Standing
Committee on Education Children's
Religious Education Programs
Dear Expediters,
Thanks for taking the time to talk to your meeting about this year’s Yearly Meeting theme “Losses and Healing “ and for making a banner. Folks spoke to us about how difficult it was to represent the theme on a banner; nonetheless fifteen flew over the heads of Yearly Meeting diners in March 22-24. If you were unable to use the YM packet this Spring, we encourage you to use it next year. And we sincerely would like to hear how useful, or not, the YM Curriculum was. Thanks for sending a volunteer from your meeting to help with the Children’s Program. Even though there were far fewer children than in previous years, every single volunteer made a difference in how secure and happy the children were. Now is the time to start thinking about recruiting First-day teachers for next year. If you need any helpful hints to ease the process, give me a call.
Marty Smith, editor
martys@pym.org
Curriculum Capsules is an annotated bibliography of the 34 PYM Religious Education Curricula, has been recently updated and reprinted. If you are wondering what curricula to use in the coming year, information for each curriculum about the content, ages, number of lessons, amount of preparation time, suggested activities, and supplies and equipment needed is included. The good news is that now you can access PYM’s web page and link up to Curriculum Capsules from the Religious Education page. (Mary Anne, please fill in correct address) .From that web site, Friends can order curricula by E mail or by phone from Friends General Conference Bookstore.
Two Quaker Camps for about the Same Age
Enclosed please find flyer about Camp Onas from Sue Gould, Manager. She wishes all to know the two week camping sessions for June through August in Bucks County Pa. for campers 8-13. Camp Darkwaters is in Medford, Pa and is for 7-14 year old boys and girls. It, too, is under Quaker leadership. To receive information about summer, 2002 sessions. Call Travis Simmons at (609) 654-8846 or on line at www.campdarkwaters.org
Is your school or meeting looking for ways to address issues such as conflict resolution; peacemaking; bullying; or discernment and courage? There is a working group in PYM willing to visit your meeting and lead workshops with parents and children. It is called Nonviolence and Children Working Group. See the flyer enclosed and give Betsy Berger, staff to the group, a call at 215 241 7233.
For Families:
May 10-12, 2002 – Blairstown Camping Weekend. Princeton MM is sponsoring its Fifth Annual camping event for families and “Young Young Friends” (ages 7-13), to be held at Blairstown Camp, near the Delaware Water Gap. Registration due April 12. Note: There are only 100 spaces available so don’t delay! Make checks payable to Princeton Monthly Meeting, note: “Blairstown”. Mail to: John Kelly, 1 Devon Ave., Lawrenceville, NJ 08648. For more information, contact John Kelly at 609-883-2414.For Middle School: 6th-8th grades
May 3-5, 2002 – Camp Swatara, Bethel PA. Sponsored by Caln Quarterly Meeting. Come for good fellowship, hiking, square dancing, and communing with the Spirit. Cost is $62.00. You must register by April 15 or pay a late fee. See where to send registration in the Young Friends notice about Camp Swatara below. Please note: Make checks payable to Caln Quarterly Meeting – not PYM. For more information, contact Melanie Douty at: 215-241-7171 or E-mail: melanied@pym.org.August 10-17, 2002 Middle School Friends Arts Camp. Burlington Conference Center.
Building on the success and enjoyment of the last two camps, we invite you to join us again to share your gifts, create together, and build a special community. We will be offering music, visual arts, juggling and theater workshops. We will spend a day in Philadelphia going on a mural arts tour and visiting a puppet building studio. We will also go to the beach!Through creating, singing, worship, cooking, and making friends, we will have a memorable time. Call Melanie Douty, Middle School Program Coordinator, for details: 215-241-7171, or E-mail her at: melanied@pym.org.
For Young Friends: 9th-12th grade
May 3-5, 2002 – Caln Quarterly Meeting Family Weekend to be held at Camp Swatara located at the base of the Appalachian Trail, Bethel, PA. Saturday morning there will be a hike up to the top of the famous "rock pile", followed by an afternoon workshop on Conscientious Objection led by Suzanne Day; with other workshops in the works. Saturday evening will be square dancing, four-square, and/or volleyball. Cost of registration is $62.00 with scholarships available. Registration due to Caln Quarterly Meeting by April 15. Send to: Suzanne Ruch, 603 State St., Shillington, PA 19607. Make checks payable to Caln Quarterly Meeting, not PYM. Call or E-mail Cookie at 215-241-7222; cookiec@pym.org for details.July 20-August 3, 2002 -- Project Alaska is a work camp, jointly sponsored by PYM and Alaska Yearly Meeting, for youth entering grade 9, by September 2002, through grade 12. Applications are due May 31, 2002 preceeded by a clearness process. Cost for PYM participants is $950.00, with some scholarship support available. Call or E-mail Cookie Caldwell at 215-241-7222 or cookiec@pym.org for more information and/or send completed application and essay to: Project Alaska/Young Friends, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, 1515 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102.
April 2002
School Chests Filled with Hope
Deborah Cooper, Germantown Monthly Meeting, sends us an idea in which all ages in a meeting can participate. The American Red Cross is hoping to send 2,000 School Chests to Afghan children by May 31, 2002, in cooperation with the Red Crescent Movement and International Red Cross. The hope of The American Red Cross is that school supplies in the school chests will give 120,000 Afghan children access to an education. If each member of Meetings, or each First-day class, could bring in a few components of the School Chest, then the chest can more easily be quickly filled and sent to the children. The following is a suggested list of needed items:
40 notebooks/notepads (lined 8 1/2' x 11 'composition books/ bound notebooks)
When your School Chest is filled, don't display the The American Red Cross or any other emblem on the chest. Because of the language barrier, The American Red Cross asks us not to enclose notes or letters. Each chest can be delivered to: Southeastern Chapter of the American Red Cross, 123 S. 23rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Deborah Cooper can answer questions about this project. She can be reached at: 215-299-0480.
Thanks, Deborah, for your idea for a constructive response to the war in Afghanistan.
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 04:23 PM
