Thursday

Three fantastic workshops today...

Youth Christ and Culture: Understanding the Popular Theology of Those in your Pews was led by Amy Cook from the Diocese of Massachusetts. This workshop was jam packed and everyone had lots to say about the issues they struggle with in their own Christian Ed department. The focus of this workshop was based on a survey recently done on how teens view themselves in the church and what they are seeking in a church. One of the more interesting topics revealed that teens felt that God was mainly there to help in difficulties and that religion was about feeling good, secure, happy and at peace. This study (which polled all religions...not just Episcopalians) showed that we, as a church, have dropped the ball on teaching the very fundamentals of following Jesus. Holy observances and practices, such as prayer and keeping the Sabbath are not a part of every day Christian Education as it should be.

Keeping the Sabbath became a big discussion point (as has it been throughout the conference) and the frustration Christian Ed Directors feel having to compete with sports. Alternative services were brought up as working in some churches, but not others. Some churches who have a Saturday 5pm service found that Sunday School attendance dropped dramatically Sunday mornings. Families that didn't have sports commitments Sunday morning were choosing that afternoon service so that they wouldn't have to get up early on Sunday. Larger churches were finding it was giving families another choice of services and didn't seem to feel it affected their Sunday turn out.

Talking to many of the women over lunch that St. Mark's provided us, I discovered most all of them had some kind of adult formation led by lay people between their services. Some had that time where EVERYONE went to some kind of Sunday School....adults, teens and children. A family service would follow. In one surprising conversation, one Christian Ed Director admitted many of her parents dropped kids off for the Sunday School between the two services, but instead of staying for Adult Formation themselves, they would frequently go out for breakfast or do errands and come back for the children later. Some stayed for the family service afterwards, but many did not. I didn't like that. Having children and parents worshiping together is so important. But having some kind of adult education between service is definitely something that has benefited those churches who do it as a regular part of their Sunday mornings.

Christian Yoga was the next workshop. I was unable to get into the workshop about taking a mission trip, unfortunately. Laura Bailey from the Diocese of Louisiana led this workshop. I was pleasantly surprised as she led us through an audio tape yoga session, how it incorporated scripture, meditation, and even the Lord's Prayer in movements. Laura explained how she holds an informal Yoga class once a week at her parish after work at 5:45pm for an hour of this renewal. Yoga is a particular interest to me and the ladies at my lunch table talked about how it would be a benefit for their staff to have this time to connect each week with each other, with themselves and with God.

Finally, Jenifer Gamber led an excellent workshop on Technology. Jenifer is the author of "My Faith My Life," which is our curriculum we use for Confirmation at Grace. She talked about the importance of reaching families through technology, and to start thinking of leaving the paper trail behind...or at least reducing it. She was a big fan of Constant Contact for sending out regular newsletters and event reminders. I use Constant Contact at Grace for our Christian Ed communications, and can't praise it enough. She also went over steps on how to create video essays and movies for Youth Group, converting media files, clipping videos for discussions, designing a web site, and surveymonkey.com, a great resource to get feedback from families. We spent a good amount of time on the topic of Facebook, and Church's increased use of it for both adults and youth groups.

Internet safety and privacy of course came up regarding Facebook. And after much discussion about the safeguards Facebook has put in place, most agreed that it was an important resource to explore. Facebook has been something I have been considering for Christian Ed for about a year now, and after talking with others and hearing their positive experience with it for their Youth Groups, I think it is definitely something I would like to talk with parents at Grace about in the Fall for our new school year. I am sure there are many questions that parents have about it all, and it would not be something we would introduce without the support of parents.

After the workshops were over around 3:30pm, I came back to the hotel for a bit of rest before gathering in the lobby to meet up with arranged small groups for dinner. Our group of 11 ladies went to a Mexican restaurant on the Riverwalk. Some stayed on the Riverwalk after dinner for shopping and relaxation, but I needed to come back to the hotel to pack since my flight leaves tomorrow night at 5:30pm, and I will be at further workshops all day tomorrow. Many are staying an extra day until Saturday, but there is nothing planned as far as conference activities. I am flying onto Los Angeles to stay with friends and family for a week.

I'll make sure to update you once I get to LA about the final day of the conference. Not only have the workshops been inspiring, but so has the small group chats with other Educators. There is such a difference in how we all do things. No one is right or wrong, of course. We do what works for our parish. But many of us are seeking a fresh approach to what we are doing. Children's Sunday that we do at Grace was of interest to many at my lunch table because it was viewed as a no pressure solution to the Youth Sundays that some do where the children plan and write the service themselves. Why does everything always have to be such a pressured production, we concluded. Making it fun, making it stress free for the kids, and having them participate fully in the service is a great solution to involving them more often throughout the school year.