FrontPage

Page history last edited by Christina Repoley 4 months, 1 week ago

Welcome to Vespers! This curriculum is an open resource and available to anyone or any group. It has been designed, in this first stage of development, for informal groups of peers who want to have focused conversations about faith and service, for faith communities who want to support young adults engaged in service and the practice of their faith, and for faith-based national organizations who sponsor or support year-of-service programs.

Vespers was developed around the tenets and practices of several programs that support full-time young adult volunteers to serve, learn and grow. Most of these programs have, as part of their mission, four basic tenets that are along the lines of Personal Development, Spiritual Practice, Simple Living and Community Life, and Social Justice.

The authors of Vespers have assembled this curriculum in such a way that it offers a complete journey throughout the year, with a beginning, middle and end. While the goal was to create a complete package, it was done with the understanding that individuals and groups would access Vespers in different ways. Some might walk through it from beginning to end while others may pick and choose what they like and add in their own flavor as they move forward. Both approaches, and everything in-between, is encouraged and applauded.

In its most complete form, participants are encouraged to gather weekly for up to two hours throughout the year. Every month has a theme particularly related to many of the issues encountered in a year of service. Over the course of a month each of the four "pillars" -- Volunteer Personal Development, Spiritual Practice, Community and Simple Living and Social Justice -- is presented as the central focus for a weekly conversation.

Blocks and Themes

Each month, or curriculum block, has a theme that is reinforced over the four weeks of that month. Within each block, there are four suggested lesson plans that build on the theme for that block, engaging the four "pillars" of this curriculum: volunteer personal developmental experience (self), spiritual practice (self and God/Spirit), community life and simple living (self and others/community), and social justice (self and nation/world).

The themes are drawn from the volunteer's service work, church year and faith traditions, issues and challenges likely to be faced through service and in the community, and broader strategies for effectively working to build a more equitable and just world.

Pillars

Click on the links below to find the working pages for each pillar of the curriculum.