Parish Christian Educators
Teaching From the Heart
Saturday, August 23
9:00am to 12 noon
Cathedral of St. Philip
...You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children...talk about them...bind them ...fix them...write them...
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (Children's Bible NIV)
The Commission on Education is proud to present, Teaching From the Heart, a diocesan-wide teacher training event for guiding children and youth in your parish education program this year.
Plan to join us on Saturday, August 23rd at the Cathedral of St. Philip.
Check in and refreshments at 9:00 am and we'll begin promptly at 9:30 am. The main program will end at 12 noon.
We are pleased to welcome Tracey Herzer back to Atlanta as our trainer for the day. Formerly the Director of Christian Formation at All Saints, Atlanta, Tracey has spent the last several years as Executive Director of LeaderResources (Workshop Cycles and J2A, among other publications). She is also co-author with Nancy Ann McLaughlin, of Godparenting: Nurturing the Next Generation and is available for consulting work at TraceyHerzer@aol.com.
Areas of interest to teachers will include, but not be limited to:
- The need for Christian education
- The purpose ofchildren's ministry
- Who is the volunteer teacher & what is his or her role in the parish?
- Teaching children to pray
- What do I need to know as a teacher?
- What about children with disabilities?
- How do insure a safe, secure classroom?
- Tell me more about workshop rotation, Montessori, theme based and lectionary curricula...And MORE!
Plus, time for directors to discuss parish-specific plans for their programs with their teachers. Cost for the training is $5.00 per person. A registration brochure is available HERE and can be filled out by individuals or a group from a parish.
Childcare for ages 0-6 years will be available from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon at $5 per child.
LUNCH PLANS TO PURCHASE
A Farmer's Market Lunch outreach program for the Cathedral is planned for that day from 11:30-1:00pmlllOr we can order your group box lunches...Or there is Fellinis' Pizza across the street. More information on lunch plans will be made available soon. If you are interested in staying for lunch and more conversation, Tracey and Linda Scott (Resource Center) will be available to work with you until 1:00pm.
For a registration brochure, click HERE. For other questions, please contact Linda Scott at 404-601-5353 or 800-537-6743 x 155. Email her at Lscott@episcopalatlanta.org.
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
Level One
Adult Formation Course
for working with 3-6 year old children
St. Catherine's Episcopal Church in Marietta is hosting this training course on one Saturday a month, from 9:00am to 5:00pm beginning September 20, 2008 through August 15, 2009. The formation leaders will be Margaret Jourden, a formation leader for Level I since 1995, from St. John Vianney Catholic Church, and Karen Maxwell, Director of Formation for the National Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and member of St. Catherine's.
The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is a formation experience for adults and children alike. The themes that comprise the presentations and lectures are based upon over 50 years of work by Sofia Cavalletti and Gianna Gobbi in observing and being with children, always seeking what face of God and proclamation of our Christian faith most meets the developmental needs of children.
This approximately 90 hour course is designed to be a spiritual formation experience and instruction. It includes at least two hours of observation in an atrium and/or a Montessori classroom in addition to the course sessions. Successful completion of the course will result in a certificate from the National Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
Tuition is $550.00 for non-members of the CGS, $500 for members. Tuition for the second or more participants from the same church (member CGS) is $450.00. Tuition is payable at the time of registration which is due on or before September 5, 2008. Late registrations will be accepted if course has not reached capacity.
Click HERE for a registration form with more information. You are welcome to visit the website for the Cathechesis of the Good Shepherd at www.cgsusa.org.
For additional information, please contact Karen Maxwell at 770-993-0653 or Barbara Barrington at 770-516-9224 or barbbarring@yahoo.com.
Church School Calendar for 2008-09
Amy Cook, Resource Center Coordinator and Christian Formation Specialist in the Diocese of Massachusetts and one of our National Organization of Episcopal Resource Centers Board members put together a handy calendar for your planning needs for the 08-09 school year. It's similar to the one from the Center for the Ministry of Teaching, but this one is online and in Word so you can adapt to your own calendar needs. Click HERE to make it your own and enjoy! We've left some Massachusetts examples on it so be sure you clear them to avoid confusion.
New LINK IV Newsletter from Province IV
Link IV is the newsletter of the Province IV Christian Formation Steering Committee. This group, of which I am a member, meets twice a year. Sabrina Evans, a member from St. John's Episcopal Church in Montgomery, Alabama, has designed and edited a newsletter for all Province IV Christian Educators. It contains news for and about Christian education/formation--linking Episcopal Christian Educators and churches at the local, diocesan, provincial, and national levels. Click HERE for a copy of the June 2008 issue.
