SUMMER SUNDAY SCHOOL 2026
SUMMER SUNDAY SCHOOL 2026 (June 14 – August 16)
Our Summer Sunday School 2026 just ended last Sunday with the annual Parish Picnic. The theme for this year was Peter Privett, “Living in a Fragile World: A Spiritual Exploration of Conservation and Citizenship Using the Methods of Godly Play”.
Peter Privett’s book is divided into (5) sessions, and we alternated the sessions with a book related to our summer theme. The sessions had been adjusted to reflect a crescendo:
Session 1 of the series starts with a wider view of our universe and our place in them and on this blue planet. God looked at it and gave its blessings: he says, ‘It is good’.
The phrase “We live in a fragile world and somethings things go bump in the night” repeats through the sessions and links the sessions together.
Session 2 brings the story of creation to the land and community and to the cities, and we wonder about if this connection with God is still there, as we go around our busy lives.
Session 3 we talk about the many gifts of God, including the gift of humanity: “from the waters came all manners of life, both great and small, including the gift of difference”, and how we all are part of this circle and we are bound to God.
Session 4 recaptures the interconnections of all things and how we feel when sometimes the light and life goes… and we are reminded we are part of this universe.
Session 5 we told the Easter Story: there was someone who loved to look at the night sky and see how beautiful and big it was… it creates a link with the story of Jesus, and how we are part of this universe and the universe is part of us.
The books we read in the class with their stunning illustrations and wonderful stories describe universal themes of light and interconnections, unity and care and share, of kindness and empathy and truth, of small daily choices and the difference they make and celebration of Earth's biodiversity and the vastness of the solar system.
Creation’s First Light written by Sandy Sasso, describes the Light in a way that transcends time, religions, and ethnic origins.
The Alphabet Tree written by Leo Lionni. What happens when a fierce wind threatens to blow all the little letters out of the alphabet tree…. they must band together in words—and then sentences—to create a message that’s even stronger than the wind: peace on earth.
Mira and the Big Story written by Laura Alary. Curiosity leads Mira across the river, to an "enemy" village where people have beliefs that are strange to her., to discover that the strangers are helpful and life is interconnected.
Peace written by Miranda Paul & Baptiste Paul. Explores how small acts like saying sorry, sharing, and pronouncing names correctly can make a difference.
When God Made the World by Matthew Paul Turner. It focuses on the complex way that God created our vast and scientifically operating universe, including the biodiversity of life on our planet and the intricacies of a vast solar system.
I will end with the beginning of this summer story by wondering: “I wonder if you have looked at the night sky and wonder how big it is, how far it extends... and I wonder how you feel to know that you are part of this universe and the universe is part of you.”
-Silvia Hall
MANY, MANY THANKS TO SILVIA AND ALL OUR VOLUNTEERS FOR CREATING FUN AND MEANINGFUL SUMMER SUNDAY SCHOOL SESSIONS! ALSO, MANY THANKS TO HANNELENE BEILLARD FOR HOSTING GODLY PLAY STORY TIMES ON TUESDAY MORNINGS!