SUNDAY
SCHOOL 
PURPOSE
The purpose of our Sunday School is to:
* Interest and inspire children to seek and to love God above all else.
* Teach them that security and inward peace can be found only when one knows God, and never in the things of this world.
*
Teach them at an early age how to live happy balanced lives, how to
bring God into their daily lives, and to develop a personal relationship
with Him through the practice of regular meditation.
CLASS FORMAT
The class format includes:
* pre-class
activity
* prayer
* energization exercises
* chanting
* meditation
* class lesson
* closing prayer
Children, from the ages of 3-18, who are familiar with the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda and socially are able to participate in group activities, are welcome to attend. Class is held during the Sunday Readings Service from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Our primary Sunday School provides education on the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda for children ages 3-10 and our Youth Group is for ages 11 and up. The Sunday School and Youth Group activities are available from September through May each year. The Youth Group provides an opportunity to establish bonds of divine friendship and service with other young adults who have the same spiritual ideals. Sunday School and Youth Group children present a Christmas program each year. They also sponsor a project to help underprivileged children in the Twin Cities feel the joy of Christmas.
PHOTO GALLERY
*We have our own altar
in Sunday school where we pray and meditate.
*Here is a small display with pictures
of Paramahansa Yogananda's siblings.
*A spiritual
family tree with pictures of all the Sunday school students.
Sunday School Activities
*We learn how to meditate in Sunday school.
*We learn how to sit properly when we meditate. We're not all at the same level yet.
*We don't meditate very long, but sometimes it seems like it.
*Ahhhh....... silence.... peace.
*Yum, yum...time for treats. Always a favorite.
*Cupcakes are my personal favorite treat.
* Frosting! Now we're talking about some good stuff!
*Lets put some sprinkles on it.
*A happy Sunday School student picking out a book to read.
*Christmas is a wonderful time of the year.
*We like to prepare for Christmas by doing arts and crafts.
*Crafts are a favorite activity at any time of the year.
*One Sunday a month we play games, cards, ping pong, or learn Hatha Yoga.
*Would ya look at these hats! Mama mia!
*What are they making anyway?
*Let's make a gingerbread house. Putting on the final touches. Many hands make light work.
*A smile is a wonderful gift from God!
*At Christmas time the Sunday school children, teens (and some adults) sometimes give a musical performance. At other times we put on a skit, complete with costumes. A good time is had by all.
SRF Summer "How-To-Live" Youth Camps
Self-Realization Fellowship holds Girls’ and Boys’ “How-To-Live” Youth Programs each summer at Camp Arbolado in the San Bernadino mountains of California. Children ages 10-16 from our group are invited to participate in these camps which include a balanced schedule of meditation, classes, activities, crafts, and sports in a wonderful mountain setting. If you have any questions about the sending your children to the SRF Youth Camps, feel free to contact us through our Contact Us web page.
A number of children from
the Minneapolis Meditation Group have attended the How-To-Live Youth
Camps the past several summers. Following are some pictures from their
experiences in 2002 and 2003.
*Girls group picture from the 2002 camp. Can you find the girls from the Minneapolis Group?
*Boys group picture from the 2002 camp. Can you find the boys from the Minneapolis Group?
*Here several "campers" from our group, and a parent chaperone, are about to board the airplane for California. There were many adult chaperones and teachers that helped out at the camps.
*Br. Dominic was one of the instructors at the Boys 2002 camp. Before entering the ashram he was a member of the Minneapolis Meditation Group.
*It was great living in a cabin up in the mountains. Here some of us are gathered outside our cabin.
*Canoeing was one of the many fun activities at both the boys and girls camps. Of course, swimming is always a favorite as well as climbing trees.
*We also liked to climb ropes and had to watch out so that we didn't fall! We were always safe though. It's a lesson in trust because someone on the ground is helping to hold you up. Here's how the you get the straps around your body that hold you up in the air.
*Doing a skit was a lot of fun at the camps because you could wear funky costumes.
*All in all, we had a wonderful time. I guess you could say we were "happy campers." Even without all of the great activities it was fun just to hang out together with other devotees of God!
*Swimming in the large pool is great! Really refreshing.
*Wow!! Look at that view from the mountains when we were hiking! It was a little tiring, but we had fun just the same.
*What do you think we're making in this craft session? Are they beginning to look like baskets here? It was fun!
*Here we're testing our rock climbing skills on a wall.
We have established a fund to assist families who are not financially able to send their children to the SRF summer youth camps. If you would like to contribute to this fund please put a note in the memo section of your donation check saying “Youth Fund.” Thank you for helping out the children! If you would like to apply for financial assistance from this fund to send your child to an SRF Youth Camp, please contact us through information on our Contact Us web page.
Sunday School Christmas Giving Project
For the past
several years our Sunday School has organized a Christmas giving project
through the Catholic Charities Foundation to help children from underprivileged
families feel the joy of the Christmas season. The project is based
on a similar very successful project conducted by the Lake Shrine Temple
congregation. Here’s how the project works: The Catholic Charities Foundation
selects a group of about 25 children to participate in our project.
A “Gift Tree” was placed in our foyer and decorated with ornaments and
tags, hand made by our Sunday School children, with the name and gift
"wish" list for each of the children. Members of the Minneapolis
Meditation Group then selected a card from the tree and purchased one
of the gifts off a wish list and brought the gift back. The teen group
and Sunday school then delivered them to The Catholic Charities Foundation
for distribution prior to Christmas. Following are some pictures from
the 2002 project.
*Here the Sunday School children are making Christmas cards. We made many, many cards! We even put candy cane in some of the cards.
*It takes a lot of concentration hard work to make the cards.
*Here's the Christmas "Gift Tree" in our foyer. You can see the hand-made ornaments and tags containing the "wish" list for each child.
*Here the Sunday School teens are registering group members as they sign up for helping out a child in need.
*Some of the Christmas presents were wrapped by the Sunday School children.
*Then the presents were placed under the Christmas tree.
*After all the presents were purchased and wrapped by the group the Sunday School took them over to the Catholic Charities Foundation. Here we are distributing presents to the children.
*Here are a couple of wide-eyed, happy kids seem anxious to get their gifts from the Minneapolis Meditation Group "Santa's."
*"These presents are mine!"
*"I can barely see over my present it's so large."
*"Oh my, I can hardly wait to open it!"
*Three of "Santa's Helpers" and the of their recipients.
*It sure is heart warming and gratifying to help other people.
*It's a wonderful experience to help others at Christmas or any time of the year!
Sunday School Instructors
Many adult volunteers make our Sunday School a tremendous success each year. Here are pictures of just a few of them that we recently caught on film. Thank you all so much!!
