News and Resources from the FGC Religious Education Committee
Issue 7 / Spring 2004
In this Issue:
Greetings Friends
Adventures in First Day School
Things for Spiritual Nurturers to Consider
Introducing REsources for the Journey
Upcoming Events/Resources
Greetings Friends,
We have a new name. The newsletter produced by the FGC Religious Education Committee has been changed from the generic sounding Religious Education Newsletter to FGC REsource. We hope it will be an increasingly valuable source of religious education materials for you in your work. We invite your feedback. Please let us know what we are doing right and what needs improvement. We would also like to hear your stories, what is happening in religious education in your meeting, and what topics you would like us to address.
Submissions should be between 120 and 1200 words in length and may be submitted to the co-editors by regular mail to: Michael Gibson, Religious Education Coordinator, Friends General Conference, 1216 Arch Street, 2B, Philadelphia, PA 19107; or by email to: michaelg@fgcquaker.org. The co-editors of FGC REsource reserve the right to make final editing and determine if and when articles will be printed.
Co-editors Suzanne Siverling and Michael Gibson
Adventures in First day School: Experiencing Christmas in July
By Suzanne Siverling
Teacher-student, student-teacher. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference. That’s just one of the lessons I learned when I was called upon to teach First Day School.
I say “called upon” because,while I sit on the religious education committee of both FGC and my monthly meeting,my primary calling in recent years has been working with adults. So, when I was asked by our local committee’s convener what children’s age group I would like to sign up to teach, I responded that I usually teach adult classes and often travel on weekends. I hadn’t planned to sign up for any children’s First Day School classes. However, having been Christian education director in a small Presbyterian church some years ago when my children were very young, I understood her plight and recognized the slight drop in her shoulders when I told her this. I suggested that I would be willing to pinch hit when needed. She could call me anytime, at the very last minute if necessary, to teach a class, any age, and if I was going to be in town that weekend, I would do it to the best of my ability.
Of course, I thought this meant I might be called upon once, perhaps twice, during the year to teach. (Sometimes I’m amazingly naive.)
This year, our monthly meeting religious education committee chose to guide the students through reading the Bible. Once each month I was called upon to teach what we call the middle group, which spans mid-elementary through junior high. In December I was again called to teach “something about the nativity,maybe something about the wise men/kings and/or the shepherds” to the same age group.The class had read the story in Matthew the week before. Previously we had discussed significant mythical elements of the stories assigned for the day.This time I decided to present one concept about the symbolism of the wise men/kings and shepherds. Otherwise, I had no plans or goals for the students and no craft projects. I had no idea how many young people would be there.
What an adventure this turned out to be.We began discussing the story.This led to animated conversation about what a manger is, what a stable was like in biblical times, why Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem, why Bethlehem has been in the news in the last year or two, time travel, who the wise men were and how they got into the mix, and, after reading excerpts from Luke, the importance of sheep, shepherds and angels. I’m not really sure how the time machine thread came to be, but we all enjoyed the digression. We also looked at the controversy about exactly when Jesus was born, which may not have been December 25th.
The discussion went something like this:“Some people believe that Jesus was born on December 25th and some think it may have been in April,” I said.
One student suggested that some people believe he was born in July which prompted another student to exclaim “If he was born in July, he may have been born on my birthday.” I added that if born in July, he may have been born on my birthday.
To my left, I heard another student comment,“Perhaps he was born in October, on MY birthday.”
By the time the discussion concluded, each member of the class was considering the thought that Jesus may have been born on his or her birthday.This in no way diminished the importance of December 25th as Christmas.We had already talked about that as the “official” day on which we celebrate his birth and one of the days when we collectively commemorate his life.
At Lake Forest Friends Meeting it is our practice for our First Day School classes to stand at the rise of meeting and talk about what they have learned that morning. I was in awe when the middle class stood and one of the students repeated the one and only lesson I had chosen Saturday morning to present to them:
We learned that when the host of angels talked to the shepherds, this gave the shepherds some spiritual “importance” and lifted them up.Also, when the wise men/kings visited the manger, they knelt down on a dirt floor in a stable/cave in front of a new born baby and were humbled. We learned that this shows us that Jesus makes all people equal.
I was proud of them for their level of engagement with the story. I was also secretly relieved that they did not choose to mention the time machine discussion.
The lesson of the moment was equality— bringing up the humble and humbling the mighty.While the children learned about the symbolism of wise men and shepherds from me, I learned other things from them.
• I learned that it is very enlightening to have deep discussions with young children especially when there is a wide age range in the class.
• I learned that it’s best for me to go into the teaching experience with one major objective and let the Spirit lead the way through the discussion.
