Youth, Techology and how do we fit it all together to get kids excited

I love it when I go to workshops that get my head spinning. Two GREAT workshops today.

iPad, Droid, Twitter, Potential: Emerging Technology and Emerging Ministry was led by three people who have used technology in their programs and had great resources to share. One thing that everyone in the room agreed upon was that faith formation MUST be brought into the 21st century and utilize it as a large part of its curriculum. That goes for all ages..not just for children and youth.

I loved the analogy of one of the presenters who said that when she was a kid, her mother used to ring the dinner bell outside and she knew it was time to come in from playing where ever she was in the neighborhood. Now, parents text their children when its time to come home from where they are (usually not playing outside, but that's another discussion).

We have to stop mourning "the way kids are these days" and embrace who this generation are. Or, as a church...we will lose them. And we will lose some of their parents too. Because young parents are living in a digital world that keeps them just as tech savvy as their children.

There were some great questions about how churches are using their Facebook page and it got me to thinking about how we at Grace would like to use ours. Right now, myself and a few others are admins and we use it primarily as an announcement site. But what about bringing in a more regular spiritual message. Create a God moment every day with a weekly blessing for parents to share with their children before they start a new school week, or a scripture passage to begin everyone's morning?

Missy Morain, from the Diocese of California, had some really radical ideas that she uses for her programs of all ages using different apps. Buying iPads for the Christian Ed and Youth Group, was one idea, and having kids use certain apps to re-tell Parables by creating them in an app called Toon-tastic. Using iBook creator apps for Confirmation classes, but also for things like an Acolyte training book that kids (and parents) can download right to their iPads, or phones. Did you know there is an app for the BCP? Yep. Creating an interactive classroom AS WELL AS creating an interactive parish is key to attracting new families.

This is not to say that people who do not Tweet or FB or even own a computer need to be left unattended and included. There are people who do not like, or can not afford, to be "plugged in." These suggestions were meant to be used along side of what we do now...making paper newsletters available, Sunday bulletins that people hold in their hands, phone calls, tacking things up on bulletin boards. etc.

Finally, the last workshop seemed to wrap things up for me as to giving me an idea on how to create a sustaining Youth program. Bringing our community, parents, vestry and youth on board for youth ministries was the outstanding workshop of the conference. Randall Curtiss, from the Diocese of Arkansas travels around to churches in his diocese and councils churches of all sizes to revitalize their youth programs. In a nutshell, he said from his experience, the only way a youth program will grow is if the congregation is invested in it. And the only way to do that is to create a Youth Ministry Steering Committee with members that consist of youth members, parents, the Christian Ed director, a Vestry member, and other adults that have no children in the program. This will take the program squarely off the youth leader's shoulders and bring it into the parish.

I loved this idea. I think it could work at Grace. I worry about what will happen specifically with our SYG at Grace when Amy and I retire. I don't see anyone in the wings to take it over as of yet. And it is such an important ministry. We have such great teenagers who COME to youth group. I plan to talk with Father Chip when I get back about this!

The conference has officially ended. We had a closing worship and many of us have said goodbye. I am here until Sunday and I will be going up to Santa Fe tomorrow to do some site-seeing and then I go on to California to visit family and friends.

It has been a wonderful conference in an enchanted land, for sure. I am very happy I attended and will miss seeing everyone next year when they gather in Virginia, but will keep in touch via the wonderful social networking that exists.

What half of your life are you in?

Today was our first full day here in New Mexico. We began with morning prayer followed by breakfast. When I come to these things I like to mix it up who I sit with so that I can get the most diverse experience of churches attending. Today I sat with Adelaide from the Diocese of New Orleans and Sue from the Diocese of Seattle.

I love to see the look on everyone's face when I tell them that I am a volunteer Christian Ed Director. First they are astonished since the majority of folks here are paid professionals. Second, they are impressed that my church sends me each year. Most small churches do not. But there are a few of us here. And I wish more did. This is a invaluable experience.

Big or small, we are all facing the same issues. How to grow our churches. How to keep kids coming. How to attract more volunteers for Christian Education. We share ideas. We share frustrations.

