Education
Sunday
School
Youth
Group
Adult
Education
Parish
Bookstall
Lucy
A. Keck Memorial Library
Sunday
School
Our Sunday
School program currently consists of two classes - a class of younger
children (non-readers) and a class of older children (up to 5th grade).
The curriculum for the older class is from Morehouse/Church Publishing
and is entitled "All Things New". It is centered on scripture
and Episcopal "basics".
This year,
for the first time, we are also introducing the Catechsis
of the Good Shepherd. Similar in approach to Montessori,
it is a Christ-centered program, focusing on the parables of Christ,
Christian formation, and liturgy. The initial "atrium" (classroom)
will include the younger children. Linda Meyer will has agreed to be
the lead teacher for this program and would be happy to provide information
to anyone interested in being trained as leader.
Our Sunday
School teachers this year include Bill Techau, Linda Meyer, Lisa Cerezo,
Julie Gunn. Also assisting are Sonia Warfel and Leisa White, as well
as several parents who are available to substitute or assist with special
events (such as the wonderful children's pageant on Christmas Eve).
Co-superintendents this year are Bill Techau and Sara Burrus.
Though
we do not currently offer a Sunday morning class for middle and high
school age youth, there are a number of options available for them through
the Youth Group, Inquirers' and Confirmation classes, Acolytes, and
diocesan programs such as Church Camp, Beginnings, Happening and Work
Week.
The Youth
Task Force, which met in December and in January, will continue to examine
the status of the programs for children and youth in our parish and
explore possible options. We expect to have a report and recommendations
for the Vestry in the spring of 2008.
Youth
Group
The Youth
Group has fulfilled three main purposes this year: building
community through promoting friendships; providing service to the
church and community, and learning more about the Christian faith.
In the
area of service to the church the group prepared the Annual
Meeting Breakfast, set up the Roberts' Chapel for Holy Week, cleaned
up after a Lenten supper, packed numerous sack lunches, decorated for
Christmas, and helped with the worship service and games at the Parish
Picnic. In service to the community they visited the Swann Special Care
Center once in the spring when they took residents on walks and other
outdoor activities and once in the late fall when they read story books
to the young people. The group raised over $1,300 for Christmas gifts
and bought many new picture books for the Swann Center as a part of
that project. They also purchased toys for children of a teen mother
group run by the Mental Health Center and provided a happier Christmas
for 30 youngsters through the Toys for Tots program. Additionally, they
decorated bags for the Crisis Nursery holiday shop. In the summer they
earned enough money for 1,000 folders to add to new back packs for a
community program to provide school supplies to those in need.
In the
area of education the group explored an African method of Bible study
during Lent. For that season they also read the ancient service of Stations
of the Cross using a shorter version written for teens. As a part of
the summer trip the group visited and toured Seabury-Western Seminary
and learned about the life of a seminarian at that school.
Fun activities
this year included swimming at the Urbana Indoor Aquatic Center in the
spring and at the Meyer-Pilcher household in the fall, watching an outdoor
movie at the Hoch's (along with a hot dog and marshmallow roast), a
trip to Great America, a visit to the Rantoul Corn Maze, playing many
games (including laser tag and sardines), and the annual holiday party.
Youth Group
is open to those in sixth grade through high school and new members
are always welcome. (This year there are at least four regular attendees
whose families are not members of Emmanuel.) Most meetings begin with
a meal followed by an activity and end with the reading of Compline
in the church. The group's activities are selected by members and everyone
takes a turn leading Compline.
Goals for
the new year include continuing to build on the strong community in
various ways and to plan a joint activity with at least one of the other
downtown churches' youth. Conversation is continuing about the possibility
of hosting a diocesan function.
As always
the group is grateful for the assistance given by parents and other
parishioners. This included making meals, chaperoning, providing transportation
and generously supporting the activities financially. Thank you to all!
Adult
Education
The primary
focus of Adult Christian Education is the weekly meeting of the Adult
Forum, a series of programs in the spring and fall, roughly corresponding
with the school year. Adult Forum also meets as a Summer Book Club during
the months of July and August.
Topics
and books that we discussed this year include the following:
"The
Law" K. Wilson
"Conflict
& a Christian Life" S. Portaro
"A
Wing and a Prayer" K. Jefferts Schori
"This
Far By Grace" J. Alexander
Seeing
the Face of God in Each Other Deacon Hopkins
A Closer
Look at Racism
"The
Parables" W. Brosend
My WWII
Experience Jill Knappenberger
(With video
from WILL-TV)
Selected
Advent Readings R. Foster & J. Smith
"Devotional
Classics"
Members of the group also often facilitated discussion.
Goals for
2008 include increasing the number of participants in Adult Forum (currently
about 12-15) and choosing varied topics of interest for the group. Our
group is truly a forum and all thoughts and opinions are respected and
welcomed. Please join us at 9:15 a.m. between services for an experience
that is not only educational but, usually lively, thought-provoking,
and spiritually enriching as well.
Parish
Bookstall
The Bookstall
is alive and well, though not open as often as in the
past. We continue to offer books targeted toward Episcopal and Anglican
topics and approaches to the faith as well as religious jewelry and
greeting cards. Advent calendars were popular again this year and we
will continue to offer them as well as readings and meditations appropriate
to Advent. We would like to expand our selections of children's books
and appeal for suggestions from parents of young children. As ever,
we are open to suggestions of titles to stock in the Bookstall.
Since we
are as interested in books as is the staff of the Keck Library
we are currently discussing with them the possibility of joining forces.
We hope that we can perhaps persuade some of their committee members
to become booksellers.
We have
many people to thank for this year's successes: our
booksellers, the parish and those people who have made suggestions and,
last but not least, those persons who have bought books! If you are
interested in joining our enterprise, please don't hesitate to get in
touch with either Lori Dobrik or Bill MacDonald.
Lucy
A. Keck Memorial Library
The Keck
Library's accomplishments of 2007 were to take a complete
inventory of the library's holdings and to begin the processing of many
new additions to the library, which included a large and very generous
donation from parishioner Dorothy Bell. The Library committee also participated
in Emmanuel's fall Ministry Information Fair, and was pleased and honored
to receive an award for its display. The Library thanks everyone who
donated books this year, and also everyone who made use of the library
either by borrowing books, browsing, or simply by finding the library
a very peaceful and comforting place to visit.
Plans for
2008 include cataloging the new acquisitions, exploring joint
ventures with the Emmanuel Parish Bookstall, and making the library's
widely varied collection better known by the parish.