Presbytery of Geneva Resource Center
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Hey! What's new at the Resource Center??
Vol. 2, No. 3 May 1999
Editor: Leslie Latham
Dear Friends,
When I began writing this column last month, Littleton wasn't a place many of us could have identified. Tragedy mounted upon tragedy. Unfortunately, this horrendous event has only heightened the hostility some feel against teens. A newspaper in our Presbytery has followed the attempts of a city council to "solve a loitering problem" in that fair city by limiting access (including bicycles) to a central park area of the city, ostensibly to keep the area safe. Many believe the real idea is to keep teens from the region. To me, the problem is that teens are viewed as second-class citizens and troublemakers. The school campus in my town won't allow skateboards or in-line skates on the sidewalks. My seven-year old and I enjoy rollerblading, but we lose some of the pleasure because we have to keep a vigilant eye on torn-up sidewalks, cracks, tree roots and the like. There's really nowhere we can skate safely in town. "Kids just aren't the same anymore." Doesn't this sound like a broken record? It is true-but the world teens have inherited isn't a very friendly place. We must ask why kids are shooting each other and themselves, and what we as adults can do to help. Youth today have to cope with AIDS, ethnic cleansing, immoral leadership and addiction, among a morass of moral and ethical issues, often before they reach puberty! If the church doesn't offer teens a safe haven to learn about our true God, not some cotton-candy fluff image, we all will be lost. In response, people are praying. In one day, I received three prayer chains on my e-mail, including one from a youth in Littleton. Please look for the column on prayer resources on page two. A final thought worth pondering: lest we forget, Mary was an unwed teen mother; the adolescent David was snatched from the lowest echelons of society to be anointed as king. Go in peace!
Leslie
NEW RESOURCES
Gathered in the Word: Praying the Scripture in Small Groups For centuries, Christians have used divine reading, or lectio divina, to open their hearts, minds and souls to God through the slow, meditative drinking in of the Word. Norvene Vest offers background on this process, then step-by-step instructions and suggested Bible passages and Christian literature for pursuing "praying the scripture" in a small group Bible study setting. She also includes the experiences of one group who used the process for one year. Upper Room, 1996.
The Butterfly Healing: A Life Between East and West Aromatherapy, acupuncture, and meditation are becoming more and more a part of American medicine as physicians and their patients understand the legacy of Eastern medicine. Julia Ching, a several-time cancer survivor who was born in China, lived in Hong Kong and now teaches in Toronto, speaks eloquently about finding spirituality and healing in all her places: geographic, physical and mental. Orbis, 1998.
Teaching Conflict Resolution Through Children's Literature What if schools in the United States made a commitment to teach every child in grades K-2 how to resolve conflicts peacefully, without resorting to pushing, biting or name-calling? This book, with the help of a variety of well-loved children's stories, uses reproducible pages and a series of easy-to-do activities to teach the youngest school children how to use new ideas and peaceful words to attain goals. Scholastic, 1994. (Also check out the children's video Rhythms of Peace with Mr. Fredd).
The Godbearing Life: The Art of Soul Tending for Youth Ministry Kenda Creasy Dean and Ron Foster delve into the question of why be a youth minister. The answer is intriguing: because if we provide our youth with less than a life-changing, world-shattering God, then they will settle for something less than God-and ultimately, so will we. The last thing teens need, according to Foster, is another leader with an idea. The authors remind us that a pastor is simply someone who tends a flock, and Jesus commanded Peter to feed his flock. Take off your shoes and step onto the holy ground of youth ministry, but read this book first. Upper Room, 1998.
Physical Education Fireworks Great games and non-competitive activities for "children" of all ages abound in this wonderful resource. Included are getting-to-know-you exercises, trust builders, games to improve reflective thinking, listening or cooperation, as well as some goofy games just for fun. A terrific book for intergenerational activities, most activities are geared toward small children on up to the "elders" in your congregation. Great Activities Publishing, 1998.
Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith It's true, Anne LaMott might not have led the most exemplary life. She's a recovering alcoholic, sometimes speaks like the flower child she was during the 1960's, she wears dreadlocks, she uses profanity. Tex Sample would call her "unchurched." Yet she also has a deep abiding faith and a willingness to share it that left me in tears more than once (confession time: she's also a single mom with a seven-year old son). Read this book to recall how God's quirky grace can work in the most unlikely lives. Pantheon, 1999.
And Jesus Taught Them to Pray . . .
How do we learn to pray? There is something appealing about reading a prayer that speaks directly to your heart, acknowledging anguish, joy, grief or anger. Here are some of the best at the Resource Center: Dennis the Menace Prayers and Graces, by Hank Ketchum. Graces, bedtime prayers and more. Why Hate? Why Pray? The place of prayer in human crises. Set in Viet Nam, applicable still. A Book of Reformed Prayer, edited by Howard Rice and Lamar Williams, Jr. A comprehensive study of prayer in the Reformed tradition, grouped by century and subject matter. For They Shall Be Fed For the social justice proponent in us all: this work challenges us to move beyond complacency to action. Can be used individually or in a group. Lord, Teach Us to Pray: Six Studies on Spirituality and the Lord's Prayer, a Kerygma resource focusing on the six statements of the Lord's Prayer. Guerrillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle, by Ted Loder. "Prayer . . . is always guerrilla action in the world of time no behalf of the eternal." Landscapes of the Heart touched my heart as soon as it arrived. Combining photography, poetry and prayer, Cathy Cummings Chisolm has created a thing of beauty. Dealing with Crisis, though not a prayer manual, helps youth ministers decide how best to help young people and their families during times of crisis. Part of the Roots of Youth Ministry series, published by Bridge Resources.