I can't  say it enough times to you-you must read Richard Rohr's book Falling Upward.  I started it last night and I am already half way through.  Today he walked us thru what he feels are two distinct  halves of our lives.

The first half of our life we are trying to figure it all out. We want answers. We want knowledge. When we get to The second half we see things differently. We see things are not so clear cut. We are changed by experiences that we have gone through. And we are asking different kinds of questions. We want to DO something with the life lessons we have learned.

 How old are we when we get to the second half of our life? Some never let themselves get there. They relive the same experiences over and over again. They don't allow themselves to hurt or to feel deeply or to go below the surface of themselves. And unfortunately, according to Rohr, you must experience hardship to fully experience joy. He likens it to the resurrection of Jesus as a prime example of what beautiful joy there can be in the second half.

Fascinating stuff. And a fascinating man to listen to. He admits he is not your typical Franciscan priest. His order is a "bunch of hippies" who like to ask questions, he says. He had us all laughing at some of the funny things about Catholics and the funny things about Episcopalians.

I love that there are private areas for prayer here. Comfy areas set up near fireplaces or in quiet areas with candles for reflection and peace.

There are some great vendors here and I'm enjoying hearing about new programs on the horizons for Church School education...many geared towards technology.

Only one workshop session yesterday because of the extended time for Falling Upward workshops. I attended one about Young Adulthood: Formation in the Midst of Transition. A little disappointing, quite honestly. I didn't walk away from this one with any "hands on" things we could apply at Grace.

Tomorrow is a full day of workshops and the end of the conference

Falling Upward: Forma Tapestry Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico

It is fitting that I wrap up my last year as Christian Education Director coming to the annual Forma conference to a place I've always felt drawn to, but have never been to.

I didn't feel it was appropriate for me to use my Christian Education budget on this year's conference since I won't have a chance to implement many of the things I learn this week before I retire at the end of the school year. But I felt very strongly that I needed to come and be among the other educators and christian formation folks that I have formed a close bond with over these many years. So I am here on my own dime (with a partial scholarship I applied for and got from Forma), despite Father Chip's insistence I let Grace pick up some of the costs.

Forma (we used to be NAECED) is not only a place to share ideas and learn from each other. It is also a place for renewal for the us all. Burn-out runs rampant for those of us that choose this ministry. This is a time to be peaceful. Pray. Rest. Reconnect with ourselves. And with God.

I can't think of a more beautiful place to do that than here in New Mexico. If you know me, you know I am in my element here with morning yoga class, meditation, southwest decor and candles...everywhere. Yikes. I think I might stay here forever.

I spent the afternoon checking in to the conference and meeting up with old friends from around the country. Tonight is dinner and the first plenary session with Richard Rohr on his book, Falling Upward. We each received a copy and I am anxious to begin reading it. Rohr, a Franciscan priest in New Mexico,  gives us an understanding of how there are two distinct parts of our lives and that the disappointments we suffer in the first half can be stepping stones to the spiritual joys that the second half has in store for us.

Tomorrow I'll share with you some of the workshops I attend and ideas that we could apply back home at Grace.

Final Day in New Orleans

The NAECED conference ended yesterday afternoon, but I had decided to book another night at the hotel at my own expense so that I didn't have to rush out of the last workshop to catch my plane. I remember having to do that in San Antonio and it kind of defeats the purpose of why I'm here to begin with.

The last workshop I attended was "Tween Ministry" and it was presented by Stacy Holley who is the Christian Formation Minister for Children and Youth at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

I chose this one because Claire Hart and I had been talking about curriculum and what other churches do for their Middle School kids. Tweens are generally 4, 5, 6 graders, and we struggle at Grace with how to divide up the grades around that age. We used to be K-2 in one classroom, 3-5 in another, 6-8 in JYG and 9-12 in SYG. But our population of kids K-5 is small right now, so I made the decision to merge K-4 into one classroom and move the 5th graders up to JYG. It is a challenge to bridge that gap of maturity. For the 5th graders to be downstairs with K would be hard for them to get what they need out of Church School. To move them upstairs to JYG, they are dealing with Middle School kids and Middle School issues.

