“Faith formation encompasses the ministries and activities offered by the church that help people grow in faith and in their understanding of and love for God.”
— Five Practices of a Fruitful Congregation by Robert Schnase
The Episcopal Church believes that faith formation is a lifelong learning process that is dynamic, inclusive and unceasing. Individually and communally we are transformed through our spiritual practices: the study of scripture and other wisdom teachings; the experience of liturgy and music; through participation in both formal and casual learning events; through community engagement and social justice work; and as guardians of God’s creation.
The Diocese of Olympia’s Faith Formation team helps individuals and communities grow in faith through:
♦ Children & Families Ministries
Hiring Faith Formation Staff
If you’re in the process of hiring someone for a faith formation position at your church, take a look at these recommendations and guidelines from a Diocesan Faith Formation Staffing Survey.
Quick Links to Our Favorite Faith Formation Websites:
Building Faith: Articles from ministry leaders about faith and formation. A wide array of topics written by women and men, lay and clergy including: equipping you for ministry, providing seasonal ideas for all ages, and curating resources for faith formation.
Faith & Leadership: A starting point for engaging deep issues, Leadership & Education at Duke Divinity offers programs, grants, and other materials to dig deeper into your faith.
FORMA | A Ministry of Lifelong Learning: The network for Christian formation for the Episcopal Church, Forma supports ministry leaders in their pursuit of vocational excellence (the Forma annual conference is a highlight). Find great ideas and post your own questions to their dynamic Facebook page.
Godly Play Resources: Products for Christian education and spiritual direction for children, including felt and wooden sets to illustrate various Bible stories with the Godly Play curriculum.
Godspace: A site that hosts prayer, social, and service events. Interested in joining a small group or attending an event? Check out this site to learn more!
Lifelong Learning at Virginia Theological Seminary: Lifelong Learning provides theological education for the committed and the curious, lay and clergy eager to claim and explore their Christian vocations in today’s world.
Picture Book Theology: Dives into 365 days of picture books for all ages that connect to scripture, plus workshop presentations and lessons based on the website author’s favorite picture books. Many books about peace, inclusion, justice, and civil rights, just to name a few topics!
Storypath: Connects children’s literature with faith stories, including book reviews for different age groups, lectionary links, and ideas for ministry.
The Episcopal Church: Resources abound for everything from glossary of Episcopal terms to sermons and bible studies of the week. The homepage currently showcases a video where Presiding Bishop Michael Curry introduces five bishops whose dioceses are actively engaged in immigrant welcome.
Treasure Box Tuesday: A weekly email of all the best resources for Children/Family Ministries. There are links to interesting articles, products, books, conferences and all sorts of great goodies.
Do you have a favorite web-resource that you would like to recommend? E-mail us: faithformation@ecww.org
