Tag: order

Where Hope Grows

  1. Why do you think the film is titled Where Hope Grows? What changes do you see in Calvin, Milt, Colt, Katie and the other characters throughout the film? Discuss how you see the growth of hope throughout the story. Who or what is the source of hope?
  2. How does Calvin’s relationship with Produce help him make changes in his life? In his relationship with his daughter, Katie?
  3. How can we work together to create an inclusive community for people with disabilities?
  4. Where can the conversation go from here? How will you be accountable to yourself, your family and friends, your school, and your community?
  5. Have you ever witnessed someone showing disrespect to a person with a disability? How did you respond? How would you respond after watching the film?
  6. Why do one-to-one friendships matter?
  7. Why do you think Calvin initially befriends Produce? What are his motives—good and bad—that prompt him to spend more time with Produce?
  8. Describe Katie and Colt’s relationship. Why do you think Colt continues to spend time with Katie? Why do you think Katie keeps hanging out with Colt?
  9. Calvin finally chooses to give up alcohol and attend his first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. What situation prompts him to repent? Why does it seem to take “hitting bottom” for people to choose to turn their lives around?
  10. At the hospital, Katie and Calvin pray for Produce and Milt. Katie asks Calvin, “What good is it to pray if you don’t get what you ask for?” How does Calvin answer her question, and would you be satisfied with his answer? How would you answer the question? What do you think is the purpose of prayer?
  11. At a funeral service, the pastor says to “make your dash count,” to live your life to the fullest. Who is someone you know who is making their dash count? How can you tell? What are key elements needed to live a full life? What are the dangers or costs of not “making your dash count?” Who makes their dash count in the film?
  12. Who or what “saves” Calvin? What relationships bring about his transformation, and what realizations does he make in order to grow?
  13. What do you think will happen with each of the characters beyond the end of the movie? Imagine and describe a future for Calvin, Katie, Produce, Amy, and Colt—what will the next year hold for them?
  14. Which character did you relate with the most—Produce, Calvin, Katie, or another character? Why do you think you felt a connection with that character? Which character did you dislike the most? What bothered you about them?
  15. Who are some people with special needs in your life? What have you learned about life and about yourself from knowing this person?
  16. Calvin and Katie have a strained relationship at the beginning of the movie. What are some of the sources of their tension or the obstacles that prevent them from a healthier relationship? Describe how Calvin might be frustrated with Katie, then describe how Katie might be frustrated with Calvin.
  17. In a key scene, an embarrassed Katie must pick up a drunken Calvin from the police station. She tells him “I’ve given up on you.” What would you want to say to Calvin in this moment? What would you say to Katie?
  18. Produce was a voice of hope for Calvin. We are all looking for some reason to have hope, to have a reason to keep going, to see that we have a sense of purpose and destiny, a reason to see what our future holds. How can you be a voice of hope in our world?
  19. Romans 5:3-5
  20. 1Corinthians 12:14-20, 27
  21. Are there people with special needs in your life? What have you learned about life and about yourself from knowing this person? How does your school welcome and serve people with special needs? Your friends? Your neighbourhood? Your community? This question presents an excellent opportunity to talk about inclusion with your students. In particular, you may want to raise the concept of social inclusion and what it means to ensure all members of a school or community are meaningfully engaged as part of the group, form positive, mutually beneficial relationships, and are viewed as equal, contributing members of the group. Some additional questions to ponder with your students might include: What does it feel like to be excluded? What are some ways we unintentionally exclude certain people or make them feel unwelcome? What steps can we take to make sure we create an inclusive community?https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-cA3t1HW1Ow
  22. Luke 14:15-24 If Jesus pushed the disciples to go out and invite people with disabilities to the table, what would it look like for us to do the same?
  23. Mark 12:41-43
  24. According to the World Health Organization (2011), more than one billion people around the world have a disability(1 in 7). 20 percent of the teen population has a disability. 70 million people in the world need wheelchairs and only 5-15% have them.
    http://www.who.int/disabilities/infographic/en/
    http://www.who.int/features/qa/67/en/
    http://www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/chapter1.pdf
    https://www.younglife.org/en/Pages/default.aspx

Be Obedient

Theme 1: Why should I obey my parents or anyone else in my family?

