Dear friends in Christ,
 
I write to you with exciting news of a forthcoming gift to your congregation! Mindful of the challenges of providing faith formation opportunities during these times of remote gathering, we want to offer your congregation a 4-week mini-series opportunity celebrating the season of Eastertide. Through some special gifts to the Conference we are able to provide this sample series as a gift.
Are you aware that we have an amazing Faith Formation Curriculum produced right here in the Wisconsin Conference? The Rev. Stacy Myers, from First Congregational United Church of Christ in River Falls, is the author of a book soon-to-be published by Pilgrim Press. Picture the Bible is a set of original collages from commissioned artists depicting 52 individual Bible stories. The images and corresponding education resources offer a creative approach to Bible study that fosters biblical literacy and interpretation, and encourages people to see connections between their lives and the biblical story. Picture the Bible adapts to a wide variety of congregational and educational settings, and can be used in both virtual and in-person gatherings. 
 
In the next few weeks, every congregation in the Conference will receive a mailed package containing this 4-week Picture the Bible curriculum. Packets include:
  • Four art reproductions of biblical stories (printed two-sided)
  • Four age levels of resource pages for each of the four biblical texts – Jesus Blesses the Children, The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Feeds 5,000 People and Let Justice Roll.
  • A 4-page information and ideas guide to using Picture the Bible
  • A “Little Book” with four stories and activities
The packet includes examples of all pages in the 4-week curriculum. The 4-page informational guide in the packet provides information for free access to electronic files which you can download and print as needed. Or, if you prefer, you can order hard copies to be mailed to you for a nominal fee.
 
A Zoom session on how to use the Picture the Bible resources will be offered by Rev. Stacy Johnson Myers on March 23 at 11:00 a.m. To join, request a Zoom link from Lisa Hart at [email protected]. This session will also be recorded for future viewing.
 
We are inspired to send this gift to you, aware of the immense challenges you have faced during the year of the pandemic, yet hopeful for the ways this mini-series might help in your ongoing faith community building. We also know that many will be eager to line up faith formation curriculum for the fall, as we anticipate a return to in-person gatherings! I want to encourage you to consider using Picture the Bible as a resource for fostering biblical literacy and cultivating spiritual values in your people of every generation!
 
Faithfully yours,
 
Franz