Members of the Steering Committee and the Dioceses they represent include:
Jenny Beaumont (Chairperson) -- East Carolina, North Carolina, South Carolina
Debbie Roddahaffer -- Kentucky, Lexington, Western North Carolina
Jackie Boedecker -- Central Florida, Southeast Florida, Southwest Florida
Sabrina Evans -- Tennessee, East Tennessee, West Tennessee
Linda Scott -- Atlanta, Florida
Debo Dykes -- Louisiana, Mississippi
Sarah Sartain -- Alabama, Central Gulf Coast
Jim Shumard -- Upper South Carolina, Georgia
Educators in the Diocese of Atlanta are welcome to contact me, Linda Scott, as your Diocese of Atlanta representative with any questions, comments, articles to submit, etc. We welcome and need your ideas-- both what you are excited about doing and what you would like us to work on for you. Our next meeting will be September 18-19 in Savannah, Georgia.
Positions Open
DIRECTOR OF CHILDREN'S FORMATION
at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, Atlanta, Ga.
Part-time position opens August 1, 2008
The Director of Children's Formation works with the Children's Formation Committee to plan and implement all of the regular and special programs and events for children at St. Bartholomew's, ages 2 - 5th/6th grades. These programs include but are not limited to: Children's Sunday School (including Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Atria and upper level Episcopal Children's Curriculum classes), Children's Church, Wednesday night programs during Advent and Lent, Vacation Bible School, Parish Weekend Children's Program, Rally Day, Teacher Training and Appreciation, Children's Library/Resource Center, Stewardship Training, Spring and Fall Outreach Programs and Seasonal Special Events for Children. Experience in Christian Formation for children required, along with history of active participation in and working knowledge of Episcopal worship, practices, traditions and community, experience and/or training with the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program, organization, planning and administrative skills, and interpersonal and communication skills. 15 hours per week. Please e-mail a résumé to babs@stbartsatlanta.org. (posted May 5, 2008)
Upcoming Events:
For information on Safeguarding events, please go to the Safe Church webpage in the lefthand column.
August 16 -- Safeguarding God's Children at St. Dunstan's. RSVP required.
August 23 -- Teaching From the Heart Training Day at the Cathedral. See above article.
September 20 -- Catechesis Level 1 Training Begins (see above article)
September 27 -- Joy Unbounded: A Saturday Morning in the Spirit of St. Francis of Assissi with Jon Sweeney. For more information, go to the Institute for Ministry & Theological Education page.
Consultants
The Resource Center has begun a list of Christian education professionals who are interested in doing work in Christian formation and spirituality with parish children, youth and adult groups on a consultant basis. We will publish here information on these consultants and ways to contact them. Persons listed here have had experience in churches in the diocese of Atlanta.
Choosing a consultant is an important step and churches choosing to engage the work of a consultant should discern clearly the purpose for the consult and make sure that all terms are understood before any contract is made. The Resource Center and the Diocese of Atlanta cannot recommend the use of a particular consultant, however it is often beneficial to bring in an outside person in order to obtain a different perspective or to engage your staff and volunteers in a particular skill or program design.
Candy Moser: Regional Training Coordinator for Godly Play in the Southeast and an accredited Godly Play Trainer
Candy has just moved into the Atlanta area and is interested in finding out more about which churches in our diocese currently use Godly Play or are interested in learning more about it. She is an accredited trainer and we are considering the possibility of hold our own diocesan full training (18 hours) in October if enough churches are interested. With appropriate training, Godly Play may be used up through the third grade, although many of our parishes use it quite effectively with ages 3-6.
Candy is available to discuss more introductory two-hour or 6 hour trainings, to meet your parish's specific needs. She is also thinking about offering "gatherings" or quarterly "get-togethers" for Godly Play users to share ideas and experiences. If you would like to contact her, email her at clbmoser@mac.com and introduce yourself!
