What’s The Difference?
FROM THE DIRECTOR OF CHRISTIAN FORMATION
I’m the new kid on the block, Beth Maze. I’m learning about everything and trying to meet everyone. All I know for certain is that I’m happy to be here because this is a healthy church full of loving people.
My job title is Director of Christian Formation. When my grandson saw that, he commented, “I thought you said you would be doing Christian education. Now it’s Christian formation. What’s the difference?”
Years back, I went to the Grand Canyon and learned that it was shaped and formed by the consistent waters of the Colorado River—just doing what rivers are meant to do. Flowing and moving through the rock for more than 30 million years, the Colorado River formed the majestic, humbling wonder that is the Grand Canyon. So what is it that “forms” a Christian?
The ancient words of Holy Scripture, living and true, certainly form us as people of Christ. Our worship, our prayers, the sacraments and our traditions constantly move and change us. The people we exchange God’s Peace with each Eucharist shape us greatly. We can’t help but be formed by the loving faces of other Walkers on the Way. Listening to each other molds us. Seeking God in silence or song shapes us. Studying books together can be a powerful force that cracks open the places inside us we haven’t examined.
Christian Formation is choice. Who am I? How do I want to live? What can I give? What matters? From the glory of our birth to the holy moment of our death, we are being shaped and formed. Our minds, our hearts, our consciences, our hopes, our bodies, our lives. Christian formation is study, prayer, song, silence, sacramental life in the Church, outreach ministry, inclusion of all, support for our children and youth, standing with the marginalized and a thousand things more.
CS Lewis said, “You don’t have a soul, you are a soul. You have a body.” Christian formation is the work we do together for the nurture of our souls. I may be directing some of it, but we are the ones doing it together.
Beth Maze
Director of Christian Formation