What I found in this workshop is that Tweens are a unique age group that really and truly do bridge that gap between wanting to be children and play, but also anticipating being a teenager. There were some wonderful ideas of play/learning for this age group, and also some discussion points that I think are worth passing along to Claire to bring up in JYG.

Stacy's church runs a very comprehensive faith and sexuality workshop for tweens called, "He, She, We and God" which has had great success at her church. It is a weekend workshop that gives parents and children a chance to learn together, practice communication skills, laugh, have fun and worship together while celebrating the connection between faith and sexuality. I'm wondering if something like this would work at Grace. Stacy goes all over the country facilitating these workshops...because as you can imagine...it is discussion topic that needs to be presented by someone trained to do so.

My overall feeling of this conference? This is my third conference, and I would say, that although it has not been my favorite one...I have learned a lot. There were so many workshops I wished I could have gone to, but unfortunately you have to choose only one per time slot and you never know what you are going to get until you get in there. As I said in a previous post--Episcopalians like to think a lot. And then they like to talk about what they are thinking a lot. And I needed more practical ideas in some of these workshops. But each workshop did teach me something I did not know, or think about, before, so in that sense it was wonderful.

I belong to an email listserv for NAECED (now called Forma) and making the connections to people I talk to regularly is always great. The listserv is always a great place for resource and support. When I filled out my survey yesterday about the conference I stated my concerns that Forma, with all its partnering with places like the Episcopal Camp and Conference Centers and Youth Ministry centers and now ordained clergy joining...that the "little" people like me--the volunteer Christian Education Director, Youth Group Director and teacher--are not forgotten. That is why NAECED was formed.

Forma's tagline, is "Partnering to Inspire Christian Formation." The word is not an acronym like NAECED. It derives from the Latin word "formare," meaning to "form or to shape." Forma's philosophy is that we are now an association of individuals with various ministries, committed to the ministry of Christian Formation, each bringing our own unique gifts and knowledge.

Many small parishes wish to send their volunteer leaders to this conference, but don't have the budget to do so. I feel very fortunate that Grace Church pays my conference fees and hotel out of my Christian Ed budget. I am happy to donate my own money for the airfare and expenses because I see what a difference it makes to be here and learn from others.

Next year the conference will be held in Albuquerque, NM. We will see where we are in my budget if I can once again attend, but I hope to be able to.

By the way...Mardi Gras is beginning here and I so wanted to bring back some King Cake for everyone. But I can't fit it in my suitcase, unfortunately! After the conference ended, I did take a walk down Decataur Street for the world famous beignets at Cafe Dumonde. I couldn't leave here without trying one. Delicious!

Episcopalians Think...A LOT

I meant to write yesterday but by the time I got back to my room it was after 9pm and my mind was on overload and I needed some time to process all I heard and all I learned yesterday.

I'll post later today about today's workshops.

They have a great Spirituality Room here with different stations of activities. One of my favorite stations was about Baptism. The photo to the right doesn't do justice to the serene atmosphere the entire room had (we were allowed to take photos later), but at this station the action posted was to reach into the water,take a piece of shell, make the sign of the cross and reflect on our Baptismal promises (there was a BCP there as well.)

We talk about this a lot in Confirmation class...and if you haven't looked at them lately...they are pretty heavy duty promises. I won't retype them all here, but there is a lot about sin and wickedness and evil and your promise to renounce it and put your whole trust in God. I think it is important to tell our Confirmands that fulfilling these promises can be a life-long journey. That even as adults...we need to be reminded about the promises we made (or that our godparents made on our behalf) and that we are going to stumble and fall, but that God loves us and forgives us no matter what.

We had a really moving Worship service after the first session of Workshops, and I must confess that music can be very, very different from church to church and state to state. There was a combination of traditional, contemporary, praise/gospel--and everyone knew at least one, if not all of those songs. I was not one of them. I knew the traditional one, of course. But I really enjoyed seeing the differences in how we worship--yet are the same.

