Standing
Committee on Education Children's
Religious Education Programs
Dear Teachers, Parents, Clerks and other Friends,
This newsletter comes to you from your PYM Education & Religious Education office at the beginning of a new year, full of promise and opportunity. We, your PYM staff, are eagerly looking forward to partnering with you for a year of spirited service in support of our mission: to nurture the seeds of Quaker faith, practice and witness in our young people. Please let us know what we can do to make this happen.
As you know, we have a dynamic group of people working here at Friends Center. Cookie Caldwell has been caring for the teen-age side of the operation for a quarter century. Down the hall, Melanie Douty minds the Light with Middle School Friends. The new kid on the block, Helen Fields, has settled into our neighborhood like the experienced religious educator that she is. And Mary Anne, Elke and I hold down the administrative support aspects of the operation. Together with the rest of your PYM staff, we want to make sure that you get the information, resources, service and support that you seek to make Quakerism
relevant and compelling to the young people in your community.
Please pay special attention to the back of this newsletter (page 4), which we developed out of a staff retreat this summer. We hope that you find it useful, constructively provocative, or simply fun! Let us know what you think.
In addition to the programs and opportunities described in this newsletter, we look forward to joining the 21st century by enhancing our Internet-based operations. We plan to make curricula, registration forms, applications and flyers all available via our revamped website – www.pym.org/education – in the coming months. (Cookie has already been doing this on the Young Friends site.) Let us know if you have ideas for what you would like to see in this regard.Best wishes for a great beginning of the year. We look forward to connecting with you soon!
Tom Hoopes,
Director of Education & Religious EducationTom Hoopes, 215-241-7224 or e-mail: tomh@pym.org; 1-800-220-7096, extension 7224
Annual Sessions - Children's Program, March 25-28, 2004
“Healing the Hurts with Love” Curriculum Being Written
The theme for Children and Young People at Yearly Meeting 2004 is “Healing the Hurts with Love.” Our Yearly Meeting Children’s Program will feature curriculum created by the Children and Young People at Yearly Meeting (CYPYM) Working Group, a group of committed educators and writers. They are creating the lessons with the theme of reconciliation for teachers in First Day schools to use with their classes in the weeks leading up to Annual Sessions. Please reserve four to five First Day classes in the winter months for the lessons. We expect that you will be receiving a copy of the curriculum this December. Contact: Brenda Rose Simkin, Annual Session Children's Program Coordinator, 215-241-7075, brendar@pym.org
1-800-220-7096, extension 7075First Day School Support
Our new Children’s Religious Education Coordinator, Helen Fields, has gotten right to work with September visits to monthly and quarterly meetings and more planned for later in the fall. Helen brings a wealth of experience in curriculum, First Day School planning and teacher-training, along with the enthusiasm to share those gifts with our community. At her first two visits, Helen led workshop discussions on safety and First Day School organization, addressed questions posed by adults and youth, shared library and curriculum resources, worshipped with Friends, and shared information about programs available through the Education & Religious Education office of PYM.If you would like Helen to visit your Meeting, or if she might be able to help you with or give support to your program, don’t hesitate to drop her a line. Also, please consider registering for the November 1st Parent/ Teacher Training Day at Gwynedd Meeting (see column at right), or ask Helen about planning another training day closer to your area. Think about whom in your Meeting would most benefit from a day of fellowship and workshops on parenting and teaching religious education to children. Call or e-mail Helen to brainstorm ideas for workshops, or to suggest possible leaders and themes.
Please contact Helen if you would like to be part of a conversation about children’s religious education curriculum needs in the Yearly Meeting.Parent/Teacher Training – Nov. 1 Click here for a flyer
Join us for the year’s first Parent/Teacher Training Day, with the theme of “Planting Seeds, Growing Spirits,” on Saturday, November 1, at Gwynedd Meeting. In addition to sharing our “Halloween stories” of the previous night (and some candy, perhaps!), workshop participants will enjoy a keynote address by Doug Ross, an experienced and much-loved middle school science teacher at Friends Central School and a seasoned First Day School teacher at Radnor Meeting. Doug will present an overview of the stages of spiritual and intellectual development in children and youth, and will share delightful stories of how the Divine works through us and through the children we invite into our lives.The following workshops and activities are planned:
How to restart or maintain a First Day School program
Contact Helen Fields if you have questions or would like registration materials. Or go to our website and download a workshop program and registration
Helen Fields 215-241-7008 or e-mail: helenfields@pym.org, 1-800-220-7096, extension 7008
Middle School Friends
Dear First Day School Teacher,
If you ever wonder what could put a spark into your program, consider bringing your class to a Middle School Friends gathering and having an adventure together!Middle School Friends (MSF) is a youth group that for many years has gathered 11-14 year olds for monthly weekend retreats throughout the school year and for a week in the summer for an arts camp. MSF brings young people together from all over the yearly meeting. The programs include Quaker history, faith and practice, theater, singing, service projects, cooking, washing dishes, making new friends and having plenty of fun! Two events each year are sponsored by monthly meetings. These collaborations build special connections between other meeting communities and our own. We are in Philadelphia for Yearly Meeting Annual Sessions; we are a part of Caln’s Quarterly Meeting at Camp Swatara every spring; we attend a Friends workcamp in West Philadelphia; and we spend our October gathering at the Burlington Conference Center. Yes, we get around! Chaperones include parents, allies and high school volunteers. Everyone has fun! If you sign up, you will get regular notices about our events and postings to our website. Please help us spread the word about the program!
We hope to see you sometime this year.
Melanie Douty, MSF Coordinator at 215-241-7171 or e-mail: melanied@pym.org,
1-800-220-7096, extension 7171 Middle School Friends Web site.
