Standing
Committee on Education Children's
Religious Education Programs
Dear Expediters,
Hopefully your First-day program is off to a good start. I am pleased to let you know that in February the Yearly Meeting Packet on the theme of Integrity will arrive at your meeting. The idea was inspired by a Young Friend who talked about how hard it is to live her faith day by day, especially at school. The CYPYM committee is now hard at work preparing the packet to provide some concrete ideas for teens and younger Friends. We hope you will use the four-chapter curriculum sometime before July 17, 2000, to prepare children and young people for Residential Yearly Meeting.
If you are wondering what happened to your banners, we kept them at Arch Street Meeting House after the March Sessions because tourists coming through the historic building really enjoy them. However, we now need to take them down, so the banners will be available for pick up on November 30 at Interim Meeting. Again, thanks for your hard work and effort in creating such wonderful banners!
Marty Smith, editor
martys@pym.org
You Can Do It! Day
The Religious Education Concerns Group is pleased to announce that they will be sponsoring a You Can Do It! Day at West Chester Meeting on January 13, 2001. Please put that date on your calendar and encourage RE teachers and committee members to attend several spirit-inspired and skill-based workshops for First-day teachers, RE Committees, youth leaders, adult RE teachers, and clerks of meetings and committees. Details of workshops and registration materials will be sent with the December RE Newsletter or call Marty at 215-241-7008 or 1-800-220-0796, #7008. E-mail address: martys@pym.org.
A Visit to Newtown Meeting
In October, I was quite inspired by a visit to the First-day classes and Meeting for Worship at Newtown Meeting. The Newtown First-day teachers were using the "God Is....." curriculum which the CYPYM Group created a year ago. They have classes for nursery age, Kg-3rd, 4th-6th, and 7th-12th. All were fully engaged in the lessons and activities taught by inspired teachers. I heard a teacher of teens at one point say, "I am ready to move on to the next topic; are you?" Seemed good to me that he was checking in to see where his class was, before proceeding.
One Newtown teacher told of an activity in their primary class which was a spin-off of the lesson in the "God Is....." curriculum, which uses Chuck Fager's book: "Why God Is Like a Wet Bar of Soap." The teachers filled a tub with water and dropped in bars of soap. First they had the children try to grab hold of the soap tightly. The tighter they held, the more the bars slipped away. (This was a bit messy, but as you can imagine, the children loved it). They then asked the children to grasp the soap gently, if they could catch it, just enough to hold it in their hand. The point the teachers were trying to make, and one the children seemed to have gotten, is that the closer one gets to know what God is, the more awesome He becomes and the harder one must try to understand God.
It was a joy to be with the dedicated teachers at Newtown Meeting and to see the RE Committee's good organization and commitment to the future of their meeting.
PYM Youth Mediation Position Opens Up Again
PYM is currently seeking a person who can teach conflict resolution and mediation skills to elementary and high school age youth, school staff, and parents in public schools, Friends schools, and monthly meetings. The successful applicant will also support the work of the Non-Violence and Children Working Group, in some instances jointly developing trainings. Applicants must have a college degree and at least two years of experience and credentials in mediation and conflict resolution. Membership in the Society of Friends is strongly preferred. Cover letter and resume are due to Joan Broadfield by November 30. Please address applilcations to: Conflict Mediation Specialist Search, c/o Joan Broadfield, 1515 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102 or call Marty Smith for details.
Chestnut Hill Religious Education Coordinator
Chestnut Hill Meeting is looking for a part-time coordinator of their First-day program. The Coordinator's job for this thriving meeting in Philadelphia, PA requires an average of five hours per week to recruit teachers, coordinate teacher assignments, maintain and distribute curricula, and work with the Religious Education Committee. If you are interested, call (215) 247-3553 or e-mail: Filepelane@aol.com.
Look for Adult Religious Education Newsletter
The new Adult Religious Education Coordinator, Gene Hillman, has produced a newsletter scheduled to arrive in your meeting shortly. It is being sent to Meeting clerks, clerks of Worship and Ministry, Overseers, and to the Adult Religious Education contacts. Please keep your eyes open for it and see that it gets into the hands of whomever can best use it. In includes a calendar of upcoming events; this calendar can also be accessed through the Adult Religious Education web page (at present found under Worship and Care's Standing Committee's page) and will be regularly updated. Gene's phone number is: 215-241-7182; his e-mail address is: geneh@pym.org.
Upcoming Events
- For Middle School (Grades 6-8):
January 19-21, 2001: Winter Storytelling Gathering
Around the fire with hot chocolate, we will have a chance to tell our own stories from many different traditions. We will tromp in the snow, if there is any, sing, play games, bake, worship, do art, and make and deepen friendships. Call Melanie Douty Middle School Program Coordinator, for details, 215-241-7171 or e-mail: melanied@pym.org.