My first workshop was by Sharon Pearson (formally from the Diocese of CT for children's formation, but now with Church Publishing), called "All Generations Learning Together." What I love about Sharon is that she has some of the best resources to hand out for churches of all sizes. I have a packet of papers from her with some wonderful ideas that I am really anxious to share with our Evangelism and Fellowship committees, especially.

We talked about how, not only it is important for all ages to worship together, but to also learn together in an activity not inside the sanctuary. To connect older parishioners with younger ones through seasonal activities like Advent wreath making or having a grandparent pen-pal (similar to our Prayer Buddy idea, but to have communication going on both ways so that the adult benefits from the connection just as much as the child does).

One idea I really loved, was sending care packages from the Church School to our college students. Once our SYG graduate--we lose contact with them unless they come back to church at Christmas time or on weekends home. I really want to put this into place at Grace to keep that connection with our SYG.

After Worship and then lunch, the afternoon workshop I chose was "Formation Based Youth Ministry" by Andrew Kellner from the Diocese of Philadelphia. Andrew is young man in his 20's and is so dynamic, you can't help get excited about teaching youths. I was a little disappointed there were no real practical suggestions in this workshop, quite honestly. But, we did talk about what role Youth Ministry should be playing in our churches. He talked quite a bit about how many of our Christian Ed programs have fallen into the same trap of what is termed, the "default religion." And it actually has a name for it...Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD). I'm not making it up. It seriously is called that. Google it if you don't believe me

So what is MTD? The easy answer is that it is a watered down faith belief that people fall back on that is more about a moralistic approach to life...not a faith based one.

What does your community want from Youth Ministry, he asked. Are we not attracting families because we are too MTD in our Christian Ed programs? It made me think a lot about our program at Grace and what we can do to improve it.

I had many ideas swimming in my head after these two very full and interesting workshops, so while others had social time, I opted to take the walking tour around the French Quarter and get some fresh air. I will admit that I had preconceived notions of New Orleans as being a rowdy, carousing kind of place. But I really found a wonderful energy in the French Quarter. After a full day of Episcopalians thinking everything to death...it was refreshing to see people living--however it was they chose to do that.

More later about the workshops today and the rest of my stay. I fly home tomorrow afternoon.

Welcome Dinnner, Words and Worship

The theme of NAECED overall goal is the same...to bring Christian Educators together for exceptional workshops, spirit-strengthening worships, opportunties for networking and building relationships with colleagues from all over the country.

In full disclosure...this is also a time to renew spiritual reserves, and to reboot our ideas and thoughts and bring new ones back with us. That means something different for everyone. Outside of the workshops and speakers and resource vendors, there are other things offered here throughout the weekend like, small group meals, morning prayer, silent meditation areas, walking tours of the city, 10 minute chair massages...and yes--cookies. Chocolate chips ones. Right out of the oven.

In the elevator up to my room I ran into Linda Snyder from Connecticut whose title changed a few times at the Diocese of CT after she took over for Sharon Pearson, but Linda was in charge of Youth Formation for the Diocese. She came to Grace a few years ago when I talked to her about feeling burned out and out of fresh ideas. She was encouraging and compassionate and gave me some wonderful ideas to try at Grace. Recently her position was eliminated and for the moment there is no one filling that specific Youth Formation due to budget cuts. She is here as a speaker representing her church, St. John's in Barkhamsted. It was so good to see her again, and we plan to talk more tomorrow. She is anxious to hear about all the wonderful things going on at Grace. Things were pretty grim the last time she and I spoke.

The Rev. Lisa Flores, NAECED President, dropped a bombshell during her opening remarks. After 15 years of struggle to and reorganizations, The Board of Directors of NAECED has voted to change NAECED's name. No longer is this organization just about Christian Education Directors. Represented here are indeed Christian Education Directors, Youth Minsters, Diocean Formation Directors, Resource Formaton Leaders, Youth Group Directors, and more ministries involved with both adult and youth Christian Education.

There was an audible gasp in the room when she announced it. I think it took people by surprise because NAECED has had to fight some uphill battles to be recognized at the General Convention many years ago and had finally, and firmly, become known and respected.