Church Educator's Corner
To paraphrase the famous software giant, "What do you want to do this year?" Christian Educators and churches around the Presbytery have very different needs. Does your church follow the lectionary in church and Sunday School? Is your goal to have children and parents discuss at Sunday dinner the Bible passage they all studied that morning? How important is it to have participants know the basic tenets of our denomination? What spiritual practices should we be teaching our people? Whose job is it to teach kids about the church's position on drugs, tobacco or human sexuality? What kind of resources do you have access to-and how do you get them?
Too many questions, too much information! But bear with me while I try to help answer at least some of them. First and foremost, the Presbyterian Church (USA) is vitally concerned about our children learning about relevant issues within the confines of our churches as well as in Health class. In the last year, several new or revised curricula have come into the Resource Center. Together: Growing Up Drug Free is for elementary children who, let's face it, are coping with drug pressure at younger and younger ages. How we incorporate God's word into teaching about drugs, both legal and illegal, can be problematic.
Another difficult topic is human sexuality. When and how do we teach children? The Presbyterian Church has recently introduced God's Plan for Growing Up for children in grades 2-3 and 4-5, and updated In God's Image, for very young children and God's Gift of Sexuality for those in grades 6-8 and 9-12. All come with guides for leaders and parents and, very importantly, integrate the congregation into the learning process, either by acting as teachers or small group leaders, or as partners in conversation. Sexuality is one of God's most precious gifts, and though it's uncomfortable and embarrassing to talk about with our kids, it's necessary.
Other items in the Resource Center include Fast Lane and Generation Why? Bible studies for middle school and high school students, Choices Stewardship Youth Education Packet, Food First Curriculum, Trees for Life Kit, Peacemaking Creatively Through the Arts, the Things to Make & Do series, Veggie Tales and Fish Eyes videos, and a host of Vacation Bible School kits and books. Please stop in and look around!
Resources for the "Ordinary Time"
Beach season is almost here! Some ideas on books to take on vacation (just be careful not to get sunscreen on the pages):
Reaching for Rainbows, by Ann Weems.
Because worship shouldn't be limited to church! Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic, by Reinhold Niebuhr. Not really light reading, but now you have time to concentrate on more intense material. Glimpses of Glory: Daily Reflections on the Bible, by Carol Bechtel. Originally published in Presbyterians Today. 2000 Years Since Bethlehem: Images of Christ Through the Centuries, compiled by Janice T. Grana. What people of faith have said about Christ for 20 centuries. Bennet: Stories of Humor, Grace, and Hope, by Eugenia Gamble. Stories to revive your faith in God and yourself. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle. Reread this marvelous classic this summer. Till We Have Faces. C.S. Lewis explores his fascination with myths through the story of Cupid and Psyche. A Newsletter Worth Checking Out . . .
Ralph Milton, author of The Family Story Bible and many other books, pens a weekly newsletter called "Rumors," which includes thoughts on the week's lectionary readings, small talk, big talk and sometimes even puns and wordplay. To subscribe to this newsletter send an e-mail message to rumors@joinhands.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Don't miss out on what's happening in the Presbytery! Start planning now for Fall events. Please contact the Presbytery Office for more information on events.
6/4-5 Do I Know You?
Grandparent Grandchild Event,
For youth in grades K-5 and their grandparents Camp Whitman
6/6 Camp Whitman Bar-B-Que and
Resource Center Open House
For everyone! Enjoy the famous food and pick up some resources while you're there.
6/8 The Churched and the Unchurched
Pastor's Event with Tex Sample
Camp Whitman
9/24-25 A Night of Shadows
Mid-High Event for those in 6-8th grades Camp Whitman
10/23 Keeping It Going: A Hunger Projects
Workshop
For all who work to end hunger in our Presbytery Penn Yan Church
11/6 Presbytery Day: How Does Your Church Grow?
An intergenerational event filled with workshops guaranteed to germinate new life in your church. Penn Yan Presbyterian and Episcopal Churches
Using This Newsletter
Hey! What's New at the Resource Center?? is published during Presbytery months: January, March, May, September and November, and is distributed to Pastors and Elder Commissioners in the Presbytery packet, and mailed to all Church Education contact persons, as supplied by the 61 churches of the Presbytery of Geneva. We urge you to photocopy and distribute articles and information to members of your congregations as needed.
Any member of the Presbytery is free to copy or use any information in this newsletter in church publications without prior permission. We do ask that you let us know what you've used and how. If you know of someone who should be receiving this publication, or if you have an idea for an article, please contact Leslie Latham at the Presbytery Resource Center, (315) 536-7753, or e-mail resctr@eznet.net. This newsletter will only get better with your help!