- Young Friends (Grades 9-12):
December 27-30, Christmas Gathering at Burlington Meeting House
Look for details in the mail or call Cookie Caldwell, Young Friends Program Coordinator, at 215-241-7222 or e-mail him at cookiec@pym.org for details.- For Teens and Parents:
November 18, at Gwynedd Friends Meeting, Gwynedd, PA, for teens 13-18 and their parents to teach new skills for solving conflicts at school and at home.
The workshop is from 1:00 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. and will be led by Laura Taylor and Lisa Wildman. Laura has worked with teens and their families on conflict resolution, and she is currently at Media-Providence Friends School. There is a $15 fee which will benefit the Alternatives to Violence Project. Please contact Lisa Wildman by e mail at LRinchworm@aol.com or phone her at 215 822-8623 for registration forms and further details.
- For Religious Education Teachers and Committees:
January 13, 2001, You Can Do It! Day at West Chester Meeting
- Nifty Ideas
First-day School Teachers in Quaker Meetings often need new ideas and ways of teaching. Something that has worked for you might be just what other teachers are looking for. Please send your ideas to Marty Smith, by e mail if you like at: martys@pym.org or to 1515 Cherry St., Philadelphia, PA 19102.
New Twist on the Christmas Story
The Middle School Class of Moorestown Meeting created the following play in 1996 as an enjoyable, up-to-date way of putting the Christmas story into modern times. We are grateful to Marty Richter and George Thomas, teachers of the Middle School class, for sending us this delightful rendition of the Christmas story.
Narr.: The title of our presentation is "Modern Nativity". Our class wanted to present the Christmas Story as it could happen in modern times. Our skit begins as a poor, homeless couple attempts to be admitted in a hospital in a large city. Mary: Hurry, Joseph. It's time to get to a hospital. Joseph: OK, Mary. Look, there's one just ahead. Narr.: They face difficulties in the emergency room as they talk with the receptionist. Mary: Help us, please. I'm going to have a baby. Recep.: Do you have insurance? Joseph: No we don't. I don't have a job. But my wife needs help right away. Recep.: I'm sorry. We can't admit her. You'll need to go across town to the hospital that takes care of people without insurance. Mary: Please… Joseph: Come on, Mary. We better hurry to the other hospital. Narr.: So off they walked. Perhaps the receptionist thought they had a car, but they didn't. As it turned out, the walk was too far. Mary: Joseph, I can't make it to the hospital. It's time. NOW! Joseph: OK, Mary. Look, there's a light at the end of this alley. Narr.: Luckily, someone was till working late on Christmas Eve at Alice's Auto Repair. Joseph: (knocking) Is anybody here? Alice: May I help you? Mary: Yes… Joseph: My wife is about to have a baby and we can't make it to the hospital. We need a place to … Alice: Say no more. You're lucky I'm still here at this late hour. I have to hurry off to help with an accident on I-95, but you may stay here. Sorry I can't stay to help you. Good luck. M & J: Thank you. Narr.: So Alice left and a short time after midnight Mary gave birth. Meanwhile, a police officer noticed the light at the repair shop and investigated. Police: Who's here? Joseph: We are, ma'm. Alice let us stay here while my wife gave birth to our baby. Police: Headquarters will have to check this out. (on walkie-talkie) Sarge, check with Alice and see if she gave permission for a homeless couple to stay at her repair shop. It's on an alley just off Bethlehem Street. The mother just gave birth. Narr.: Everything checked out, so the police officer left. Meanwhile, the TV news people overheard the conversation, and three anchors went to cover the story. Lisa Thomas-Laury, Sianni Lee and Beverly Williams met on a nearby deserted street. Anchor 3:
Anchor 2:
Anchor 1:
Anchor 3:How will we find them? Which alley?
They said something about a light on…
Look! Over there. I see a light.
Let's follow it.Narr.: So, the three wise anchors found Mary, Joseph, and the new baby. The story made the news the next morning and many interested viewers flocked to the alley. The police had to come to disperse the crowd. Police: Move along. Move along. I feel like a shepherd herding sheep. Narr.: Thus ends our story about how the birth of Jesus might happen today. Some people were very helpful back in Biblical times — we hope we would be as helpful in 1996.
Published by Religious Education Concerns Group, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
Office: 1515 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Marty Smith: (215) 241-7008 (E-mail: martys@pym.org);
Cookie Caldwell: (215) 241-7222 (e-mail: cookiec@pym.org);
Melanie Douty: (215) 241-7171 (e-mail: melanied@pym.org);
Mary Anne Crowley: (215) 241-7221 (e-mail: maryc@pym.org);
Gene Hillman: (215) 241-7182 (e-mail: geneh@pym.org)
or: 1-800-220-0796, with the appropriate extension number.
Last modified: Tuesday, June 07, 2005 at 04:22 PM