Sunday School
History
St. Mark
Lutheran Church has a rich history when it comes to Christian education. In the early days of our congregation, beginning back in
the late 1800’s, St. Mark had its own Christian day school. This day school served our congregation and community up until the 1930’s.
However, when the day school closed during the difficulties of the Great Depression, St. Mark did not abandon its concern for a Christian
education program, the church simply looked for another way to continue teaching the children of our congregation the stories of the
Bible. In the book History of St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Congregation at Symco, Waupaca County, Wisconsin edited by Don Hanson,
Chairman of the 110 Anniversary Committee we are given a glimpse of the how of St. Mark’s Sunday School Program began.
After closing
the Christian Day School in 1933 it became necessary for the congregation to provide a Sunday School. Mary Ann Herman had taught Sunday
School before her marriage and she knew how to conduct a Sunday School Program. She worked with Rev. Kitzmann’s wife to organize our
first Sunday School. About sixty pupils were in attendance the first year. Mrs. Kitzmann and Bessie Heideman taught the lower graders
in the school house. Mary Ann had the upper graders, often more than twenty students, seated on the long benches in the church balcony.
All students were required to bring a one cent contribution each week. It was the responsibility of the teacher to collect and record
the offerings. The Sunday School grew rapidly. Before long more teachers were added so that each grade had a separate teacher. Today
our Sunday School Program serves the children of our congregation from nursery through eighth grade. With a dedicated superintendent,
staff, and teachers, and a supportive board of education and council St. Mark provides a wonderful Sunday School Program. Overview St.Mark’s
Sunday School Program begins each year with a Rally Day on thefirst Sunday after Labor Day. The time for Sunday School is 9:00 - 10:00.
The day begins with a group opening that includes devotion, prayer, singing, and special announcements. The upper grades 3 - 8 meet
in the church sanctuary (upstairs) and the lower grades, nursery - grade 2, meet in the church fellowship hall (downstairs). After
the opening the children are dismissed to there respective classes. Besides Sunday School class, the children are also expected to
participate when their group sings for church. There is also a Sunday School Christmas Program that will take place in December during
one of our regular Sunday morning worship service the Sunday before Christmas. Rally Day Rally Day is the kick off day of the Sunday
School Program. During the Sunday Morning worship service the members of the third grade class receive their Bibles. Also the teachers,
staff and helpers are all installed and recognized by the congregation. Materials The materials being used for the Sunday School Program
are ones approved by the pastor and the board of education. With these materials there will always be something sent home with the
children. It is important that parents take time to look through what is being sent home and discuss them with their children the
topic and the lesson. Offering All the children receive special offering envelopes to be used with the collection that is taken during
the Sunday School opening. The money from this collection is used for various things throughout the year including mission efforts
that go beyond our own congregation. The practice of giving provides good training for the children to learn the blessing of giving
to God as he has given to us. As your child gets older and is given an allowance or is paid for doing a certain task or works outside
the home, the act of giving an offering from such earnings can teach a child to be a good steward of God’s blessings. Singing in Church As
it was mentioned in the overview, the Sunday School Classes sing in church from time to time. Generally either the upper grades or
the lower grades sing on a given Sunday. Usually that is the second Sunday of the month. The reason for doing this is to allow the
children to offer the gift of music to our God in a worship setting and to teach our children that the worship service is not just
for adults, but for them as well. Christmas Program For many adults one of their greatest memories of Sunday School was the yearly
Christmas program. Here at St. Mark we have had many memorable Christmas programs. However to make memorable programs takes work.
The Sunday School Superintendent, the Teachers, and the Pastor begin working on the program in late fall and the materials are handed
out before Thanksgiving. Rehearsals are held on Saturday mornings beginning on the first Saturday in December. The program itself is
held during the regular worship service the Sunday before Christmas Specific information for this year’s program will come out as we
get closer to that date.
Attendance Awards
While the knowledge of God gained from attending Sunday School and the faith that grows while being in class every time is an award unto itself, we here at St. Mark also like to recognize and award those who make the effort to be here regularly. Those who do not miss a class or who miss only one or two classes the entire year are recognized and awarded before the entire congregation.
Birthdays
Birthdays are special days. On the Sunday before a child’s birthday the student is called up during opening and they bring up an offering of their choice to be placed in the Birthday Bank. Then all join together in the birthday prayer.
Worship
As wonderful as our Sunday School Program is, it is not meant to stand alone. Christian education goes along with worship. While it may be difficult to attend worship services when there are younger children in the family, it is still an important part of our life of faith. Here at St. Mark we encourage the whole family to be in attendance at the worship service. As our children see us worshiping, they too will learn how to worship God. In order to help the children feel more a part of the worship service we do make special children’ bulletins available. These bulletins have pictures and puzzles that relate to the theme for the day. We also include a children’s message during the worship service. With these messages, children are encouraged to join the pastor at the front of the church for a short object lesson.
Devotions
Not only is Sunday School and Worship important for a child to grow in faith, but so are home devotions. There are a number of resources available in our church library. We also encourage families to order copies of My Devotions. This is a daily devotion booklet written for children. For the older children as well as for all adults, the congregation provides Portals of Prayer free of charge. There is also, from time to time special devotion booklets made available. For other ideas contact the church office.
Prayers, Pledges and Hymns
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