We can’t believe we are talking about it already, as it feels like school just ended, but fall is right around the corner! With fall comes all things new: new teachers, schedules, classes, routines, practices, teams, and clubs. Sprinkle in a little stress and exhaustion as we transition and modify our summer sleep schedule into early mornings for school, and it can seem like too much all at once.
One thing we seemed to have collectively learned from COVID is that there is no need to do what we’ve “always done” if it’s not the best fit. This has given everyone the freedom to ask important questions and to be more creative in how we do things. For example, amended schedules that fit people’s needs and reduce stress rather than always doing things the way we’ve always done them have proved beneficial in many arenas of life.
So we decided to ask: what if here, at Zion, we were able to offer our wonderful families an opportunity to exhale and become accustomed to their new fall schedules before we feather in the start of Sunday school and confirmation? A grace period for families, if you will. After all, grace should be our specialty.
We received enthusiastic “yes, please!” And “that could really help!” responses from families when we asked if this slight change would be something they would appreciate. So this year we are going to test out starting Sunday school and confirmation the first week of October instead of our “always have done it that way” September start dates. Our hope is that this will provide a welcomed time of grace and adjustment before adding more to all that fall brings.
It is our prayer that this small change may make a big difference in your fall schedules. We’ll try it this year, and if we hear from you that it wasn’t beneficial, we can always go back to our September start dates. We are always striving to find ways to support families in living this life of faith in the midst of all that today’s world throws at us. So, we do hope this will be a welcomed change for our Zion families.
We will still celebrate Z-fest! This year Z-fest will fall on Sunday, September 18. Be ready for some NEW and exciting additions to the celebration! Z-fest is a morning filled with the joy of being back together after summer schedules tended to scatter us. Sign-ups will be available before and on that day for all the wonderful programs and events Zion has to offer you and your family this year! We are so thankful to be a partner with you in growing faith and making families stronger.
Here are the notable start dates for Zion’s Youth and Family programming:
- Sunday, September 18: Z-fest!
- Sunday, October 2: First day of 8:30 and 10:30 Sunday school
- Wednesday, October 5: First day of grade 6-8 confirmation 6:30-7:45