So the NAECED Board has voted to change NAECED to FORMA. They prayed long, discussed much and decided it was time to move ahead and expand on the foundation NAECED had worked so hard to build. I will get you the particulars of the new tag line when they give us the particulars, but it really made sense to me as they starting talking about it. More and more churches are getting away from the term Christian Education and more are using Christian Formation. Formation--thus the name FORMA. What's the difference between Education and Formation? I like to think that education is more about knowledge. Formation is more about an overall development of knowledge and faith and going out and living those things in God's name. I remember a similar shift when the term Sunday School gave way to the term. Church School.

Tomorrow is a full day of workshops and I crashed and burned somewhere around dessert tonight. I stayed for worship and now I'm getting some rest for the busy day tomorrow. I'll tell you more about my workshops then.

How to go from flat hair to poof-head in a 3 hour flight

When I woke up at 4:30am this morning to fly to New Orleans for the NAECED conference, I left Connecticut with my usual flat-ish coif, took a nap on the flight and when I emerged from the plane in New Orleans a mere 3 hours later, my hair was the volume and size of a small bush on my head.

Yes. It’s kind of humid here.

The weather is expected to be in the 60’s and 70’s while I’m here, which of course I am not complaining about, but since it really hasn’t been too bad at home as far as winter yet…I don’t entirely appreciate it, quite honestly.

I took a nice walk along Canal Street earlier and I’m finding an interesting mix of corporate and historical buildings side by side. This looks like a nice place to explore, although they are going to be keeping us pretty busy with only one late afternoon free for any exploring time.

Anyhow…I am in the lobby of the Double Tree hotel at the moment, waiting for my room to be ready. I’ve seen many familiar faces from other conferences from past years, and we’ve welcomed each other warmly, even if we can’t always remember each other’s names. There are 4 of us here from Connecticut., and over 160 conference attendees. It is quite funny sitting here, while people are checking in, though, checking each other out as we pass by each other to see if the other “looks like a Christian Education Director.” It’s not like we have T-shirts announcing it. Although in retrospect I’m kicking myself for not wearing my Grace Church T-shirt. Once we check in, we get a lanyard and name tag, so that will help tremendously.

There are a surprising (to me) number of men here. I think we all have it in our heads that mostly women are involved in Children's Christian Formation, but I noticed at the last conference I attended in San Francisco, that men are increasing in numbers in this ministry and I think it is wonderful to see. Many years ago one of our SYG teachers was a male and I felt he was a wonderful role model and mentor to our young men in the SYG.

Once I get into my room in a few minutes, I’ll unpack and head down to the NAECED registration to pick up my packet and say hello. At 4:30pm is an ice-breaker gathering and then at 5:30 is a social hour with some appetizers. Dinner is at 6pm, then an opening program, worship service and then by 9pm we can go back to our rooms for the night, or I’ve heard plans of another informal gathering in the lobby. I, for one, will most likely go back to my room to crash since we need to be up early tomorrow for a full day of workshops. I’ll post more about those later once I get my packet. I’m embarrassed to say I can’t remember what I signed up for! All the workshops sounded wonderful and I wanted to attend so many of them, I can’t remember what I eventually chose. I’ll find out as soon as I get my packet. LOL.

All of my meals are included in the this conference except for lunch today so because I was so early I checked my bag with the porter and had a nice lunch in the adjoining restaurant here. The waitress suggested I try the gumbo and a friend shrimp and Cajun coleslaw sandwich. “Do you like spice?” she asked me. “Of course! I love spicy food.” Which I do.

Spicy food in Connecticut, apparently. What us lightweights in CT consider spicy is no match…just trust me. The first several bits of the sandwich were absolutely delicious. And when I can feel my mouth again I will tell you how the rest of it actually was. I’m guessing that will be sometime tomorrow.

I am so looking forward to tonight’s activities and being amongst like minded women and men who have chosen to make Christian Education their ministry and passion—whether by profession, calling, faith, inspiration, curiosity or love.

More later after tonight’s events.

