Religious Education Update: March 9, 2008
Teaching about Easter
Last Sunday, I talked to the 7-11 year olds about the Easter story from the Bible. I explained that this particular story is an important one for them to know, as there are many Christians in the US, and they’ll be hearing a lot about Easter over the next month. I began by explaining that the story happened almost 2,000 years ago and wasn’t written down until decades later, so we don’t know what the writers of the Bible changed from what originally happened.
The story begins with Jesus and his disciplines traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. I explained that Jesus and his followers were all Jewish, so that they celebrated Jewish holidays just as Jewish people had for hundreds of years. The Jewish people of Jesus’ time were tired of the Roman occupation and hoped that Jesus would become king, and overthrow the foreign rule.
I share the beginning of this familiar story, so that you can see that the kids are learning the historical version of the tale. The children had very good questions. They asked, “Why were people so mad at Jesus that they wanted him to die?” They wanted to know why Jesus was so upset when he saw the money changers in the Temple. I explained that the Romans were worried about Jesus because of the talk that he might become king, and that a group of Jewish people called the Pharisees were upset because Jesus had new ideas about the Jewish religion.
My hope for the children is that they learn the “big” stories in Christianity, in Judaism, in Islam and the other major world religions. I don’t see this knowledge as indoctrination, but as basic information they need to know about their world. Much of this could be taught in public schools, but generally is not because teachers and administrators are sometimes nervous about the issue of separation of church and state and about the risk of upsetting certain parents. Here at UUP, we are fortunate to be able to share stories from many faiths in a respectful, safe place, and to be able to give our children the knowledge that every child should have.
Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education
Last Sunday, I talked to the 7-11 year olds about the Easter story from the Bible. I explained that this particular story is an important one for them to know, as there are many Christians in the US, and they’ll be hearing a lot about Easter over the next month. I began by explaining that the story happened almost 2,000 years ago and wasn’t written down until decades later, so we don’t know what the writers of the Bible changed from what originally happened.
The story begins with Jesus and his disciplines traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. I explained that Jesus and his followers were all Jewish, so that they celebrated Jewish holidays just as Jewish people had for hundreds of years. The Jewish people of Jesus’ time were tired of the Roman occupation and hoped that Jesus would become king, and overthrow the foreign rule.
I share the beginning of this familiar story, so that you can see that the kids are learning the historical version of the tale. The children had very good questions. They asked, “Why were people so mad at Jesus that they wanted him to die?” They wanted to know why Jesus was so upset when he saw the money changers in the Temple. I explained that the Romans were worried about Jesus because of the talk that he might become king, and that a group of Jewish people called the Pharisees were upset because Jesus had new ideas about the Jewish religion.
My hope for the children is that they learn the “big” stories in Christianity, in Judaism, in Islam and the other major world religions. I don’t see this knowledge as indoctrination, but as basic information they need to know about their world. Much of this could be taught in public schools, but generally is not because teachers and administrators are sometimes nervous about the issue of separation of church and state and about the risk of upsetting certain parents. Here at UUP, we are fortunate to be able to share stories from many faiths in a respectful, safe place, and to be able to give our children the knowledge that every child should have.
Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education
posted by Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma @ 5:49 PM
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