• I learned that Jesus may have been born on my birthday. In fact, he could have been born on your birthday.
I have since wondered, if Jesus was born on today’s date, what can I do to honor this “birth” day? Is there something I can do today to commemorate his life, his goals, his mission? If any day could be the true Christmas, perhaps I should look at everyday more reverently than I have in the past. Is it truly possible to have Christmas all year long?
Teacher-student, student-teacher— equal in the Light. So, next time I am called to teach a class (any age) I plan to consider not only what I will present to the class, but also how I will open myself to being taught by the students.This may be an interesting way for me to honor the life of Jesus in the classroom.After all, he may have been born on the date I next teach.
Let’s celebrate the equality of opportunity we are given to simultaneously be presenters and learners, and embrace whole-heartedly the adventures this brings us in First Day School!
Suzanne Siverling is a member of Lake Forest Friends Meeting, Illinois Yearly Meeting. She has recently been serving as recording clerk of the FGC Religious Education Committee and as co-editor of FGC REsource
Things for Spiritual Nurturers to Consider: Musings and Questionings
From a report by the FGC RE Coordinator to the RE Committee, September, 2003
Language and Relationships
Spoken and written language associates experiences with verbal expressions.We do not and cannot know what experiences and emotions other people associate with specific words.When we use language, our words can be, among other things, an effective tool, a salve, a weapon or a barrier. Sometimes the same words are all four at the same time. In our efforts to serve as nurturers and faithful colearners with children, youth, and adults, it is impossible to find words that are 100% accurate, safe and effective.However, since we often must use words,we can vary our approaches, looking for language that has the greatest chance of touching that holy place in the listener.Words that work beautifully for some may inhibit communication for another.The language of the cross is essentially that of self-emptying while conversion is all about transformation, but in each pair the latter term lacks much of the baggage the former can carry.The language of death and dying, sometimes hard for people to hear, is often about acknowledging our brokenness, our human fragility, and our need for God and human community—all of which are easier for people to hear and reflect on. Similarly,we can use language that opens up such “frozen” terms as sin and salvation, etc. Community, like sin and salvation, can be a tricky word. For some Friends, the word community gets to the heart of their faith; for others (such as some young adults, members of racial or sexual minorities, and others), community can be a place of ongoing suffering and broken promises. Sensitivity is required no matter what words we use.Words are essential, but the better part of communication is listening—listening under the words, through the words, between the words.
Not all learners, not all Friends, are highly literate or enjoy exploring the written and spoken word. In our religious education work it is wise to regularly use intelligences which use different parts of the brain.We are wise not to rely too heavily on verbal/linguistic intelligence, even in adult religious education. One need not be “touchy feely” to step out of the verbal domain. It is good to be aware, however, that some people who are highly verbal may be challenged by approaches that do not utilize verbal intelligence. Within a group, preferred learning styles will vary.Teachers tend to use most often those intelligences that are comfortable for them, and to operate in ways that reflect their own preferred learning styles. Left unchecked, this can frustrate others in the group and can lead to stagnation in the group and within the religious educator. Sometimes art,music, or movement can help us navigate the ways of the heart as well as, or better than, verbal language.
The human brain is hard wired for relationships of all kinds, from word and data associations to interpersonal relationships. A primary role of the religious educator is to help build and nurture relationships of trust and love.Words can be helpful, but they are not necessarily our best tool. Our being, as nurturers, is at least as important as our saying and doing. The brain is also hard wired for religious experience. Studies have revealed that Buddhist meditation, Christian prayer, and drug induced “high” states can all produce basically the same effects on the brain. What are the “so whats” when these three can be essentially the same thing in terms of body chemistry? What are the important connections between relationships and religious experience, and between language and the same?
Nurturing Meeting Educators
How might monthly meeting religious education committees help and support religious educators who are not “in love with” God, or who do not understand themselves as having a vital or dynamic relationship with an Other? How do we nurture and help form religious educators who may not understand the meaning of daily living in the Spirit? Do we as religious educators have the courage to be surprised by God? How might religious education work help this to happen in ourselves and in others?
If we hope to teach effectively, to be genuine in the First Day School classroom, and to provide settings for rich spiritual exploration and nurture for others,we first need to be aware of our own inner life and be in the process of nurturing that life. Part of this involves finding, making some sense of, reflecting on, and questioning the patterns we discover or create in our own observations of life and in our spiritual journeys. Taking intentional time each day to listen to ourselves, to others, and to the Spirit is essential.
Weaving a Web
Religious education committees and teachers might consider creating resources and experiences which form a continuum, or web, instead of producing conventional curricula which are but sets of lesson plans.
