be assigned as the scribe, one as the timekeeper, and one as the presenter.

@ Group A: Saints in scripture This group should read together the following passages from scripture:

• Hebrews 12:1-2

• Ephesians 4:11-13

@ Group B: Saints in our liturgy This group should read together the following passages from The Book of Common Prayer:

• “What is the communion of saints?” (p. 862)

• Three collects “Of a Saint” (p. 250).

@ Group C: Saints in Song This group should read together the following hymns from The Hymnal 1982:

• Hymn 286

• Hymn 287

• Hymn 293

After reading their assigned selection, each group should discuss together the following questions:

@ According to this passage, what is a saint like?

@ What do saints do?

@ What are some of the defining characteristics of saints?

@ How does this understanding of sainthood affirm what you previously thought?


@ What about this understanding of sainthood is surprising?

EXPLOREBring the group back together and have each group’s presenter share the observations. Guide a discussion of the whole gathering on the following questions:

@ What similarities do we find between the understandings of sainthood? Are there any striking differences?

@ Are there things that you think are missing from this description of the saints?

EXPAND @ Stars in a Dark World: Stories of the Saints and Holy Days of the Liturgy by Fr. John-Julian, OJN

@ The Oxford Dictionary of Saints by David Farmer

@ Brightest and Best: A Companion to Lesser Feasts and Fasts by Sam Portaro

CONCLUDING COLLECTAlmighty God, by your Holy Spirit you have made us one with your saints in heaven and on earth: Grant that in our earthly pilgrimage we may always be supported by this fellowship of love and prayer, and know ourselves to be surrounded by their witness to your power and mercy. We ask this for the sake of Jesus Christ, in whom all our intercessions are acceptable through the Spirit, and who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer)


GROUP ASAINTS IN SCRIPTUREHave a volunteer read each of the following biblical passages aloud:

@ Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

@ The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13)

After reading the passages, discuss together the following questions:

@ According to this passage, what is a saint like? What do saints do?





GROUP BSAINTS IN OUR LITURGYHave a volunteer read each of the following passages from The Book of Common Prayer aloud.

The Catechism (p. 862) @ Q. What is the communion of saints?

@ A. The communion of saints is the whole family of God, the living and the dead, those whom we love and those whom we hurt, bound together in Christ by sacrament, prayer, and praise (p. 862).

“Of a Saint” (p. 250) @ Almighty God, you have surrounded us with a great cloud of witnesses: Grant that we, encouraged by the good example of your servant N., may persevere in running the race that is set before us, until at last we may with him attain to your eternal joy; through Jesus Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

@ O God, you have brought us near to an innumerable company of angels, and to the spirits of just men made perfect: Grant us during our earthly pilgrimage to abide in their fellowship, and in our heavenly country to become partakers of their joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

@ Almighty God, by your Holy Spirit you have made us one with your saints in heaven and on earth: Grant that in our earthly pilgrimage we may always be supported by this fellowship of love and prayer, and know ourselves to be surrounded by their witness to your power and mercy. We ask this for the sake of Jesus Christ, in whom all our intercessions are acceptable through the Spirit, and who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

After reading the excerpts from The Book of Common Prayer, discuss together the following questions:

@ According to these quotes, what is a saint like? What do saints do?





GROUP CSAINTS IN SONGRead (or sing!) together the following hymns from The Hymnal 1982:

@ Hymn 286

@ Hymn 287

@ Hymn 293

After reading the hymns, discuss together the following questions:

@ According to this hymn, what is a saint like? What do saints do?





ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB

INTRODUCTIONIt may seem strange to begin an exploration of the saints with three people who lived before the time of Jesus. How can people who lived before the time of Jesus experience the holiness and sanctification only he makes possible?

The Church has typically resisted naming genuinely admirable and holy Jews or people from other religions from later in history in the sanctoral (saints) calendar, no matter how inspiring their lives may be (e.g. Gandhi). And yet, from the earliest days of the Church, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have occupied a special place in the spiritual imaginations of the faithful.

According to the Eastern Orthodox Church, they are saints of the highest order, people who had special relationships with God and from whom the whole of salvation history flows. Even the Roman Catholic Church honors Abraham with a feast day.