Outcomes
Students will

  • explain and interpret the fourth commandment as it applies to families
  • express the value of obedience and name the challenge of and limits to the Christian call to obedience
  • identify duties, roles and responsibilities that are shared within Christian families
  • explain how family life is the original cell of social life

Key Concepts

  • A Christian family is a communion of faith, hope and charity. It is the domestic Church.
  • The fourth commandment calls us to live in charity, starting with honour and respect for our parents, and for all whom God, for our good, has vested with authority.
  • Jesus himself recognized the authority vested in his parents, and was obedient to them (see Luke 2.51).
  • “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right…” (Ephesians 6.1; Colossians 3.20).
  • Family life is the original cell of social life.

Theme 2: Whom should I obey in society?

Outcomes
Students will

  • recognize legitimate authority within various sectors of society: school, civic community, Church
  • explain what makes authority legitimate (i.e., the common good)
  • identify, explain and affirm the duties they have as subjects of legitimate authority

Key Concepts

  • Human society requires that some of its people be vested with legitimate authority to work and care for the good of all.
  • The authority required by the moral order derives from God.
  • The duty of obedience requires all to give due honour and respect to legitimate authority.
  • The fourth commandment calls us to hon- our not only our par- ents, but also those who for our good have received authority in society from God.
  • The dignity of the human person requires the pursuit of the common good. Everyone should be concerned to create and support institu- tions that improve the conditions of human life.
  • Christ himself is the source of authority within the Church.

Wisdom

“If you have faith the size of a mustard seed … nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

  1. Who or what is a source of Wisdom in my life and why?
  2. What could I, with the help of God, transform in my life?
  3. How do I turn to God for help?
  4. What area in my life do I see great potential?

“We need the discipline of the scales, in order to improvise.” – Timothy Radcliffe

Jewish History: Part 3

The history of the Jews goes back thousands of years. Below are some important evens in that history between 1000 and 1900. Use your knowledge of Judaism and the history of the region to determine their correct order. Number them 1-8, with 1 as the earliest event.

a. Jews from Eastern Europe begin to emigrate to Israel, then called Palestine.
b. One hundred thousand Jews are massacred in Poland.
c. The Crusades, intended to free the Holy Land from Muslim rule, begin; they result in the deaths of many Jews.
d. A series of massacres of Jews, called pogroms, begins in Russia.
e. Much of Europe blames the Black Plague on Jews; hundreds of Jewish communities destroyed.
f. French Jews are granted full citizenship for the first time since the Roman Empire.
g. Russia requires thirty-one years of military service for Jews, beginning at age twelve.
h. Jews of Vienna are forced to move into a ghetto called Leoplodstadt.

The Maccabean Revolt

Around 333 B.C.E., Alexander the Great conquered Israel. However, the Jews were allowed to continue practicing their own religion.

This ended in 175 B.C.E. when Antiochus IV became king. Antiochus wanted to make Jerusalem a Greek city. He banned Jewish Sabbath observance and scripture study. He built an altar to Zeus in the temple and forced Jews to make sacrifices to Greek gods.

Many Jews accepted the Greek religion in order to maintain peace. But some didn’t. Finally, in 167 B.C.E., a revolt broke out. It was led by Judah Maccabee, son of a priest. Most of the Jewish fighters were farmers, not soldiers. Still, they managed to defeat the Greek army and liberate Jerusalem in 165 B.C.E.

Judah and his followers reconsecrated the temple. The final step was lighting the lamp in the temple. A special oil was used for this lamp; it took several days to prepare properly. When they went to light the lamp they found only enough oil for one day. Still, they filled the lamp and lit it. Amazingly, the lamp continued to burn. It burned for eight days – long enough for more oil to be prepared.

This even is still celebrated today in a celebration sometimes know as the Festival of Lights. What is the proper name of this festival?