There has never been a period in my life that was not governed by the rhythm of the school year. The sweet release of June and the lazy days of July, the increasing anxiety of August as the beginning of the school year looms, and then, finally, SEPTEMBER, frantic, hectic, wrenching September.

Many years ago, it marked the beginning of football practice (which I can now confess I dreaded), later just (just?!?) the beginning of classes and the end of summer. Even when I’d finished my own education (I thought), I was still in the thrall of fall, because the classes I was teaching would begin, and the start of classes, as many of you know, is no easier for teachers than students – the difference is that teachers aren’t allowed to complain, at least to anyone but other teachers. When I was through teaching, my children were in school and the start of their classes is wrenching, too, in its own way. After my children were done with their school, my seminary career was beginning, with classes, of course, beginning in the fall. And the beat goes on…

So, it is hard to explain why September this year does not fill me with my accustomed dread. I’m teaching again, after all. But this feels different. First of all, I’m privileged to be teaching with our new associate pastor, Pastor Wendy. Second, I get to work with Kay Aronhalt and Anna Kitzmiller and a wonderful group of Sunday School teachers.

Third, we’re trying out a slightly changed Confirmation curriculum, one that I’m very excited about. Ann Scopel was nice enough to tell me what we were actually doing. She explained that the theory of multiple intelligences says that different people are smart different ways and that people learn best in the ways that they are smart. Some people are intelligent in manipulating facts or figures, others are emotionally intelligent, others intelligent in terms of musical or artistic expression, working with machines… the list goes on. The important thing is that however God has gifted us, those are the gifts that help us to grow and to become and to blossom. I’d had the suspicion that traditional Confirmation programs were geared to only one or two kinds of intelligence and I wanted to try to broaden the mix.

The result is a curriculum in which we’ll learn by doing and by presenting what we’ve learned to other people, a curriculum in which we will learn as families and make use of the wonderful group of adult disciples here at Saint Nicholas to guide our confirmands on their journey of faith, a journey that begins before we are born, and ends who knows when? This is a curriculum that is going to require a lot of involvement – from pastors and parents and confirmation guides and Sunday School teachers and congregation leaders and even from the Synod and the larger church. It may take a little while to learn what we’re doing and how to do it better, but we’ll be doing it together.

I was amazed when I did a Bible search and found the literally hundreds of times the Bible mentions teaching and learning. Evidently, we were created as learners, if only to name everything! So, it is back to school again for all of us, including your pastors. May God bless you in this new school year.

Pastor Greg