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“The Rest of the Story” is the title of a newly released series of five Vacation Church School sessions for parish use during the summer.
The series is available in PDF format and may be downloaded free of charge from the Orthodox Church in America’s Department of Christian Education web site.
“Created by Gail McIntyre, who attends Saint Michael Church, Louisville, KY, the series has been edited and expanded by the OCA Department of Christian Education,” according to Matushka Valerie Zahirsky, DCE Chair. “The series is written on four levels, from age three to grade five, which offers our very young children a chance to learn during the summer and to spend time together while Church school is not in session.”
Each session is based on an Old Testament character, giving children a chance to discover the ways the Old Testament leads us to the New Testament and the teachings of the Church.
“So, for example, one session begins with the story of King Josiah, who led his people in a godly way and who rebuilt the same Temple that Jesus would worship in many years later,” Matushka Valerie explains. “The session goes on to a consideration of the icon of the Entry into Jerusalem and of Jesus Christ as not only leader and king, but Son of God.”
Each session also has hands-on activities and discussion points geared to the specific age levels for which the sessions are written.
“The Department of Christian Education is grateful to Gail McIntyre for sharing her creative materials, and invites other teachers to send items they have created to the Department, to be shared with all our parish Church schools,” Matushka Valerie added. Those wishing to share resources are invited to send them to the DCE at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