Gretchen Creel: Creel Publishing and Consulting - Consulting for Youth and Children's Christian Formation Programs
Consulting:
Developing a Christian Education Program
Exploring the hiring process for a Christian Education Director or Youth Minister
Budgeting
Curricula Evaluation and Resourcing
Volunteer Recruitment
Monthly Teacher Meetings
Re-evaluating your current situation
Training: Workshops and training events/fairs on:
Sexual Ethics
Teacher Training
Spiritual Growth for the Sunday School Teacher
Gifts and Discernment
Faith Development
Classroom Discipline
Using or Expanding your Curriculum
Customized programs
Gretchen Creel earned her Master of Arts in Theology in 1994 from the School of Theology, University of the South in Sewanee, TN. She has worked with teens and children for the pst 25 years as a Youth Minister and a Christian education director. She has also developed several programs and curricula for children and youth. She has been the program director for retreats and camps and has provided programs for conferences and ministry events. She currently resides in Kennssaw, Georgia with her husband, John and is the Christian Education and Youth director at Christ Church, Norcross.
Gretchen Creel may be contacted at: gretchencreel@yahoo.com.
Choosing a Children's Bible...
An article on choosing a children's Bible appeared in Light and Peace, on the SundayPaper Blog of Gretchen Wolff Pritchard back in September of 2005 and I just found it. It's a very interesting read so take a look at her website at www.sundaypaperblog.blogspot.com. The "Choosing a Children's Bible" is under Previous Posts.
You will remember Gretchen as the author of the Sunday Papers used on Sunday mornings by Episcopal Churches all over, her wonderful book, Offering the Gospel to Children, and her three pageant publication Go Tell It On the Mountain, as well as Risen with Christ for Palm Sunday/Easter programming. Email Gretchen for a catalog of her products.
Another Children's or Youth Bible is due out from Abingdon in September. It's NRSV with pictures, outlines, a glossary and a lot of good ways in which to make reading the Bible more attractive to children -- even the covers are colorful. But, it's the same text as the adult Bible. They will be available from the Cathedral Bookstore in September. You can contact them at cbs3@mindspring.com .
Curricula available at the Resource Center
For descriptions of various curricula for Children and Youth, designed by Sharon Pearson for Church Publishing, click HERE.
View samples of the following at the Resource Center:
Living the Good News for 2008-2009 is due in soon. We currently have copies of the Fall 2007 to preview.
Morehouse has released book 6 of the Godly Play series which contains 15 enrichment presentations for Fall. Look it over at the Resource Center to see if this might be something you can use to further explore the Old Testament stories of the patriarchs and prophets. Godly Play in Spanish is also being released soon.
All Things New for 2008-9 will be on our shelves soon as well. 2007 is now here to preview.
The Episcopal Children's Curriculum is also available to preview at the Resource Center. We have copies from all three years, Shell, Chalice and Cross and all three age groupings, pre-k, primary and intermediate.
Youth curricula from the Episcopal Youth Curriculum is available to see as well. We have samples from both the Junior and Senior High offerings. Topics include:
Jr. High: Called by God, Called by Jesus, Called Through Faith, Sacraments of the Church, Covenant Ancestors, New Covenant Disciples, People of the Promise, Episcopal Chruch Year, Community Leaders, Christians Build Community, Witnesses in the World and Spiritual Life.
Senior High: Diversity, Relationships, Spirituality, Violence, Peace and Justice, Success and Failure, Who are the People God?, What Am I Called to Be?, What do Others Believe?, What is Evil? Difficult Desicions, and Treasuring Our Gifts.
All five of the above curricula plans are available from Morehouse. Check their website.
The Way of the Child is a new curriculum from Companions in Christ (Upper Room Books). It can be used as a Sunday School program or an occasional program -- maybe for Advent or Lent -- when you want to provide a quite, safe and meditative opportunity for children between ages 6 - 11. It has similarities to Godly Play and Catechesis. The resource center has a DVD explaining the program as well as copies of the Leader's Guide, Resource Booklet and the Family Booklet. Check it out further at the Companions in Christ website .
A few curricula pieces and catalogs from The Mustard Seed Series (LeaderResources) are available as well as several of the Workshop Cycles rotation curricula, also from LeaderResources. All LeaderResource materials are licensed for use and are for previewing only.
Information on Journey to Adulthood along with sample curriculum pieces are available to preview. In addition, two curricula from Saint Mary's Press may be previewed. This is a Roman Catholic publisher and the materials are excellent on a wide variety of subjects. They are called Discovering Series (for junior high) and Horizons Series (for senior high).To learn more, email Linda at the Resource Center.
For adults …
We have a wide variety of materials for adults. Contact Linda Scott at the Center to receive a listing of resources by topic, or stop by the next time you are at the Cathedral of St Philip.
