We completed our first Socratic-style lesson of the year (Christianity, Orthodoxy, and Building a Strong Foundation) on October 20th, working as a team of students and teachers to define what it means to be a Christian, and, more specifically, an Orthodox Christian.

Teachers and students began by introducing themselves and stating between 5 and 10 titles they hold, for example:

“I am a sister”, “I am a student”, “I am a son”, “I am a teacher”, “I am an Orthodox Christian”.

Once we went around the room and each person named some of their identifying titles, we recognized that, although not everyone present is a mother or a daughter or a son or a teacher, we do ALL hold one common title. Whether we mentioned it earlier or not, all of us in the room - teachers and students alike - could and can proclaim “I am an Orthodox Christian”.

This unifying proclamation is what brought us to the next logical question, “What does Orthodox Christian really mean?” Thus began our initial dive into Orthodoxy, our first adventure of the year. It was the perfect introductory lesson. Since this is our very identity, our common denominator, we felt it was imperative that each of us understand what this awesome title truly represents before proceeding with the year’s curriculum.

We began our focus on the definition of the term “Christian”, both as stated in the Merriam-Webster dictionary and as derived from our own classroom discussion. Once we felt good about our definition, the children were given the opportunity to offer their own responses to the question, “Besides the belief in the divinity of Jesus, what makes YOU a true Christian?” Many noteworthy answers were provided by students of all ages. Among these were showing respect to parents and to others, going to church, receiving Holy Communion, forgiving, and being charitable.

All of the students’ answers were acknowledged and recorded. It was absolutely wonderful to see them combine their unique take on describing how they feel they practice our faith with the definition previously presented in order to formulate an understanding that was both personal to each student and simultaneously relatable to all!

We then talked about the fact that, though each of the things mentioned are good and important, they do not, in and of themselves, make us good Christians. After all, we can do all of these things and still be far from God. During our discussion, the students learned that Christianity centers on getting to know Jesus, and seeking and developing a relationship with Him, whom we believe to be our God and Savior. It entails living a life that pleases Him, not because we have to, but because we want to.

We now had a working definition of what a Christian is, but we had so much more to explore! There are, after all, so many sects of Christianity- Baptists, Protestants, Evangelicals, Catholics- to name a few! We are Orthodox Christians, as opposed to all other forms of Christianity. How are we different?

Together with the children, we began to ponder the deeper question of “What does it mean to be an Orthodox Christian?” After dissecting the word “Orthodox,"

• “orthos” (meaning “straight”, “upright”, “inflexible”, and “unbending”)
• “doxa” (meaning “glory” or “worship”), we developed a definition of the term.

The children learned during the course of the discussion that the Orthodox faith is the true faith, that which was passed down from Jesus Himself to his disciples, apostles, and, with time, to us. They learned that ours is an unchanging tradition, which was the same 2,000 years ago as it is today. Orthodoxy will be no different tomorrow, and will remain so into future generations. This consistency is the beauty of our religion. It is the basis of the Orthodox Church - the original Church - and is what sets us apart from all other faiths and ideologies, including other Christian denominations.

At this point, the lesson continued with a reiteration of the goal of every Orthodox Christian, which is to get to know Jesus. The children were told that we will be spending much of our time this year trying to do just that through studying His teachings, and began with the parable of the Wise and Foolish House Builders (Luke 6:47-49).

After a brief discussion of the importance of a solid, sturdy foundation upon which structures need to be built to prevent collapse, we tried to figure out what message Jesus was trying to convey with this parable. We knew that He wasn’t trying to teach an architecture class, so what was the point here? As we looked at Christ’s words more closely, the children began to make the connection.

They correctly made two analogies:

• the sturdy foundation referenced in the parable with Jesus and His Word
• the homes with the way in which we live.

We then spoke of our intention of making Jesus and His teachings the foundation upon which we will build not only our year’s curriculum, but our lives in general. We realized that if we build our existence and all that we do upon Jesus and His Word, we will be unshakeable and we will be able to withstand any difficult thing life throws at us without fear of collapse or destruction.

• 47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like:
• 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
• 49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

The lesson concluded with an activity in which the children drew their house upon a rock foundation. They labeled the foundation “Jesus” and named their homes (e.g. “Peggy’s House”). Take a moment to look at photos of our class in session, along with samples of the students’ work. We hope you enjoy viewing them as much as they children enjoyed creating them!

Welcome back to another exciting Sunday School year! Here are some important dates and updates to keep in mind:

• NO SUNDAY SCHOOL: November 3rd - NYC Marathon
• SS Lesson 2: The Holy Trinity part 1: Will be highlighted in November's newsletter. Part 2 will be taught on November 10th

Please visit our church website for more details. We look forward to a great year together!

Sunday School programs are acccepting students all the way up to Grade 12. Please find the Registration link in the "Sunday School Links" section, or follow the steps below to navigate our new website www.kimisisbrooklyn.org

Sunday, October 27th & Sunday, November 10th

Lessons to be presented by Joseph (Iosif) Cruz

Prezi (presentation) to be created by Alexandria Magriples