Scripture contributes to this understanding of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as saints: @ Throughout the Old and New Testaments, God is called the “God of Abraham” or this extended title, “God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

• “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6). This is repeated through the Old Testament as an identifier for God and God’s relationship with the people.

• “He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants for ever” (Luke 1:54-55).

• “When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, ‘You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,

OPENING COLLECTAlmighty God, you have surrounded us with a great cloud of witnesses: Grant that we, encouraged by the good example of your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, may persevere in running the race that is set before us, until at last we may with them attain to your eternal joy; through Jesus Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 250)


and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him’” (Acts 3:12-13).

@ We include these words in our eucharistic prayer : “Lord God of our Fathers; God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (The Book of Common Prayer).

• Hebrews 11 describes the faith of Abraham and his descendents: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that worlds were prepared by the word of God so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible” (1-3).

@ We often think of the Christian faith as the intellectual content of belief. It is an intellectual or even emotional assent to something we take as true. But the writer to Hebrews, perhaps the most gifted theologian of all the New Testament writers, chooses to define faith in terms of trusting the promises of God and growing in maturity by bearing witness to them in practical life situations and choices. Faith is the bearing out, the living out, the physical expression, of a mental or emotional choice. Faith is something that is practiced, not something that is merely believed.

• That is why the writer to the Hebrews, when articulating the meaning of faith, looks to Abraham.

• “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going” (11:8).

• “By faith he stayed for a long time in the land” (11:9).

• “By faith he received the power of procreation” (11:11).

• “By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son” (11:17).

@ On All Saints’ Day, we hear this passage from the next chapter of Hebrews: “Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.” It is clear that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are part of this great cloud of witnesses, ones who may have preceded the life of Jesus yet whose lives and whose faith are models for us.

ENCOUNTERBegin by inviting those gathered to share what they know about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Allow anyone who knows something to share, then pass out the handouts and give the group time to read through the material. When everyone is done reading, open the conversation to discuss Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, using some of the questions below.

@ How does this information fit with what we’ve already said about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?

@ What is different or surprising?

@ What are some key moments in the lives of these saints?

@ How does this information enrich your previous understanding of these three?

IMAGESAs part of the class, you may want to display some images of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Possibilities are included on the Living Discipleship website, but you can substitute others that are meaningful to your community.

ENGAGEOption 1: The Hospitality of Abraham

One of the pivotal events in Abraham’s life is his encounter with visitors described in Genesis 18.

@ Have someone read aloud Genesis 18.

@ Display one or more images of the Hospitality of Abraham. Possibilities are included on the Living Discipleship website.

Then discuss the following questions:

• What do you notice about this image?

• What surprises you about this image?

• What does this story tell us about Abraham?

• What does this story tell us about God?

• What does this story tell us about hospitality?

• What is this story calling you to change or to do?


Option 2: Harrowing of Hell In our creed each week, we say that Jesus “suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead.” Or, as the older form from Rite I (and all previous prayer books) reads, “was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell.”

This reflects the belief from the early Church that when he died, Christ entered into Hades/Sheol/Hell, the realm of the dead where all those who had died before him were waiting. He went there in order to draw out those who were ready to come with him. Tradition holds that the first person he liberated from death was Adam, but among those first few were, again according to tradition, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

This moment, when Jesus entered into the realm of the dead and drew out those who had gone before him, is called the “Harrowing of Hell.”

This descent of Jesus into the dead is what we remember and observe on Holy Saturday (the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday)

@ Display one or more images of the Harrowing of Hell. Possibilities are listed on the Living Discipleship website.

@ Discuss the following questions:

• What do you notice about this image?

• What surprises you about this image?

• What does the Harrowing of Hell teach us about God?

• How does the Harrowing of Hell challenge your faith?

• How does the Harrowing of Hell comfort you?

EXPLOREAll together or in small groups, discuss one or more of the following questions:

@ How does the example of Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob inspire your faith today?

@ How does their example comfort you?

@ How does their example challenge you?

@ They are three very different people, yet they represent the continuity of God’s promise. What might that say to us today?

