Tithing Program 2005
Thanksgiving Eve, 2005
Dear Pastors and Church School Directors:
Appropriately, our tithing lessons are being posted at Thanksgiving. It is said that worship is born of wonder, and thanksgiving, and I hold that to be true. As we pause all activity to give thanks to God, let us realize how vital it is to our personhood to worship, and recall that we are the only creatures who worship. The measure of worship in the Old Testament, as it is today--the response to God’s generosity to us--is a tithe.
The tithing program of four lesson "add-ons" began in 2004, and will continue until new texts are developed that include tithing. Most parishes did not receive their 2004 materials until January, and as few implemented the program last school year, they will do so this year. For the parishes that did implement the program, the included materials will serve as a small reminder of the lessons learned last year. The lessons this year do not specifically reference the doorhanger reminders. However, if you wish more of these for the current year, please contact the Department. Evaluations from last year show that having the lessons spread throughout the year was more effective than presenting the four consecutively.
The lesson plans are spanned differently. They follow this letter. There are also pages of puzzles that need to be downloaded separately as they were created by a website that automatically outputs them as PDF’s. These are noted in brackets below. Three sets of four lesson plans:
More than one worksheet choice is offered for the Grades K-3 set, so teachers can accommodate varying abilities. Contact the Department for any questions.
Joined with you in thanksgiving for our life-giving faith,
Carole A. Buleza
Downloads:
- File 1A. Tithing Wordsearch.pdf
- File 1B. Tithing Crossword.pdf
- File 1C. Tithing Crossword Grade 3.pdf
- File 2A. Thanksgiving Crossword.pdf
- File 3A. Jesus and Tithing, Grade HS.pdf
November 22, 2004
Dear Pastor and Church School Director:
The Department of Christian Education and Tithing has created a program to teach tithing to the church school children. The program is mandated by Metropolitan PHILIP, and titled: “To Tithe is To Love.” Each parish will receive a kit with everything need for the church school to implement the program. One mailing contains:
- letter to the pastor and church school director
- sample letter to parents
- instructions as to how to implement the program
- five levels of lesson plans for four 10-minute add-on lessons
- two posters to be placed in the church narthex so parishioners
are aware of the program
The second mailing contains
- “doorknob hanger reminders” for every child in the church school.
The doorknob reminders feature the saints: Theotokos, Nicholas, Abraham, and Thekla. These are to be given to the children at the conclusion of each of the lessons.
The program was originally intended to coincide with the Nativity Fast. As the mailings were delayed, it may not be possible for the program to take place as intended. Please launch the program when you feel it will be most effective. If you wish to see what is in the mailings, I have posted the following files on this site:
a) "Letter 2004"
b) "Lesson Plans Grades K-1"
c) "Lesson Plans Grades 2-3"
d) "Lesson Plans Grades 4-5"
e) "Lesson Plans MS"
f) "Lesson Plans HS"
g) "Sample of doorknob hangers that are being sent"
h) "Optional Pages of Four Saints Featured in the Lessons" (Full-color, not in mailing, may be used as handouts, or enlarged for posters)
i) "Program Concepts, Scriptures for Year One" (Not in mailing, may be helpful for sermons on tithing)
Thank you for your patience and cooperation. In Christ,
Carole A. Buleza
Director