|
Swarthmore Friends Meeting Swarthmore,
Pennsylvania
|
|
|
First Day School Religious education for young people is called "First Day School." The young people are divided into several groups. There is childcare for the pre-school children, two levels for Elementary school-age children, a Middle School-age group, a once-a-month High School-age group, and a student breakfast for College students each Sunday when the college is in session. In April 2010 the new Clerk, Elizabeth McAndrew and Co-Clerk, Barbara BurgerLentz were announced. Kit Raven offered a 5-year recap of FDS while she has been Clerk: Initially the downstairs classrooms needed major cleaning and de-humidifiers installed; New tables were added in 2009; A special Faith and Play classroom was set up and supplied. Notably, children from other Meetings have been attending Swarthmore’s Faith and Play program, since their own Meeting does not have one; Childcare for Middle-School age children has been instituted on a year-round basis; and group teaching evolved in the upper classes. Looking forward, Barbara BurgerLentz presented one of FDS’s future goals: to nurture the transitioning of the large cohesive group of middle schoolers into a high school group. General First Day School Events
Every Sunday from Memorial Day through Labor Day, there is a family-style, multi-age childcare, provided by the Meeting's teens. Bird Walk and Breakfast May 2, 2010 -- A First Day School Favorite One of the most loved traditions of the Swarthmore Monthly Meeting First Day School program is the annual bird walk and breakfast. For as long as anyone can remember, First Day School students and Meeting members have been gathering early in the morning on the first Sunday in May to see and hear a symphony of birds. The walk across the campus and through the woods never disappoints, as the flowers, birds and wildlife are all worth the trek. Johanna Sibbett has been leading this adventure for many years and robins, blackbirds, doves, cardinals and blue jays are almost guaranteed. After an hour of hiking and bird watching, the assembled group returns to the Meetinghouse for a wonderful breakfast prepared by Bill DeGrado and a rotating group of chefs. The Bird Walk breakfast always includes eggs, sticky buns and strawberries, and Bill is always surprising us with scrumptious additions to the menu. This year's Bird Walk will be held on May 2, 2010. The bird walkers will gather at 8:00 a.m. and breakfast will begin at 9:00 a.m. All Meeting members and attenders are invited. Pleases join us for breakfast, followed by Meeting for Worship, even if you can not make it for the bird walk. Swarthmore Friends First Day School Visits Christ Church in Philadelphia On Sunday, March 3, Mark Taylor and I escorted a group of our First Day School 3-5th-grade and Middle School students down to Old City Philadelphia to attend the 11:00 a.m. service at Christ Church, the birthplace of the American Episcopal Church. This trip came about from this year's theme in the 3-5th-grade of learning about different religions. Since spring was springing we decided to do our first interfaith visit. The choice of where to go had many factors. As our first visit I wanted to find something different from Quakerism but not that different (Episcopal is not Hindu) and I wanted to go somewhere with lots of stories relevant to our kids. Christ Church fits the bill with its Protestant Liturgy and its place in the religious and political history of the country. We arrived in Old City on a beautiful day in plenty of time for discussions in the church courtyard before the service. The kids and our parent contingent were fascinated by the graves and markers in the church yard. Several of the graves were for signers of the Declaration of Independence. With all the parents helping out we talked about history, about the reformation, about Communion, and about how to follow a church program. Finally we went in and were met warmly by ushers and by the assistant Minister, Susan Richardson, who I had talked with by email before the visit. We moved into pews looking a lot like box seats at the ball game (wooden though, not metal and plastic). We all looked up and around. High, high ceilings and beautiful wood molding painted a perfect white. I had been in the church before and in my mind it was ornate, but it really wasn't; it was fancy and mighty distracting, but no stained glass, no murals, no gilding. The organ started to play. Our students thought it was very somber but they were also reacting to more evidence of burial plots inside the sanctuary (some kids thought that was a little creepy). The choir started and robed celebrants came forward. The students tried to follow the service in using programs, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Hymnal. There was a lot of stuff to look at. Respectfully our kids stood and sat when required but none took the extra step of kneeling on the provided cushions. Some tried to speak along with the words; some did not. Once the Sermon was done, the students got a little fidgety but the communion liturgy hadn't even started yet. An Episcopal service, at least this one, is not short, but it is busy. We were all welcomed to come and partake of the blessed bread and wine, but like the kneeling, the kids didn't seem to feel compelled. As the service finished up I was glad to see our kids, even though they were tired and hungry, were attentive and marvelously well-behaved. After the service we had two brief discussions with Rev. Richardson and the church historian. Rev. Richardson answered lots of questions from parents and kids. The historian talked about the history of the people who worshiped there and about the relationship of the early congregation to Quakers. He noted that the outside of the churches built in Philadelphia were specifically kept simple to blend in with the Quaker sensibility of America's colonial capital. It was also noted that the Baptism Fount in the rear of the church was actually the one used in England to baptize William Penn. We learned about slaves and church and about women and church and we were encouraged to live in the history our community provides and learn from it. May aspects of the service brought up more questions for our parents than our kids. For instance, the kids did not seem to react to the to the Priest being a woman. Seeing a woman in the role of chief celebrant, wearing the Lenten robes was still different for me, but not the kids. This both makes me feel old but also reinforces our need to keep teaching the kids about how Quakerism fits into the varied landscape of American religion. We have already had some interesting discussion with our kids after the visit. Most reported having had fun on the visit and want to do more. Most interesting, both Lizzie King and Max Starr in our discussion expressed the idea that being told what to pray about wasn't their style (paraphrasing here). Max and Lizzie also like returning the simplicity of their Quaker roots. Submitted by Barbara BurgerLentz, Co Clerk, First Day School Quaker Youth Pilgrimage 2010, Northwestern United States: Is it for You? When: July 16 to August 13, 2010 Extended Deadline: November 30, 2009. To download flyer and more information go to the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) website: http://www.fwccamericas.org/events/images/QYP_09_flyer.pdf
|