CONCLUDING COLLECTAlmighty God, by your Holy Spirit you have made us one with your saints in heaven and on earth: Grant that in our earthly pilgrimage we may always be supported by this fellowship of love and prayer, and know ourselves to be surrounded by their witness to your power and mercy. We ask this for the sake of Jesus Christ, in whom all our intercessions are acceptable through the Spirit, and who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer)



HANDOUT

FAST FACTS

Abraham @ We don’t know much about Abraham’s early life. He was born Abram, the son of Terah, in Ur. Abram married Sarai and moved with his father, nephew Lot and Lot’s wife to Haran. Abram’s father died.

@ God appeared to Abram one day and said, “Get up and go!” Leave your father’s house to go to a place I will (eventually) show you (Genesis 12:1). Against all odds, Abram got up and went, not knowing where he was going but trusting in God.

@ God promised Abram three things: land, blessing, and descendents that numbered more than the stars.

@ Abram and his wife Sarai had a hard time conceiving. At his wife’s insistence, Abram had a child with Sarai’s slave, Hagar. That child was Ishmael.

@ Later, after Abram and Sarai have their own son, Isaac, Hagar and Ishmael are sent away.

@ As a sign of God’s covenant with Abram, God renamed him Abraham and renamed his wife Sarah. God asked Abraham to give a sign of his commitment as well—circumcision. At the age of ninety-nine, Abraham was circumcised, along with all the males in his household.

@ Abraham repeatedly talked to God and even argued and bargained with God, asking God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah. (Genesis 18:22-33)

@ Abraham was known for his hospitality; he welcomed travelers and strangers, because he himself had been a traveler and a stranger, and as a result he “entertained angels.” (Genesis 18:1-14)

@ Abraham’s radical obedience to God was extraordinary. When God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, Abraham obeyed. At the last minute, God sent a ram to be sacrificed in place of Isaac. (Genesis 22)

ABRAHAM,ISAAC, AND JACOB


FAST FACTS

Isaac

@ Isaac’s name means laughter, because both Abram and Sarai laughed when God foretold his birth.

@ As a young man, Isaac is offered to God as a sacrifice but spared at the last minute. He is not a helpless baby when this happens but a young man. He is a living offering to God.

@ Isaac marries Rebekah, who is selected for him as part of an arranged marriage. But the Bible tells us that Isaac loved Rebekah (Genesis 24:67), which is a pretty extraordinary statement for that time.

@ Isaac and Rebekah had twin sons, Esau and Jacob. We are told that Isaac loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. (Genesis 25:28)

@ On his deathbed, Isaac is tricked into giving his blessing to Jacob, the younger twin, in lieu of Esau, the elder.

Jacob @ Jacob is described as a trickster from birth. He wrestles with his brother in his mother’s womb, bribes Esau into giving away his birthright, and tricks his father into giving him a blessing.

@ Esau is so angry that Jacob fears for his life and flees. He meets and falls in love with Rachel, the younger daughter of Laban. But Laban is a trickster as well, and Jacob gets a taste of his own medicine. Laban fools Jacob into marrying his eldest daughter, Leah, instead of Rachel.

@ In spite of his rascally ways, Jacob has some incredible encounters with God.

@ Jacob receives a vision from God at Bethel, where he sees angels ascending and descending on a ladder; God speaks to him, telling Jacob that the covenant God made with Abraham and Isaac now rests on Jacob. In response, Jacob builds an altar to God and vows to give God one tenth of what he has.

@ Jacob wrestles one night with an unknown being, whether man, angel, or God, it is not clear. But all night long Jacob wrestles with the being, holding on tight, demanding a blessing. At the end of the wrestling match, the angel gives Jacob a new name, Israel, which means one who strives with God. Israel will become the name for God’s people, who follow the example of Jacob in striving with God.

@ After his marriages, Jacob returns to his homeland, offers his apology, and is reconciled with his brother. Jacob is also reconciled to his father, and he and Esau bury Isaac together.

@ Jacob has twelve sons; the youngest is Joseph, of Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat fame.

