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Religious Education for our Youth

Dear families!
We, the Religious Education Committee, are excited to announce the plan for the next two months.  

 During later Meeting for Worship, the RE committee will supervise a version of the same Meditative Nature Walks we have been offering throughout the pandemic. These walks will take place near the meetinghouse for 45 minutes. They will include walking to a quiet place, worship sharing in response to a query for about 10 minutes, and then walking back. They are for children, families, and any other Friends who wish to join, but parents are also welcome to remain at MfW. 

Rationale: Involving children of the meeting in worship sharing makes it possible for them to hear from adults about their spiritual lives and how they follow their leadings. Children respond well to being outdoors and walking instead of sitting and having to be quiet during a lesson. They are welcome to share in the worship and their messages are treated with respect just like the adults.

Details:

• There will be two adults on every walk.
• Children who are four and under will stay with the Child Care Provider.
• All adults and children will need to be wearing a well fitting mask.
• Children should be dressed for a walk outdoors in sturdy shoes and wear clothing for whatever weather presents. 
• Please bring a water bottle.
• We will offer a snack in the last 15 minutes instead of having the children come into the MfW. If you want your child to join MfW for the last 15 minutes just let us know and we will make that happen.
• We ask that all members of the RE committee be emailed if anyone ends up as a COVID contact or COVID positive.

Come November, COVID permitting, we plan to share Quakerly stories and do related art projects. We will be working with the children to create a Christmas program during this time as well. We will let you know at the end of October what COVID mitigation strategies are going to be put in place during this time period.

Thank you! RE Committee:  Hank Schutz, Rosemary Gould, Teri Lamb, Will Grover, & Nikki Smithson

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Options For At-Home Friendly Religious Education With Children

1. Goose Creek Meeting posts a weekly lesson guide:  First Day School – Goose Creek Friends Meeting  Each week has a different theme and contains a variety of activities that students and families can do from home, including books to read, videos to watch, queries, and hands-on projects. The activities suggested are for a range of ages.

• Goose Creek Meeting is also offering a Zoom story time at 1:00pm on Sundays.  Contact Dave Lockledge for contact information if you want to join that activity. 

3. Honolulu Monthly Meeting has Zoom First Day School from 4:00-5:00 PM.  They currently have a small group of young Friends, ages 8-14, with a dynamic young lead teacher who is open to our children participating.  Contact Ted Siedlecki for more information if you want to join that activity. 

4. The Stony Run Friends Meeting in Baltimore has a group of Friends from Africa who are offering “programmed” worship via Zoom under the leadership of Pastor Gilbert Imbayi.  Before worship, Lucy Sikinyi leads a lesson with the children via Zoom.  She wrote: “indeed we’ll be honored and blessed to have children from Charlottesville join our Sunday School/First Day School.” Please find the link below.

Friends from Africa Sunday School/First Day School and children’s worship

Join Zoom Meeting — Sundays 10:00 AM to 10:45 AM

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2191246811?pwd=SXdDcERuWStCOGt0alBTTndGSFg1Zz09

Meeting ID: 219 124 6811

Password: 546780

If the above Zoom link does not work, check Stony Run’s webpage What’s New to see if the Zoom link has been changed.

5. Watch a Faith & Play video on YouTube:  Faith & Play Stories  Faith & Play includes stories of Quaker faith, practice and witness, told in the manner of Godly Play (a resource to teach stories from the Bible in an open-ended way that invites children to experientially find themselves in the stories). Designed for children ages 3-6. Your child can participate with the story if you provide some simple art materials.

6. Watch a Godly Play video on YouTube:  GodlyPlayFoundation  Lessons based on Bible stories, designed for children ages 3-6.  Your child can participate with the story if you provide some simple art materials.

7. With teens, watch and discuss a Quaker-related video:

QuakerSpeak. There are many topics, so look for one that might appeal to your teen.  QuakerSpeak

Quakers in Britain have some interesting videos of “Spiritual Journeys” delivered by young Friends. Quakers in Britain

Pendle Hill lectures. Pendle Hill USA These are long, so you will likely want to watch just a portion.

We can lend you a copy of the DVD version of a special that aired on PBS: Quakers: The Quiet Revolutionaries.  HOME – Quakers  You can easily watch one section and discuss. Contact Ted Siedlecki if you want to borrow that DVD.

8. FGC has some nice activities meant for First Day School that can easily be used at home: Quaker Activity Pages for Children  These include coloring pages, word hunt, and crossword puzzles for a range of ages.

9. Activity: Help your child make a card, drawing, or baked goods to give to an elder Friend or a Friend who lives alone.  You could deliver your gift via the mail, or you could deliver it in person which could be more fun and meaningful for both parties. If you are going to deliver in person, coordinate with the recipient for a time and a COVID-safe way to deliver, perhaps placing it at the front door, ringing bell, and then standing back 8-10 feet so that you can unmask. You can choose a Friend that your child might recognize or you can ask us for names of Friends that would welcome a socially-distanced brief visit.

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The Activities Below have been suspended for the duration of the pandemic.

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