Muskegon Christian School, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, is a pre-K through 8th grade school serving the greater Muskegon area. Last year it was the recipient of a worship renewal grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, (funded by the Lilly Foundation) to teach kids about Vertical Habits. (For more on Vertical Habits, see RW 84.) We asked Tara Macias, who developed the curriculum used by the school, to tell us about the project.
Reformed Worship: Most people don’t think of school and worship in the same breath. What inspired you to write a curriculum focusing on worship habits for kids?
Tara Macias: Our project was inspired by three basic needs at the school:
- We wanted to make our worship service/chapel time more relevant and meaningful for students. We wondered how to help students engage in true worship during these times.
- We wanted to help students of all worship backgrounds appreciate their own style of worship and, at the same time, encourage respect of different styles and spur understanding of what is similar to those who worship in different ways.
- Finally, we wanted to create solid partnerships with churches very near the school (and not necessarily the traditional supporting churches).
RW: So how did you do all that?
TM: We didn’t just focus on worship services, but sought to bring “a life of worship” into every aspect of school life—art, music, physical education, math, and science. First I wrote a teacher handbook that consisted of themes for each month (each Vertical Habit: “I’m sorry, Lord,” “Thank you, Lord,” “I’m listening, Lord,” “Help, Lord,” “Why, Lord?”); ideas for a Bible character for each habit; crafts, movement (dance and sign language), songs, Bible verses, and stories; forty devotionals centering on the habits (four for each habit and some intro and some conclusion); a praise service schedule; and resources from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.
I presented the grant and facilitated planning and brainstorming at a professional development day for teachers in August 2006. Teachers used the materials and ideas they generated, plus what I developed during the summer, to integrate worship through the Vertical Habits into their everyday classroom experiences. Our teachers were incredibly creative!
We also partnered with Angel Community Church in a choir exchange: our students tutored theirs for 45 minutes, they had a fellowship time, and then the church choir director, Kenneth Jackson, led a combined choir.
Our focus on Vertical Habits included special worship services and speakers. We used some of the grant funds to purchase copies of the songbook Sing! A New Creation to use in worship services, along with Sing with Me for classroom use (both are available at www.faithaliveresources.org). We also purchased puppets to use in our worship services and for other worship opportunities.
Finally, our Vertical Habits theme was visually evident. In the hallways we posted signs painted by our art teacher on Plexiglass showing each habit in different languages. Our Muskegon Christian School sign out front had a message each month dealing with that month’s habit.
RW: How was the Vertical Habits training received by kids and teachers?
TM: Very positively. Every project depends on the enthusiasm of staff, and our staff did a great job. Each teacher did a fabulous job of adapting the materials provided in the handbook to each grade level. The possibilities were endless! In fact, they’ve asked us to continue the ideas this year, so I’m writing monthly notes called “Vertical Challenges” to remind them of some core values and inspire them to keep going!
The students enjoyed the worship times (“Not so boring!”) and learning about how habits like lamentation (“Why, Lord?”) are a form of worship. During this habit, one of our students, who has cystic fibrosis, wrote: “Why am I sick, Lord?” We have lots of testimonials, poems, and projects that show the students took the habits to heart.
RW: What effect did going through the curriculum have on Muskegon Christian? Have you seen lasting changes?
TM: I believe there has been a fundamental spiritual change at Muskegon Christian. When we think about raising up lifelong worshipers in school life, home life, the community, and the workplace, we can see that our worship life affects ourselves, our families, and our world. This is the redeeming element of Christianity—the ultimate purpose in our lives as Christians.
When students understand this, they have an unmatched spiritual passion. Students also learned to respect worship differences while understanding that ultimately we are unified in our worship of God.