HANDOUT



DID YOU KNOW? @ Although he was usually obedient and faithful, Abram wasn’t above deceit or doubt. Twice while travelling, he tried to pass his wife Sarai off as his sister to protect himself. Isaac later does the same thing with his wife Rebekah!

@ Barrenness is a theme in the patriarchs’ lives. Sarai, Rebekah, and Rachel all struggle with infertility.

@ Sibling rivalry is also rife in these stories: Ishmael and Isaac, Jacob and Esau, Rachel and Leah.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS @ “Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, ‘Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?’” (Genesis 17:17)

@ “Then Abraham came near to God and said, ‘Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?’ And the LORD said, ‘If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” Abraham answered, ‘Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?’ And he said, ‘I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.’” (Genesis 18:23ff)

@ “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” (Jacob, Genesis 28:16)

@ “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” (Jacob, Genesis 32:30)


A b r a h a m

I s a a c

J a c o b

M a r y, t h e m o t h e r o f J e s u s

M a r y M a g d a l e n e

Pe t e r

P a u l

L u ke t h e E v a n g e l i s t

Pe r p e t u a

Jo h n C h r y s o s t o m

P a t r i c k

B r i g i d

A u g u s t i n e o f H i p p o

Jo h n o f D a m a s c u s

H i l d e g a rd o f B i n g e n

Handout 1


Handout 1


F r a n c i s

C l a re

M a r t i n L u t h e r

T h o m a s C r a n m e r

G e o r g e H e r b e r t

J . S . B a c h

C h a r l e s We s l ey

S a mu e l S e a b u r y

E n m e g a h b ow h

C . S . L ew i s

F r a n c e s Pe r k i n s

M a r t i n L u t h e r K i n g , J r.

H a r r i e t B e d e l l

J a n a n i L u w u m

Ó s c a r R o m e ro

Handout 1 Handout 2: Answer Key

• I am the saint who once prayed, “Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet.” (Augustine)

• Some people call me the “Star of the Sea.” (Blessed Virgin Mary)

• I am often depicted in art holding a bishop’s crozier. (Brigid)

• I was scared into becoming a monk by a bolt of lightning. (Martin Luther)

• I was godfather to a Queen of England. (Cranmer)

• Though I was the second choice, I was the first bishop of the Episcopal Church. (Seabury)

• “I have a dream…” of angels ascending and descending a ladder to heaven. (Jacob)

• My name means laughter, because my parents laughed when God told them I would be born. (Isaac)

• I had a bad habit of passing off my wife as my sister to avoid jealous kings. (Abraham)

• God called me to return and be a missionary to the very people who had enslaved me when I was younger. (Patrick)

• I died on the same day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. (C.S. Lewis)

• I wrote over 6,000 hymns in my lifetime, many of which are still sung in churches today. (Wesley)

• I used beautiful words to preach hard truths, so people called me “golden mouth.” (Chrysostom)

• My name means “one who stands before my people.” (Enmegahbowh)

• Witnessing a tragic fire impacted the rest of my life and led me to work for the rights of all people, especially laborers. (Perkins)

• I am credited as the founder of the live nativity scene, found in churches around the world at Christmas time. (Francis)


Handout 2: Answer Key

• I am the patron saint of television, because I had visions of the Mass on the wall of my room when I was too ill to leave my bed. (Clare)

• The French philosopher Simone Weil credits me with her conversion to Christianity. (George Herbert)

• I worked until I was 85, refusing to retire, because I believe that “there is no retirement in the service of the Master.” (Harriet Bedell)

• My interests extended far beyond the field of theology; I have both a planet and a genus of plants named after me. (Hildegard)

• I have been called the “fifth evangelist,” because I preached the gospel with my music. (Bach)

• You can find a statue of me on the façade of Westminster Abbey. (Janani Luwuum)

• My political positions were not always popular with those in power. On the day I died, Pope John Paul II had signed a letter removing me from office. He never sent it. (Óscar Romero)

• Like Saint Matthew, I was a tax collector who turned away from my wealth and position to follow Jesus more fully. (John of Damascus)

• I was so dedicated to setting down an orderly account of the story of Jesus and his followers that I wrote nearly a third of the New Testament. (Luke)

• I am not the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize, but at age 35 I was the youngest man to do so. Five women younger than me have won it. (Martin Luther King Jr.)

