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.