In our materials, whether continuum or curricula, it is probably wise to:
1. Move from outlining lesson plans to providing resources for experiences.
2. Vary the pace within lessons and from lesson to lesson (experience to experience).
3. Utilize multiple intelligences, approaching material from a variety of angles.
4. Provide options for the classroom facilitator.
5. State up front, when describing an activity for classroom facilitators, what kind of experience we are hoping to foster or create for the learner.This helps the inexperienced facilitator make wise decisions and to engage in the activity with intention.
6. Suggest various opportunities for reflection other than intrapersonal (internal reflection), such as musical, movement/dance, artistic, etc.
7. Provide a reflection opportunity at or near the end of each lesson since the brain seems to need this, and begin each new lesson with reflection or review coming from the learners themselves.This can be done in a way that includes those who missed the previous lesson(s).
8. Cultivate an environment and attitude that acknowledges that the teacher (facilitator) is a co-learner, or co-experiencer, whose goal is to grow in faith and love along with others in the group.
How, when and where in our First Day School programs do we address ongoing spiritual disciplines such as prayer, devotional reading, corporate worship and humble service? How do we best help one another to navigate the interior life? Are there components of our religious education programs sufficiently addressing awareness, being, and the importance of living in the present moment? Do we adequately prepare young people for worship and group discernment? In any religious education setting, the Presence is not only within individuals in our groups but between us and in our mutual sharing and communing.What practices or attitudes, then, might help to acknowledge this and bring it to the forefront? How might we create a web that weaves all of these things together for the nurture of each meeting member and the health of the community?
And, of course, the perennial question: How do we help create optimal conditions for hearts to be receptive to the voice of Christ (or the Word, the Light or Seed) and open to the continuous movements of the Spirit within us and within the community, that Spirit which graces us, empowers us and calls us to loving action in the world? This last question gets to the core, does it not, of our calling as religious educators.Teaching about Quakerism, about the testimonies, about our values, about the Bible, about our history, and about our social action are all secondary, at best, and may actually be irrelevant and meaningless if we haven’t gotten to the core ministry.
May these random musings and questionings be helpful to Friends engaged in the exciting work of facilitating spiritual nurture and growth.
Introducing REsources for the Journey: Religious education resources for Friends racial justice work
by Gail Thomas
Looking for ideas and resources to introduce or expand a racial justice program in your First Day School? The FGC Religious Education Committee is pleased to announce a new free resource for your meeting: REsources for the Journey: Religious education resources for Friends racial justice work. Our first offering (No. 1) is a set of questions and activities to help you create a lesson plan or study guide for the Quaker Press of FGC publication Sarah Mapps Douglass, Faithful Attender of Quaker Meeting: View from the Back Bench, a publication we recommend for adolescents and adults. It tells the story of a 19th century African American family that wanted to become members of the Religious Society of Friends. Not only were they discouraged from seeking membership, they were pressed to sit apart from white Friends and suffered other indignities by the meeting.The book provides a corrective for those Friends today who tend to think our Friends history is only heroic.The questions in REsources for the Journey, No. 1 help us to think how we can act today to foster reconciliation and healing.
Our second offering (No. 2) is a list of some of the many books and curricula available through QuakerBooks of FGC or other sources which would be appropriate for your racial justice work.We hope to publish more such lists of resources in the future, so if you know of a good curriculum or book, let us know here at FGC RE.
Read: Racial justice resource list
We have not read all the books or used all these resources, but they should help you get started.We welcome your feedback on the resources we have listed. Helping one another,we can create the resources we need.
Gail Thomas, a member of Cambridge Meeting, New England Yearly Meeting, is clerk of NEYM Christian Education Committee. She serves on her yearly meeting Working Party on Racism. She is an invited member of the FGC Religious Education Committee.
Upcoming Events/Resources
Young Quakes Conference
For high school age Friends. October 14-17, 2004 (Thursday through Sunday), at the Lion's Camp in Rosholt, Wisconsin. Theme: Power and Compassion. More information.
Illuminating Our Divine Connections
A conference for Quaker parents and educators addressing religious education across the lifespan. August 19-22, 2004 at Camp Asbury in Silver Lake, New York. More information.
Discussion Guide to Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ
As you know, the movie The Passion has attracted quite a lot of attention lately and has led to a renewed exploration of Jewish-Christian relations. To assist U.S. congregations in thinking and talking about this movie, the Interfaith Relations Commission of the National Council of Churches of Christ has developed a discussion guide and a list of other resources to help inform and deepen your exploration of the film. The discussion guide and list of resources are available, at no cost to you, at: http://www.ncccusa.org/interfaith/passionfilmresources.html. We hope you will find these resources helpful in your religious education work.