• I am often called “the apostle to the apostles,” since I told so many of the apostles the good news about Jesus. (Mary Magdalene)

• My prison diary is one of the oldest and most complete church documents written by a woman. (Perpetua)

• I was shipwrecked, stoned, beaten with rods, flagellated, imprisoned, and ultimately killed for the sake of the gospel; I considered those sufferings as nothing compared to the glory of God in Christ. (Paul)

• I asked to be crucified upside down, because I was unworthy to die in the same way as my Lord, Jesus. (Peter)


Resources

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob Blessed Virgin Mary Mary Magdalene Peter and Paul Luke the Evangelist Perpetua and her Companions (202) John Chrysostom (407) Patrick and Brigid (461, 523) Augustine of Hippo (605) John of Damascus (760) Hildegard of Bingen (1179) Francis (1226) Clare (1253)

Martin Luther (1546) Thomas Cranmer (1556) George Herbert (1633) J.S. Bach (1750) Charles Wesley (1788) Samuel Seabury (1796) Enmegahbowh (1902) C.S. Lewis (1963) Frances Perkins (1965) Martin Luther King Jr. (1968) Harriet Bedell (1969) Janani Luwum (1977) Óscar Romero (1980)

ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY POSSIBILITIESEach saint has specific activities related to his/her life and ministry. For various reasons, the suggested activities may not suit your context. If so, you are welcome to come up with a different engagement activity. Below are some possibilities that would work for almost any saint.

@ Art/Iconography

• Look at three to five different images of the saint. Images of most saints can be found at www.commons.wikimedia.org.

• Compare and contrast them with each other, exploring questions such as:

* What moment in the saint’s story does this image represent?

* What did the artist do to reflect the personality of the saint?

* Which image looks most like you pictured the saint in your mind? Why?

* What about this depiction surprises you?

* What might you do differently if you were the artist portraying the saint?

@ In their own words

• Share an excerpt from the saint’s writing (something that can be read aloud briefly, or something that can be printed and distributed with time allotted for everyone to read the provided excerpt.)

• Invite everyone to listen, and then spend some time in quiet reflection.

• Explore questions such as:

LIST OF SAINTS (and date of death, if known)


* How does this comfort us? How might it challenge us?

* Although this was written at a different time in history, how might it speak to our world today?

* What might this teach us about God?

* What might this teach us about ourselves?

* Is there anything you feel called to do or change in response to this reading?

@ Scripture study

• Read one (or more) of the lessons appointed for the saint’s feast day. The lessons appointed for each saint can be found in Lesser Feasts and Fasts or by searching the saint’s name on the Holy Women, Holy Men website: https://liturgyandmusic.wordpress.com/category/holy-women-holy-men/

• Explore questions such as:

* Why do you think this lesson was chosen for this particular saint?

* Is this the scripture you would have chosen for this saint? Why or why not? Can you think of other options or stories you might have picked?

* How did the saint live out this scripture in his/her life?

@ Compare/contrast

• Take this week’s saint and a saint studied in a previous week. Compare and contrast the two.

* Get newsprint and divide it into two columns: similarities and differences.

* Have people name the things they think fall on each side.

* Then explore questions such as:

* What striking differences do you see? What are the core similarities?

* What might the differences tell us about what it means to be a saint?

* What might the similarities tell us about what it means to be a saint?

SAINTS IN THE MOVIESThere are movies about many of the saints in this year’s curriculum; viewing a clip from one of the movies and discussing it could be a substitute engagement activity, if the one provided does not work in your context. Below are a few movie suggestions; others can be found by searching the saint’s name on Amazon.com or other sites. Use your discretion when showing any movie; some of the movies listed and others on the lives of the saints have violence or other mature images that might not be appropriate for your group. Be sure to screen the movie in advance, select an appropriate scene to share, and come up with specific discussion questions related to the scene.

