Teaching is accomplished through stories, puppets, drama and video. Participants sit at family tables, each table bearing the name of a saint. Families consist of parents and children as well as singles, young and old. Each table group designs a poster and discusses the day's theme. Mount Olive is a pilot church for intergenerational learning projects.
Visitors attend to learn how to set up similar activities in their congregations.
The program has rapidly increased in popularity since its inception a year and a half ago. Participants are exuberant. The only drawback is that the events take a lot of preparation time, but it's definitely worth it, G lass says. The program gives Sunday school teachers a break in their routine, alleviates burnout and attracts more teachers because they know they will have a break. The only kind of religious education that lasts is that which is reinforced by the family.