The Author
Rev. Anita E. Keire is a retired ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, an educator, public speaker, and a discussion-group and workshop leader. She holds both a B.S. and M.S. in Education in English and a Master of Divinity from Yale University’s Divinity School. Before entering ordained ministry, she was an English teacher and a Director of Christian Education. She is the author of A Parent’s Guide to Prayer; the ten levels of non-denominational Mustard Seed Series Christian Faith Formation Sunday school curriculum for churches, individuals, homes, and religious schools; Resurrection Dialogues with Skeptics and Believers; Walking on Water: Skeptics and Believers Discuss Whether Jesus Matters; Mustard Seed Thoughts: Fresh Faith and New Life – Book 1-Key to Life; and just released Book 2-Today’s Reality and Challenges.
Curriculum Development Associates, Inc.
Curriculum Development Associates (CDA) was founded in 1991 with the mission to provide churches with teacher friendly, educationally and spiritually sound non-denominational Sunday School curriculum rooted in scripture. In 2004, the Rev. Anita Keire, President of CDA and author of all its books and material, turned over to LeaderResources the publishing and marketing of the Mustard Seed Series Christian Faith Formation to churches in North America. As of July 2017, CDA is once again the sole publisher and distributor of the Mustard Seed Series Christian Faith Formation digitally and in print copies. This Series is now available to churches and religious schools as well as to busy families, home schoolers, the non-affiliated, seekers, and believers. The Pre-Confirmation 1 and 2 and Confirmation programs are written for middle schoolers, youth, and adults of all ages.
Key reasons and elements for using the Mustard Seed Series Christian Faith Formation:
- Material for ten grade levels starting with Kindergarten.
- 32+ lessons a year, and contains over 340 biblical texts.
- An in-depth, critical thinking approach for discerning the meaning of biblical texts.
- Coherent and chronological order that enables students to understand biblical events and characters’ place in time.
- Age-appropriate biblical texts nurture students’ growing awareness of God.
- Grade-level material remains constant and in place from year to year which frees instructional uncertainty.
- Cost effective purchasing for individual Teacher and Student Books.
- Learn anywhere at any time.
The Mustard Seed Series Christian Faith Formation is a non-denominational in-depth program. It follows the church year. Its design is like a ladder in which each rung is a necessary, important step leading to the next level. The MSS opens the minds and spirits of students and teachers to the richness, variety, and purpose of God’s word and action among us. Lessons encourage, motivate, and challenge everyone to learn more about our Christian faith story and how to link it to their everyday life and spiritual growth.
