Standing
Committee on Education Children's
Religious Education Programs
Dear Expediters,
Dear Expediters,
It is with a sense of the bitter-sweet that I inform you that Marty Smith has resigned her position as Director of Religious Education to pursue a teaching position at St. Joseph's University, located in Philadelphia, PA. As Visiting Instructor, Marty will be teaching student-teachers in the areas of math and science. Marty has a strong background in education and is looking forward to returning to academia.
Marty's presence here in the offices at PYM will be greatly missed and efforts are underway to fill the vacancy for Director of Religious Education. In the meantime, the RE staff are willing and able to help your Meeting in any way we can! Just give us a call.Mary Anne Crowley
Administrative Assistant, RE
Middle School Arts Camp a Huge Success!
This year's Arts Camp was filled with many varied activities that included visual arts, theatre, creative writing, poetry, mural painting, juggling, knitting workshop and a very "cool" song-writing workshop. There were also field trips to Island Beach State Park and Philadelphia. Approximately 26 Middle Schoolers from 13 Monthly Meetings (PA & NJ) attended. Melanie says that the success of the Arts Camp was due, in large measure, to a wonderful co-director and counseling staff, as well as past experiences with the Arts Camp program. It is hoped that the Arts Camp could be held annually, but in order for that to happen, a support committee and grant funding would be necessary. If you would be interested in working with Melanie on this, please contact her at 215-241-7171 or e-mail her at melanied@pym.org.
Two newly revised Curricula are now available: Stewardship of Time, Money, Talent - Designed to help children understand how to use the gifts that God has given to us in a responsible manner. For ages 4-18 yrs.; contains three chapters of 11 lessons. Walking Cheerfully - A popular curriculum looks at the uniqueness of each individual, recognizing and respecting the gifts of others and to share those gifts/talents with others in the community. For ages 4 yrs. through adult; intergenerational. Consists of three units of two lessons each. These and other RE Curricula can be borrowed from the PYM Library or obtained from the FGC Bookstore (1-800-966-4556).
"Friendly" reminder: Curriculum Capsules is now on the PYM web site! Go to PYM.org, click on the “Education” link, and then click on “Curriculum Capsules” under Online Documents.
For Middle School Friends: 6th-8th gr. (or ages 12-14)
Sept. 20-22, 2002, Work Camp in West Philadelphia. Spend a special weekend learning about the beauty , struggles, and triumphs of city life. Registration is limited to 10. Call Melanie Douty, for further details at 215-241-7171 or e-mail her at: melanied@pym.org; or go the Middle School Friends link on the PYM website at: pym.org.October 18-20, 2002, Halloween Gathering at Burlington Conference Center. Peace and Halloween themes together at this event with a traditional costume party. We are considering an early rise on Sunday morning and taking at least some folks to Philadelphia to participate in the AIDS walk. Flyer will be in the mail soon with final plans.
Nov. 22-24, 2002, Simplicity Gathering. Location to be announced. Annual gathering on the theme of "simplicity" takes us to a rural Meeting where we meet friends who live on the land and we learn about stewardship and consider which things are truly important to us. Still in the planning stages - ideas and invitations welcome. Call Melanie Douty, for further details at:215-241-7171 or e-mail her at: melanied@pym.org.
For Young Friends: 9th-12th grade (or age 14 by Sept 1).
Sept. 20-22, 2002, Quaker Peace Fair, at Buckingham Friends School. A weekend of fun and service at the Peace Fair. Young Friends will be helping to set up and run the fair. We will sleep over in the Buckingham Friends School, Lahaska, PA. Call Cookie Caldwell at #7221 or e mail him cookiec@pym.org for details.
Oct. 11-14, 2002, FGC Young Quakes Conference. A YouthQuake-like experience in the unprogrammed Friends tradition for high school age Young Friends. Held during Columbus Day weekend at Littleton, MA (near Boston). Presented by Friends General Conference and New England Yearly Meeting. Contact Michael Gibson of FGC at 215-561-1700. Website: www.fgcquaker.org
Oct. 25-27, 2002, Halloween Gathering, at Burlington Conference Center. Limited to 80. Watch For flyer call Cookie Caldwell at 215-241-7221 or e mail him cookiec@pym.org for details.
September 2002
We are happy to share with you another idea which worked very well as a get-acquainted, intergenerational activity. This Nifty was first printed in 1996, but still has relevance!
The Friend who suggested this little "nugget" said that she used this in September on the first day of the First-day School year, and religious education committee people were also included. She writes:"The simple exercise is this: without speaking, writing, or using your lips, everyone is required to line up in one line from the youngest to the oldest. It requires knowing, or ascertaining, the day, month and year of everyone's birthday. The little kids know how "old" they are; the middle aged suddenly are voiceless… We then held hands and walked into Meeting for Worship in this order, where we sat in a visible place."
She added this footnote: "We had a 74-year span (of ages) and some 'liars' in their 50's, but… it was definitely a success!"
Published by Religious Education Concerns Group, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
Office: 1515 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Gretchen Castle : (215) 241-7008 (E-mail:gretchenc@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
