Hello Blog Friends!
It’s been a bit of a crazy week around here with final preparations for the virtual Team Gathering, which happened last evening (more about that after I recap the rest of the week!) It seemed that everyday there were people joining on or messaging to say they couldn’t come and sending prayer requests (the deadline had been last week 😊), then the person running the PowerPoint was suddenly working late and unable to come, AGH!!!
Of course all my office time could not be devoted just to the TG. I have also begun the draft of an E-Book resource that will be a compilation of ideas for All Ages Gatherings based on major feasts and other Holy Days of the Liturgical year. Having been responsible for children’s ministry both at St. Matthew’s and St. Stephen’s and also having coordinated “Kidstuff”, the Diocesan Committee for Children’s Ministry, I’ve had a lot of hands on experience as well as trial and error in building positive all age worship gatherings in a variety of contexts so this new resource seemed like a natural progression and also yet another initiative to help keep the ministry afloat.
I’m starting with just a general outline of possible themes and then will run the draft past the Day Camp Committee and a few other people to get feedback.. One of my greatest passions in children’s ministry is to break the mindset of so many adults who look upon children in the church as merely an annoyance that should be kept separated from the “real” congregation and occasionally trotted in to sing a cute song as a sop to people who claim they like to see children “included”.
Sunday School began as a bi-product of the Industrial Revolution whereas in the early church everyone was together and although as services grew more formalised, children were expected to remain, for the most part silent, at least the whole community still met as one body. In the 21st century many young parents are looking for inclusive gatherings and also for new expressions of worship, outside the box of more traditional models. The Day Camps Creative Connection element was expressly designed to bring some of these ideas into communities. We also offer a Follow-up Brochure that includes suggestions of possible All Age Gatherings so the E-Book is really a logical step in unpacking some of these ideas and helping communities to see new possibilities.
Outside of the world of CTM I’ve done some more patchwork sewing, making myself some Plinka Pants and starting a tiered skirt. I also cast on a knitted vest as a Christmas gift for one of my Godsons.
Wednesday I had a lovely treat when Jillian came for lunch. She is an elementary school teacher and this week started her long vacation, so we hope to be able to see more of each other over the summer months. Of course we talked a lot about Day Camps and she sorted out some issues I was having in accessing the sound files she had created for the Day Camp Program.Thomason was quite badly behaved at first but eventually settled down ,even taking a short rest on Jillian’s Feet!
Then yesterday was the Team Gathering 😊 15 Alums joined the Google Meet meet representing a wide range of Day Camp years, from our Speaker, Jennifer who was a Team Member long before I became Director, current DC committee members, all of whom have served on Teams over the past 10-15 years and who have also filled other roles in CTM ,to Melina who was on Team for the first time in 2019. The Taizé music, led by Miriam on vocals and Donna on the ukulele was very lovely and it was hard not to cry thinking back over past summers. Jennifer spoke on the passage from the Gospel of Matthew that would have been the Friday story in his year’s Day Camp Program, “The Pushy Disciples” (the sons of Zebedee). Kathleen read a series of prayers that participants had submitted and some of us even drank Mrs. Philmore’s Mint Limeade 😊 After the formal worship time most of the group stayed online for another half hour updating each other on their lives and reminiscing with stories from their Day Camp Team experiences.It was a lovely evening and I’m sure we will use this model again for future gatherings.
This has turned into an extra long post so it is certainly time to close off. As the weather was super hot and humid for most of the week, I thought a main course salad might be in order 😊
3 Cheese Salad
- 4 ozs. each of Cheddar, Haloumi and Parmesan Cheese, all cut into small dice
- 2 crisp apples, thinly sliced and dipped in lemon juice
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- 4 cups shredded lettuce
- 1 cup thinly sliced white radishes
- 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
- ½ cup pistachios
Arrange the lettuce on a shallow platter and layer with the cucumber, radishes, apples, cheeses and pistachios, in that order. Whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and pour over the salad just before serving accompanied by a crusty loaf of bread. Serves 3-4