@ Movie possibilities include:

• Mary of Nazareth (2014)

• Clare and Francis (2008) or Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)

• Restless Heart: the Confessions of Augustine (2013)

• Patrick (2004) or St. Patrick: the Irish Legend (2000)

• Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen (2010)

• Shadowlands (1994) (C.S. Lewis)

• Luther (2003)

• A Man for All Seasons (1966) (Thomas Cranmer)

• Romero (1989)

@ Some suggested discussion questions after viewing a movie clip:

• How did the movie clip relate to what we learned about the saint?

• What liberties did the movie take with the life of the saint?

• Was the saint in the movie how you had envisioned him or her? How so or why not?

• What might you have chosen to do differently, if you were making this movie?

ADAPTATION FOR YOUTHThe Celebrating the Saints curriculum is designed so that the handouts and session guides can be used with adults or youth, and the engagement activities and discussion questions are written so that they are


accessible for both adults and youth. For most weeks, little or no adaptation should be necessary to the existing curriculum to use it with you.

However, the youth leader(s) of your church know your individual youth and are the best judge of what will work in your church. There may be particular activities or discussion questions that would not be successful in your specific context. The youth leader(s) should read each week’s lesson well in advance, to determine if any adaptation or substitution is necessary. Below are some additional engagement activities and discussion questions that could be substituted for youth sessions.

Additional engagement activity possibilities for use with youth

@ Make it a movie—Ask students or groups to imagine making the saint’s story into a movie. Ask them to “cast” the main parts and choose which scenes they would portray. Where would they shoot the movie? What special effects would they need? Is there anything they would change or leave out? Why?

@ Modern Day Remix—Break into groups of two. Spend time having the groups come up with a modern-day version of the saint’s story. Ask each group how they would tell the saint’s story in an email or even in a tweet! Most groups will do better if they spend time writing down their thoughts first, then reading them to the group.

@ Story Commercial—Have participants divide into pairs and come up with a retelling of the saint’s story that is thirty seconds or less, like a commercial that grabs your attention. What qualities or characteristics would they highlight in sharing the story of this saint?

@ News Report—Have your group put together a mock news report that would retell the saint’s story, including eyewitness interviews. Have someone be the newscaster, someone the saint, others “eye witnesses.”

@ Newspaper Headline—Break into pairs and have each group come up with a newspaper headline and the first sentence of a news article about this saint. What section of the paper would this saint’s story appear in? How would this saint’s story be treated if it were a “news” article today?

Incorporating movies, images and art, or concrete practices of faith can be particularly effective in working

with youth. Consider some of the suggestions for substitute activities in the adult curriculum that might work with youth as well.

Additional discussion questions for use with youth

@ What one question would you ask this saint if you encountered him/her today? How do you imagine s/he might respond?

@ Does this saint remind you of anyone you know? How so?

@ Today’s saint lived in a different time and a different place than we do. How is the saint’s world and time like ours? How is it different?

@ What can this saint’s example teach us about how we live out our faith in our daily lives?

@ What part of this saint’s story most closely connects to something you’ve experienced in your life?

@ How could this saint be a part of your faith life?


DESIGN YOUR OWN CLASSWhile we have done our best to include a wide variety of saints in our curriculum, there may be a saint that you would particularly like to study who is not on our list. This could be your church’s name saint or some other saint who is particularly meaningful to your local community. If so, we encourage you to design your own class about that saint, using the framework provided below.

Opening collect Begin by praying the collect for the saint’s feast day. The collect appointed for each saint can be found in Lesser Feasts and Fasts or by searching the saint’s name on the Holy Women, Holy Men website: https://liturgyandmusic.wordpress.com/category/holy-women-holy-men/

EncounterProvide a one-page overview of the saint including the items listed below. This overview should be distributed to each class participant as a handout and will be used at the beginning of each class session so that everyone gathered can learn a bit about the saint assigned. The content should include:

@ Fast Facts

• Dates (birth, death, other important dates)

• Location/place (where did the saint live and do ministry?)

• Brief life story (five to ten bullet points about the person including key life moments, distinguishing features, etc.)

@ Did you know?

