When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we (like everyone else) knew we had to reimagine faith formation. Holy Week was fast approaching and we decided to put our normal church activities into a home-based format. When we learned that other churches were looking for a resource like ours, we quickly made it available. The response from others and from our congregation clued us in that we were onto something. We asked the question, “Why did this uniquely work?”
We think the biggest factor was that our Holy Week packet was written to be home-based. It wasn’t written for any other paradigm, and thus was very accessible for families. Then there was embodiment. In a time when we couldn’t gather as a community, our go-to for embodied faith, grown-ups who usually sat and talked about their faith wanted to enact it. And it was pretty simple. You didn’t have to be a teacher to crack a curriculum code, and it could be experienced with no prep. There weren’t an overwhelming number of options. It was no-frills and kept the story at the center.
As it began to dawn on us that this pandemic was not a quickly passing phase, we realized we needed to approach faith formation in a flexible and home-based way for at least a year. We had our method, now we needed to choose our content. We chose the big story of God because we believe in the power of knowing the story, owning the story, and living the story. The magic started to happen when we talked with our friend Jonathan, a musician. He wrote our first micro-song, “God Made Matter,” and we knew we were onto something. Another friend, Addie, jumped on board with helping us think through accessibility and administration, and we were off!
We hope that this can be an affordable resource for your home or congregation. We hope it can be a constant in a year of instability. We hope it helps you step out into God’s world with a story to tell and a song to sing.
We think the biggest factor was that our Holy Week packet was written to be home-based. It wasn’t written for any other paradigm, and thus was very accessible for families. Then there was embodiment. In a time when we couldn’t gather as a community, our go-to for embodied faith, grown-ups who usually sat and talked about their faith wanted to enact it. And it was pretty simple. You didn’t have to be a teacher to crack a curriculum code, and it could be experienced with no prep. There weren’t an overwhelming number of options. It was no-frills and kept the story at the center.
As it began to dawn on us that this pandemic was not a quickly passing phase, we realized we needed to approach faith formation in a flexible and home-based way for at least a year. We had our method, now we needed to choose our content. We chose the big story of God because we believe in the power of knowing the story, owning the story, and living the story. The magic started to happen when we talked with our friend Jonathan, a musician. He wrote our first micro-song, “God Made Matter,” and we knew we were onto something. Another friend, Addie, jumped on board with helping us think through accessibility and administration, and we were off!
We hope that this can be an affordable resource for your home or congregation. We hope it can be a constant in a year of instability. We hope it helps you step out into God’s world with a story to tell and a song to sing.
Meet Our Team
Daniel Yoder &
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Jonathan ReuelJonathan Reuel is a stay-at-home-dad with a side gig as a singer-songwriter and artist. Raised in MCC, a service agency of the Mennonite church, Jonathan now builds bridges through bands, art projects, tours, recordings and the Dandelion Seed Company. His best known songs are JRL’s “Past Yourself” (a song for the misunderstood and the misunderstanders) and "Water Fall On Me," (a prayer sung in youth groups and churches). He enjoys collaborating with his family and friends in life and art. |
Rodolfo GonzalezRodolfo Gonzalez is a clinical care coordinator at Maple City Health Care Center. Rodolfo has a computer engineering degree, and a postgraduate diplomas in music business and sound engineering. He is originally from Venezuela and his two passions are music and healthcare. He has connected with over 200 artists and bands as an audio producer and is currently taking pre-med classes through IU. He is a member of College Mennonite Church where he attends with his wife and son. He enjoys going on bike rides with his family, playing guitar and good sci-fi books. |
Addie LeamanAddie Leaman is Discipling Assistant at College Mennonite Church, Curriculum Coordinator at Yellow Creek Day Care & Preschool and full-time mom of three. With a passion for music and building relationships, she enjoys using her gifts for worship in the church and on Gifts Development Team with Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference. She is excited to utilize this resource in her home where three generations of her family live. |