What Sunday School Teachers do when you're not looking

One of the goals of the NAECED conference is to help balance professional development with spiritual enrichment. Yes, it is a place for networking. Yes it is a place for resources. Yes it is a place to hear speakers in the field of Christian Formation. But a very important part of NAECED is an opportunity for Renewal. Refreshment. Re-establishing balance.

I am one of the few at the conference (the number is over 70, I learned...not 50) who is a part-time volunteer. Not that there aren't a lot of us out there, trust me. In fact, I think it is more the norm than the exception. But unfortunately, most churches can not afford, or do not feel it is important enough, to send their volunteer Christian Ed Directors to a conference like this.

I am very blessed mine can and does.

I am inspired by these women and men (yup...there are a few of them here too) here who are full time in this ministry and who have devoted their lives to the faith foundation and formation of our young people.

And you know what? Full time, part time, paid, unpaid...we all face the same issues. Small churches and big churches. How do you get children/teens to attend? How do you keep them inspired? How do you stay inspired yourself? How do you avoid burning out and taking time for yourself? How do you convince Vestry/Finance Committee that you need more money in the budget?

Just being together with these people and sharing common experiences, quiets my mind and reassures me that I have support. They understand the pressures I feel, the frustration and the burn out. It is renewing to attend worship together, to share a meal together, to sing together.

More later.

Workshops

Youth Ministry Today: Navigating Statistics, Trends and Popular Culture

Led by Lisa Kimball, the Director of the Center of Ministry of Teaching at Virginia Theological Seminary. What a dynamic and energetic person she is! After listening to her talk, you feel like you can go out and change the world. This workshop focused on the complexity of the world Youths live in today and that just showing up at Youth Group is not helping them in the long term, studies are showing. That being involved with their community and be altruistic and compassionate is all good and well, but are our Youths graduating from our programs feeling the two most basic teachings of the Gospel: 1) That they are loved 2) That they are forgiven.

I found this a fascinating analysis of how, in the pursuit of being free thinking "cool" Epsicopalians, are we failing our kids at church and in life by not being more specific about what it is to be a Christian and how faith can help you in your darkest hours? This generation of young people are living in a world where they are being shown to believe that what we buy and what we have is how they define themselves.

Media in Ministry

This workshop talked about creating movies using free software (such as Windows Movie Maker) to promote your Christian Ed and Church events. That if we don't get on the superhighway of technology we are going to lose our young people to archaic ways of doing things. We talked about Facebook and Twitter and digital cameras and pocket size video cameras. How having Internet access for your program space is becoming essentional for older teens especially because it can be utilized in a hundred different ways. In ways that SPEAK to teens. I loved this workshop. The ideas were flowing at all that you could do if your church was willing to embrace technology.

Keeping Up with The Times Without Sacrificing Quality

Ways to Grow your Minitry was focused on. Keywords were:

Connect, Explore, Trim, Rediscover, Choose, Overcome, Be, Praise, Build, Celebrate.

Christian Ed should always be changing, always be updated, always be building...it should never be stagnate. We explored LOTS of great ideas on how to invigorate the congregation to become a part of the Christian Ed process.

More on other activities...

Workshops & More

When I have some free time I'll recap the workshops in detail...they are keeping us very busy here and free time is scarce. Up at 6am and activities, workshops and worship straight through until 8pm or 9pm.

Some photos of Vallombrosa:

Tapestry Conference: Come Away to the Vineyard

I arrived at the Vallombrosa Center in Menlo Park, right outside of San Francisco, yesterday afternoon. Not exactly sunny California. The rain has been going on all week long here, but today promises to see a break of it and temps in the high 50's. Only 10 degrees warmer than home, but somehow it is enough to warm the Connecticut bones.

I had hoped to blog yesterday, but Internet is sketchy here and the only place we can definitely get online is in the center lobby, so here I sit with my coffee. Morning prayer begins in the Chapel at 7:45am.

We learned that Vallombrosa has been owned by the Catholic Diocese since 1947 as a retreat, but the land and original mansion on site was owned by E.W. Hopkins beginning during the Civil War period.

