The Shadnagar Training and Resource Centre (near Hyderabad) was an apt venue for the training programme of Sunday School Teachers. Ample space and resources to accommodate and cater to 35 participants and 6 faculty who attended the programme in two batches made it an ideal location. The last week of December was identified as suitable dates, since most working participants could take off from work during the Christmas vacation season.
Two Batches for Two Languages and Regions
The first batch of Sunday school teacher trainers arrived from the Telugu speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. There were 20 participants and the seminar was ably assisted by the Apostles Prabhakar Beergi and Devadas Basappa. The second batch of 13 participants were from the Marathi (and Hindi) speaking areas of Maharashtra. Apostle Shastri and Priest Nitin Raje helped in conducting the programme. The training programme was attended not only by Sunday school teachers, but also by Deacons and those holding a priestly ministry.
A Training Programme for Trainers
The main thrust of the programme which was repeatedly communicated to the participants, was that they would take the knowledge of this training into their areas and train the local teachers.
The agenda of the training programme included topics such as “Objectives of Sunday School”, “Learning Styles”, “Lesson Plan”, an introduction to the use of the nac-ctm.org website of the Church, and how to teach the Confirmation manual.
Participants enjoyed interactive sessions of role plays, preparation of lesson plans and means to energize the Sunday school lessons with short videos, action songs and activities sourced from the internet.
Implementation
The Apostles in charge of the respective areas have planned how they would carry this forward in their areas. The enthusiastic response of the participants promises that this programme will spark off many lively and active Sunday schools in our country.