Key Endorsements from Community of Christ ministry specialists.

“Seasons of the Spirit is outstanding. The lessons are deeply grounded in solid contemporary scholarship and at the same time attuned to key discipleship principles and important spiritual-formation issues and practices.” —Tony and Charmain Chvala-Smith, Disciple Formation Ministries in Scripture and Theology

“Seasons of the Spirit is the best lectionary-based curriculum I have ever seen. It is based on good scholarship, but very accessible, full of connections to the real life of discipleship. I am very excited about the positive fruits that use of this resource will bear in Community of Christ.” —Don Compier, dean of Community of Christ Seminary

Don’t Miss During World Conference plan to visit the Seasons of the Spirit booth in the World Peace Village in the Auditorium’s Lower Assembly Room. See sample lessons of this lectionary-based curriculum, talk to teachers of the material, and receive help ordering resources for your congregation.

Seasons of the Spirit

Dear Friends:

The Presidency is pleased to announce an exciting, new study series for church-school classes: Seasons of the Spirit. We fully support this series and believe it will deeply enrich members and friends. We are confident the study of these materials will strengthen the Community of Christ mission.

For a period, church staff has worked on designing an approach to disciple formation (Christian education) that would best serve the needs of the church. We have considered how to work within the available budget and production capacity. The approach we have chosen involves the use of recommended resources from another publisher for foundational biblical material. We will integrate these biblical materials with specific Community of Christ disciple-formation resources.

After careful review by our staff, we determined that Seasons of the Spirit aligns with the identity, message, and mission of the church. Its Christ-centered focus, thoughtful use of the lectionary (which aligns with our Worship Resources), faithful interpretation of the Bible, and creative approach to discipleship formation is in harmony with the Enduring Principles and Basic Beliefs of our movement.

The theological assumptions in Seasons of the Spirit align with Community of Christ’s deepest convictions, especially those recently expressed in the Christology statement, scripture statement, Basic Beliefs statement, and the Enduring Principles.

Seasons of the Spirit creatively and faithfully brings together all the biblical lectionary texts for a given day in a way that makes theological sense.

The approach to spiritual and disciple formation in Seasons of the Spirit is rooted in the best Christian traditions. The material does not focus simply on personal spirituality. It connects the individual journey with the journey of the wider church for the sake of transforming the world and the individual.

More information about the theological background and educational goals of Seasons of the Spirit is available at
    www.seasonsonline.ca/page.php?pageID=8&sectionID=2.

We also recognize the importance of providing specific disciple-formation resources developed by Community of Christ. We are working toward providing, by the Advent 2010 quarter, lesson supplements to Seasons of the Spirit. These lessons will thread our more-distinctive beliefs and practices throughout this rich curriculum.

We recommend that congregations begin to use the Seasons of the Spirit curriculum and the Community of Christ-focused resources that soon will be provided by the church.

Sincerely,

Becky L. Savage
For the First Presidency