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We lost 3 of our Relief Society teachers in the last 3 months, so our shy Relief Society president put out a general request to sisters to see if any of us wanted to teach. I am good at teaching Relief Society, and I actually enjoy it – so I volunteered for 2 lessons. Technically, I volunteered for up to 1 lesson a month – she requested 2 specific dates. In general, I tend to be pro-active when it comes to church requests – for example, I used to politely tell my home/visiting teachers when they could come over instead of waiting for them to get around to trying to schedule something.
So, when I volunteered to teach, I also “suggested” Elder Gong’s talk “Campfire of Faith” to teach on – I knew how I wanted to teach it, and that I could find common ground.
I put down our brown king-sized flat sheet as “ground” and brought a portable lamp to be our “campfire” for the middle of the room. I talked about how I hadn’t had the resources to bring smore snacks (some sighs of relief and some of sadness), but that campfires were places both of essential nourishment, but also a place to bond together and how I wanted my sisters to imagine themselves at “a Relief Society campfire”. I also passed out index cards and told the sisters specifically to have a means ready to write things down if they wanted to remember something/were prompted about something – I made it clear that it wasn’t a pressure situation – just that I wanted to ensure they were prepared if they needed to write something down. We had a group conversation about 3 of the points, and then 1 point I broke them up into partnerships to talk about. I also left 1 point for them to use as an introspection point. Most of the sisters seemed to love it and hopefully got something from it.
When I was done, the Relief Society president mentioned that I would be teaching in December, and there were lots of “yay’s” and smiles.
I teach the Sunday before Christmas. I am going for a “Unity in our Diversity Through Jesus Christ” theme – that I will tie together with one of the titles of Jesus Christ as “God With Us” for the Christmas connection. Sister Okazaki’s “Baskets and Bottles” story and her wonderful quote about the Atonement will make the lesson plan as well.
Sounds positively wonderful Amy. what a creative and insightful lesson. Meanwhile, in my EQ meeting, we listened to the entire audio of a GC talk and then discussed our impressions.
:lolno: Amy you are an amazing light. On another thread someone said they “fan-girl” you. Make that two of us. We have good teachers but nothing that spectacular.
A couple years ago, I borrowed Chieko Okazaki’s quilt talk. I brought in 2 quilts and took the conversation from there. It went over pretty well. Your’s will be great.
I can’t wait to read your December post.
Roy wrote:
Sounds positively wonderful Amy. what a creative and insightful lesson.Meanwhile, in my EQ meeting, we listened to the entire audio of a GC talk and then discussed our impressions.
:lolno:
Sad.
😥 That is not “teaching in the Savoir’s way.”Thank y’all:) When I was in 5th grade, we did testing for what learning types we were (I showed up as musical/verbal – no surprise). I was touched by the sheer number of different types (I think there were 9 of them), and made a mental note to always teach to as many as possible so that no one got left out.
Silent Dawning reminded me of how to connect what I know about teaching to teaching the gospel.
Between Pathways teaching lessons and my own experiences here, I came to the realization that the most important teaching happens when a person “connects the dots” themselves. My job is to set the environment so that the person can teach themselves by what points I present, the times I have the class share what they know, and by giving them introspection time
🙂 I love it. Thanks for sharing. Awesome to see how you stay involved. AmyJ wrote:
I tend to be pro-active when it comes to church requests – for example, I used to politely tell my home/visiting teachers when they could come over instead of waiting for them to get around to trying to schedule something.
I like this approach…helps make it easy for others to know what you can do!
:thumbup: AmyJ wrote:
I put down our brown king-sized flat sheet as “ground” and brought a portable lamp to be our “campfire” for the middle of the room.
Very clever! Little things like this can sometimes help make it a little more interesting…and less drab and monotonous…and sometimes a little fun.
You taught on Elder Gong’s talk…I liked this part of his talk:
Quote:When we have felt, or feel, uncertain, alone, frustrated, angry, let down, disappointed, or estranged from God and His restored Church, it may take an extra measure of effort and faith to enter again on His covenant path. But it is worth it! Please come, or come again, unto the Lord Jesus Christ! God’s love is stronger than the cords of death—temporal or spiritual. Our Savior’s Atonement is infinite and eternal. Each of us strays and falls short. We may, for a time, lose our way. God lovingly assures us, no matter where we are or what we have done, there is no point of no return. He waits ready to embrace us.
I like the teaching that we don’t need to feel pressure. Whenever we feel ready, we can re-engage. Or not. Either way is fine. Things take time. If my bishop is to ask me why I’m not going to the temple…I can say..”I’m not ready right now. But it’s ok…there is time when I’m ready for it.”
I bet there were others who got something good out of your lesson. Elder Gong said about trying new things:
Quote:Elder Scott said painting helped him observe and create. He has written: “Attempt to be creative, even if the results are modest. … Creativity can engender a spirit of gratitude for life and for what the Lord has woven into your being. … If you choose wisely, it doesn’t have to absorb a lot of time.”
Trying new things with teaching lessons and being creative is helpful, and I think others appreciate the effort.
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