Middle School Friends upcoming events:
The Middle School Friends program invites parents to meet for support and fellowship at Friday night sessions when they come to drop child(ren) off at gatherings this year. Click here for more information September 19-21 - Friends workcamp in West Philly
October 17-19 - Halloween gathering, Burlington Get a flyer for the Halloween Gathering
Nov 14-16 - Simplicity gathering, London Grove, PA Get a flyer for the Simplicity Gathering
Jan 30-Feb 1 – Winter gathering, location to be announced
March 26-28 – PYM Annual Sessions, tentatively at Green Street Meeting in Philadelphia
April 30 - May 2 – Camp Swatara, Caln Quarterly Meeting Family Weekend. Photos from last years Camp Swatara
Young Friends
Camp Onas Photos from the Young Friends Summer
We had a great time at the Young Friends Summer gathering in August. There were many opportunities to build community and connect on a deep level, as well as lots of fun games to keep it “lite and lively.” Among the workshops throughout the week’s program, Andrew Esser-Haines led workshops on youth empowerment and youth oppression. In preparation for YouthQuake, Aaron Crosman led workshops on Quakers and the Bible, and what the Bible has to offer us today. Young Friends took part in men's & women's groups and discussions, Meeting for Worship, worship sharing groups, dancing, playing games, swimming, crafts, singing, hanging out, and working together.
We also used the “Adventure Games” course to work on group cooperation and to push past our comfort zones to a place of joyful learning. George Price led sweat lodges, and we had a talent show with skits, singing and jokes. Dorothy Carroll led a workshop on ”Working to End Racism,” Jorge Arauz lead a workshop on his Alternatives to Violence (AVP) work in Colombia, and Brenda Macaluso led our closing celebration Drumming Circle that was absolutely wonderful. Brenda’s friend Brianna McLean, from Australia, closed the evening with fire dancing.Alaska/PYM Youth Expedition Photos from the Alaska/PYM Youth Expedition
Sixteen Young Friends and four leaders from Alaksa and PYM hit the road this July for two weeks of friendship and growth. We cleared trails in the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. In Washington DC and New York City we traveled on subway expeditions. At the Atlantic Ocean we discovered the wildlife in the tidal pools of Cape Henlopen, Delaware. At Harper’s Ferry we worshipped at the site where Andrew Jackson meditated, and we thought about the valiant yet violent efforts of John Brown to end slavery, at the risk of losing his life and starting a war. And as we explored the nooks and crannies of John Woolman’s home in New Jersey, we learned the peaceful manner in which he chose to stop Friends from enslaving their brothers and sisters.On our journey we also explored inwardly, researching our hearts, exploring our own ways to peace, with worship-sharing in Central Park and meditations under the windmills that generate renewable energy. We cooked and prayed in family groups, and answered queries of the youth-led Worship and Care Committee. They asked, “How do you live simply and decide what are necessities and what are conveniences? What do you do when you find that your actions don’t reflect your beliefs?”
Buckingham Peace Fair Photos from the Buckingham Peace Fair
Young Friends are preparing for our annual trek to Buckingham Meeting for the Bucks Quarterly Meeting Peace Fair, where we will be “stage hands.” On Friday night we will set up the tent and build the stage for the performances. On Saturday, we will help staff the booths and games, set up for the performances and serve food. That night we will disassemble the set, put it all away, and stuff ourselves with pizza! The Peace Fair embraces a theme of peace, social service, and the environment, including exhibits by The Peace Center, Habitat for Humanity, NOVA, the Audubon Society, and other nonprofit organizations. There will be an art show featuring Bucks County and Quaker artists, and poetry readings that include an open mike and a Bucks County Poet Laureate. There will be a wide range of live music, from hand-clapping folk music to rousing African American gospel to Annie and Peter Blood-Patterson’s Quaker-inspired folk/rock.YouthQuake in the Rockies
YouthQuake is a gathering of Young Friends from around the US that is held every three years. YouthQuake brings together Young Quakers from programmed, unprogrammed and evangelical traditions, to learn about and challenge all forms of Quaker worship. This December it is in Estes Park, Colorado. Registration information and more details are on our web page.Young Friends upcoming events:
(Flyers, registration forms, photos and scads of other information for YF events are available on our website.)September 19-21 – Quaker Peace Fair at Buckingham Friends School. Young Friends will help staff the Fair.
October 10-13 (Friday through Monday of Columbus Day Weekend) – FGC Young Quakes Conference at Bethany Hills Camp, outside of Nashville, TN.
October 24-26 –Halloween Gathering at Burlington Meeting House, NJ. LIMITED TO 80.
November 21-23 – Road trip. (tentative) LIMITED TO 35
December 27-30 – Christmas Slence Gathering at Burlington Meeting House, NJ. LIMITED TO 80.
December 27 - January 1 – YouthQuake: a national conference for Quaker youth at Estes Park, Colorado.
February 20-22 – February Peace Gathering at Burlington Meeting House, NJ. LIMITED TO 80.
March 26-28 –Yearly Meeting Annual Sessions (Young Friends staying at Germantown Meeting, tentatively)
April 30 - May 2 – Camp Swatara, Caln Quarterly Meeting Family Weekend. Photos from last years Camp Swatara
For more information on Young Friends activities contact: Cookie Caldwell, Young Friends Program Coordinator, 215-241-7222 or e-mail: cookiec@pym.org 1-800-220-7096, extension 7222
Published by Religious Education Concerns Group, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
Office: 1515 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Tom Hoopes : (215) 241-7224 (E-mail: tomh@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