The name Vallombrosa means "Shady Glen" in Italian, in reference to the beautiful forested area of south east of Florence Italy that Mr. Hopkins visited often.

We counted 5 of us from Connecticut...a noble feat considering the distance to travel. There are about 50 attendees this year from Episcopal Dioceses all over the country. I see familiar faces from last year and have met many new educators already.

Yesterday our host church, Holy Trinity had an open house where we toured their Godly Play rooms. Wow! This is an incredible program. It is being used more and more by Epsicopal Churches and I was so impressed. More on that later.

They also had a beautiful labyrinth chapel. The wooden floor has a carved labyrinth for walking meditation that is a very moving experience. With the soft lights, candles and soothing music, you get lost in your thoughts as you walk it. I almost didn't go over to that building, but I am so glad that I did.

Food is included in this conference, and unfortunately it is incredibly delicious and plentiful. It is served cafeteria style with lots of healthy options as well as not so healthy ones. They even offer wine with dinner :). Coffee, bottled water and fruit are available all day long between workshops.

Last night after dinner was an evening Eucharist led by Bishop Marc Andrus. I have made a mental note to ask David about a few things that were different (like the Lord's Prayer) in this service and is there a "standard" form of it that Episcopal Churches use.

After the Eucharist there was fellowship by the fire at the mansion house, but us East Coasters who had been up at 4am had crashed and burned somewhere shortly after communion and needed sleep badly. My roommate is from the Diocese of Oregon so she stayed to visit while I and the other time change challenged folks, limped off to slumberland.

Today are the workshops. My first one is: Youth Ministry Today: Navigating Statistics, Trends and Popular Culture for the Sake of the Gospel.

Morning prayer is about to begin...I'll check back in later today and let you know how things are going.

St. Aidan's Episcopal Church in Malibu

Obviously there are differences between Malibu, California and Windsor, Connecticut.

St. Aidan's is physically nothing like Grace Church. In fact, the first time I came here 8 years ago to worship, I couldn't find where the chapel itself was! There are several buildings on their campus...connected by walkways and pergolas. The chapel is situated in the center of it all. This visit I noticed they had signage everywhere. Boy was I envious! We've talked so much about getting good signage at Grace. I notice it at every church I go to now. It's so important. So at St. Aidan's there is no brownstone. There is no dark wood. There are only 2 stained glass windows. It's the California Episcopalian. Very casual. Very open and airy. Different, that's all.

The Christian Ed Director and Youth Group director I was supposed to meet were both called away to a Confirmation retreat when those 2 leaders became ill, so I talked for a very long time with the Rector of St. Aidan's...Rev. Joyce Stickley. I also talked with quite a few parishioners.

One of the things I loved that they do at St. Aidan's is regarding coffee hour. Families and groups rotate throughout the year and take a Sunday. The Acolytes do one Sunday. The Ushers do another. The Smith Family does another. The Choir does another. I thought that was a fantastic idea!

Their Sunday morning service is all listed in one booklet just as ours is now, and I, indeed, did find it easier than if I had to have done the "Episcopal juggle." Also, when it came time to read the individual names during the prayers of the People...everyone in the congregation read the names together in unison. I liked that.

Their 10am service was about the same size as ours...their worship space a bit smaller. They are talking about renovations for that. Their Peace...they all come out of their pews just like we do and hug and kiss and shake hands. I, as the newcomer, felt odd, of course. But several people sought me out to share the Peace while I stood in my pew. Coffee hour was another story. It was spoken in church for newcomers to join, of course, but I would have loved to have someone come up to me and personally ask me to join them and be walked over. But I just followed the crowd and found my way. I grabbed my coffee and purposely stood dead center in the middle of the room to see if anyone would talk to me. Several people smiled and nodded at me, but it wasn't until an older woman in her late 70's or early 80's came over and welcomed me that anyone else ventured over to chat with me as well. She was kind of the catalyst.

Then I spent quite a long time chatting with Rev Stickley and we shared ideas back and forth about Christian Education and Confirmation and I told her about the NAECED conference I had just attended. She was very interested in getting her Christian Ed department involved with NAECED so I am going to be sending them some info.

