Education EducationMany thanks to our church Trustees who have found two new desks, for Lorraine MacPherson and Samm Robie Klindt, and painted the walls and waxed the floor of the education office; to Christine Nally and Christy Rhind for coordinating our children’s Advent craft workshop, and Marion Amber for giving us an additional craft and staying to oversee it; to Kevin Field for doing his usual superb job with the adult/youth Advent study—on two nights of the week this year; to Liz Harriman and Mary Ellen Dunn for accompanying the children; to Bill Klindt for making it possible to see the children on the big screen; to Janice DiTullio for coordinating the desserts after the pageant; to Dave Stone for helping to put everything away; and especially to Denise Farnsworth for coordinating the pageant and making it look easy.
Mission Project Reports
So far this year, our children and youth have contributed $450+ to UNICEF, 10 Turkey Brigade boxes plus extra food items, and at least 6 baby baskets for the Lowell Wish Project. Again, thanks to the parents who help the children to contribute so much to those who need our help.
A huge number of children and youth have reached the 10 Sunday mark. This represents outstanding attendance so far this fall!
PreK – Kevin Ackerley, Kaelyn Coates, Jonathan DeFeo, Jack Klindt, Abigail Oberto, Johnny Rhind, and Christopher Strob
Kindergarten – Ryan Ackerley, James DeFeo, Cate Greer, Alexandria McDonough-Padden, Lauren Murphy, and Ashley Pelletier
Grade 1 – Charlie Burnham, Jaelyn DeFeo, and Melanie DePasquale
Grade 2 – Ryan Anderson, Samuel DeAngelis, Madison Dickson, April Haines, Lian Leduc, Emma Rhind, and Jacqueline Strob
Grade 3 – Julia Burke, Travis Haines, Nolan Kane, Jessica Lisiecki, and Megan Thomas
Grade 4 – Ashley Bonnette-Kim, Edmond DeAngelis, Kaleigh Dunn, Christopher McCabe, Heather Pozzi, AnnMarie Riddle, David Robie, Jeremy Tingdahl, and Cameron Walsh
Grade 5 – Emily Burke, Elisabeth Olson, Megan Rhind, Zachary Thomas, and Theresa Webber
Jr. High – Amanda Bonnette-Kim, Brittany Boggia, Megan Denney, Steve Dickson, Jonathan MacKinnon, Rachael McCabe, and Jonathan Pozzi
Sr. High – Elena Carbone, Jackie Carbone, Joshua Denney, Marc Webber, Nicolette Webber, and Taylor Bell
And thanks to the parents who bring them!
Our parent file system for families with young people in PreK through grade 5 has worked so well, that we have adapted and extended it to our families with youth. You will find a file box in the lower lobby, and in it there will be a hanging file for each family with youth (unless you also have younger children, in which case you will continue to receive mail upstairs at the table). We hope that this will make it easier for you to get your young person’s mail.
January 4 – Combined classes – Epiphany party, before returning to sanctuary for communion; youth classes meet as usual
January 11 – Regular classes resume for everyone
January 18 – Regular classes for everyone; children & youth participating in special Martin Luther King presentation in worship
January 25 – Regular classes for everyone
Our tradition of passing on to our children some of the basics of the Christian faith continues this January 11, 18, 25, and February 9. For those four weeks our elementary children will remain the same classroom with the same teacher and concentrate on just one thing:
Grade 1 – the Lord’s Prayer, led by Susan Tingdahl
Grade 2 – the sacraments of baptism and communion, led by Jean LeFavour
Grade 3 – learning to use the Bible, led by Samm Robie Klindt
Grade 4 – the Ten Commandments, led by Shannon Haines
Grade 5 – worship, led by Phil Rhind
Later in February, we expect that each class will share its new knowledge with the 9:00 service.
Active Parenting
Now
Leslie Hastings is offering a six-week class for parents of children ages 5-12, on Monday evenings, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., January 5, 12, 19, 26, February 1, and 8. This is a wonderful class (and Leslie’s favorite thing to teach!) that combines video vignettes of various ways of handling family dilemmas, lecture, discussion, and activities. There is a $20 cost for the book. Do you want children who are learning to be responsible, caring, courageous, and happy? (GRANDPARENTS: Perhaps you can volunteer to babysit while your grown children take the class!) Leave a message for Leslie at wumcchristianed@verizon.net or on her voicemail at the church.
Discipleship Group (NEW!)
How is it with your soul? This new group is perfect for busy people who can’t commit to a weekly class, but would like to pay serious attention to their spiritual life. It will meet on the last Sunday evening of each month, for approximately one hour (a bit longer for the first one). We will share how our souls are doing, decide what each one needs—More meditation or prayer time? More disciplined approach to Bible reading? Finding just 10 minutes a day to begin a spiritual practice? Each person has different needs, and there is room for graduates of several Companions classes as well as beginners. We will pair up to check in with each other each week between meetings of the group. The size is limited to 12 disciples. The dates are January 25, February 22, March 29, April 26, May 31, and June 28, at 7:00 p.m. Sign up on the Education bulletin board in the narthex.
On Tuesday, January 13, 7:30 – 9:00 p.m., Travis and Leslie will co-lead a special one-time workshop on interpreting the Bible. This is one of the required teacher trainings for 2008-2009, but it is also a topic of interest for all adults. How do we understand the truth of Bible stories? How does our understanding change as we mature? Can there be truth beyond historical and scientific proof? These and other questions will be addressed. This workshop also takes the place of Travis’ regular Tuesday evening Bible study.
On Friday, January 23, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m., all families with children in kindergarten or younger are invited to join us at the church for an informal meal and fellowship. We will provide childcare in our nursery while the adults spend some time together in a nearby room. Bring a few dollars to contribute to the pizza for dinner. We’ll provide the water, milk, and soft drinks (adults only!).
Later in the winter we will offer a similar evening for families with elementary children. If you have children in both categories, please come to either event or, better yet, to both!