Engaging Faith

Use this exercise to open or close a class period. Its purpose is to help the students get to know each other better. You will need cards Ace through 8 from a deck of cards. Choose any eight of the following sentence starters and print them on the board: Someday I hope to . . . It upsets me when . . . I admire people who . . . It is important to me that . . . I wish I could change . . . Sometimes I wonder why . . . I am convinced . . . I hope I never . . . I am trying to improve my character by . . . People would like me better if . . . I am afraid that . . . I get discouraged when . . . When I don’t get my way I . . . I would like to tell _________ that . . . I’m sorry about l . . . I am happiest when . . . I complain a lot about . . . The last time I cried was . . . I have definitely decided to . . . When I hurt someone, I . . . I’m proud of _____________ because . . . When people tease me, I . . . Tell the students to spend a few minutes deciding what they might say if they were called on to finish each of the sentences on the board. Tell them to think of endings that tell something truthful about their values. If they wish, they can work with a partner to think up their answers. After a few minutes, show them the cards in your hand. Pick an outgoing student to draw a card. The number chosen will be the sentence he or she must finish aloud in front of the class. Before that student shares, choose another student to draw a card. The second person will then have a minute or two to think up his or her response before having to share. Continue the same process for as long as time allows.

St. Augustine of Hippo’s Feast Day is on August 27. Conduct a lesson on one of Augustine’s most famous works, The City of God, which he wrote in the wake of the Visigoth sack of Rome in 410. The City of God takes a sweeping view of human history. It divides history into a massive struggle between the sinful inhabitants of the City of Man, exemplified by the dying Roman Empire, and the pilgrims or believers in God who live in the City of God. Citizenship in these cities depends on one’s love. Augustine points out, however, that the Church is not automatically the City of God. Because the Church includes sinners, it must always cooperate with God’s grace and work diligently to be a sign of God’s active love in the world. Use one or more of these exercises to increase the students’ familiarity with this influential but difficult text. View and discuss the online video overview of St. Augustine’s City of God. (You can sign up for a free trial or purchase a membership to this website.) This video outlines three purposes that St. Augustine had in writing The City of God: 1) to refute those who blamed Christians for the fall of Rome; 2) to show how peace is possible on earth; and 3) to emphasize the reality of hell. Have the students research the influence of this text--how it was received by different groups at the time and how theologians regard it today. Read a chapter of the book with your students, pausing to discuss and process the text. You might find it helpful to read the text while concurrently listing to and audiobook version. Search YouTube for several free options.