• Two or three surprising/interesting/funny facts about the saint

@ Tell me a story

• Provide a slightly more detailed outline of one particular story from the saint’s life that illustrates his/her particular gifts and witness

@ In his/her own words

• Include one to three representative quotes by or about the saint

@

@ Images

• Find three to five common license images of the saint that would enrich the curriculum (www.commons.wikimedia.org is a good source for images).

There are many good resources you could consult for this information. Some suggestions include:

@ Books:

• Lesser Feasts and Fasts and Holy Women, Holy Men are publications of The Episcopal Church that include a very brief biography of each saint.

• Stars in a Dark World: Stories of the Saints and the Holy Days of the Liturgy by Fr. John Julian OJN includes a more in-depth biography and reflection on each saint.

• 131 Christians Everyone Should Know by Mark Galli includes some of the major historical saints.

• A search of your local library’s website or Amazon.com will likely give you at least one book on the saint of your choice.

@ Websites

• A search of www.lentmadness.org will pull up biographies and other fun information about a wide variety of saints who have been featured in Lent Madness over the years.

• For those saints who are also honored in the Roman Catholic Church, information can be found at www.catholic.org/saints

• Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org) is often a surprisingly reliable source on the saints. Because it is an open source website that anyone can edit, you should be careful to verify what you read there before it is presented.

EngageAfter the group has read through the handout and talked about what they find striking, give one or two options for activities that allow deeper engagement with an important aspect of the saint’s life and witness. For the engagement option(s) provide detailed instructions, prompts, and any special set-up or materials needed.

Some ideas for engagement activities:

@ If the saint is known for a particular spiritual practice, provide a way for participants to try that practice.


@ If a saint is a prophetic witness, are there modern parallels? How might we witness in our context?

@ Explore art, poetry, and/or prayer in relation to this saint. Excerpts from writings by the saint are particularly appropriate.

@ Can the saint teach us about a particular culture or place? Can you explore how that saint’s legacy is expressed in that place today?

@ Is the saint connected to particular events in church history that you could discuss?

ExploreProvide five to ten small group discussion questions for this saint. These questions might include some of the following general questions, as well as some questions specific to the particular saint.

@ Why do you think this person is a saint?

@ How did this person exemplify holiness?

@ What particular gifts or strengths did this saint have?

@ How did this person use his/her gifts to God’s glory?

@ What else might this person have done with his/her gifts? What other life could he/she have chosen?

@ What does this saint teach us about God?

@ What might this person teach us about our lives as people of faith?

@ What surprises you about this saint?

@ How does this saint’s story comfort you?

@ How does this saint’s story challenge you?

Concluding collect @ Close by praying a collect for the saint’s feast day or other appropriate collect.

@ This might be the same as the opening collect or might be different.


About

ABOUT THE AUTHORMelody Wilson Shobe is an Episcopal priest who has served churches in Rhode Island and Texas. A graduate of Tufts University and Virginia Theological Seminary, Melody is currently working on curriculum development for Forward Movement. Melody, her husband, and their two daughters live in Dallas, Texas, where she spends her spare time reading stories, building forts, conquering playgrounds, baking cookies, and exploring nature.

ABOUT FORWARD MOVEMENTForward Movement is committed to inspiring disciples and empowering evangelists. While we produce great resources like this storybook, Forward Movement is not a publishing company. We are a ministry. Our mission is to support you in your spiritual journey, to help you grow as a follower of Jesus Christ. Publishing books, daily reflections, studies for small groups, and online resources is an important way that we live out this ministry. More than a half million people read our daily devotions through Forward Day by Day, which is also available in Spanish (Adelante Día a Día) and Braille, online, as a podcast, and as an app for your smartphones or tablets. It is mailed to more than fifty countries, and we donate nearly 30,000 copies each quarter to prisons, hospitals, and nursing homes. We actively seek partners across the Church and look for ways to provide resources that inspire and challenge. A ministry of The Episcopal Church for eighty years, Forward Movement is a nonprofit organization funded by sales of resources and gifts from generous donors.

To learn more about Forward Movement and our resources, please visit us at www.forwardmovement.org (or www.adelanteenelcamino.org). We are delighted to be doing this work and invite your prayers and support.


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