The rest of my week here in Santa Monica is spiritual, but doesn't involve visiting any other churches. I'll be visiting my great-grandfather's grave in Glendale tomorrow, and I may stop into their chapel there. My great-grandfather had a very mysterious life. He disappeared in Pittsburgh when my grandmother was a little girl and the family never knew what became of him until I found him buried in California a few years back. He had run off and started a new life. It's a long story...and an interesting one! If you want to know more about it, I'd be happy to share :)

The end of the conference

I'm settled in Santa Monica now, thinking about the experience of the NAECED conference. I'll tell you what...the organizers did a top notch job in the planning of this. They were open to feedback and really, sincerely want to continue growing and building this conference into all that it can be.

Friday was a bit rushed for so many of us who had a flight to catch. That was one of the only drawbacks of having a workshop in the afternoon. I think if they had some kind of activities or banquet Friday night, many more people would have made the decision to stay another night and fly out early Saturday morning. But many were trying to save their church money by not booking that extra night (like me) and trying to get the latest flight out they could.

In the morning was a delicious breakfast at St. Mark's. Then the Annual meeting and elections. Afterwards we broke up into 3 small discussion groups. The topics were varied and let by a NAECED board member. Our group topic was what kind of future workshops and activities we would like to see at future conferences. Technology workshops were the most requested. Jenifer Gamber's this year was excellent. We tried to cover so much in that workshop, it was suggested to break it down into several different sub workshops based on topic (one workshop entirely about Facebook, one workshop entirely on making a website for your parish, one workshop on Constant Contact, etc.) I really enjoyed hearing some of the other suggestions.

Word apparently got around that I am a website designer, because I had several ladies ask me for a business card...which I luckily remembered to bring in my wallet because I was intending to use them while I was in Los Angeles. One NAECED board member also made some kind of comment about what a great workshop I could probably do on web design. That thought kind of terrifies me, quite honestly. I've never done anything like that and I'm not really sure I'm the right person for it. So I pretty much steered clear of that person for the rest of the day. haha.

After a great lunch and HOMEMADE chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies...still WARM for heaven's sake....we headed up to our various rooms for the final workshop of the day. I would say about 1/3 of the people had to leave at that point to get to the airport for afternoon flights. The shuttle was coming for me at 3pm, so I knew I would have to skidaddle out of the there when the class ended at 2:30pm.

Homegrown Spiritual Formation for the Small Church was AWESOME. Sarah Moden-Alliston got us all pumped up and excited about small churches and all that we could do. We broke up into smaller groups and basically created our own calendar year based on feedback with the other members in our group. Rally Day (Opening Day) was really interesting to hear about in how others do it. What I liked most was the suggestion of having a Ministry Fair every Opening Day. So while we are set up with Sunday School registration, other groups are there getting sign ups for coffee hour, readers, healing prayers, etc. Every September people would come to expect this is the place to sign up for the thing they are involved in already...or those they intend to be involved in. This would save the person doing the scheduling for these things a tremendous amount of time not having to chase people down.

I really liked the idea of having a theme for the school year. Everything we would do would revolve around that theme. My brain is buzzing about the possibilities.

The workshop ran over and I was sooo disappointed I had to leave to get back to the hotel and catch my shuttle. I also had to miss the closing worship and farewell. From what I heard, so did many others.

I have lots of hand outs to pour over from the weekend events. I really came away inspired at all we can do at Grace. I was happy to share my ideas with others. I was happy to receive ideas from others. I hope there will be another opportunity for me to experience these kinds of workshops again. They were incredibly helpful.

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.

Wednesday night

There is a kind of peace that comes with recognition. A comfort in routine. A bonding in ritual. Tonight was special celebrating the Eucharist with these women and men from all around the country. Even though many of us have just met for the first time...worshiping together makes us one community. One family. Singing hymns like God of Grace and God of Glory and Lift High the Cross, which we sing often at Grace.

The banquet was a wonderful opportunity to get to know other Christian Education Directors doing what Episcopalians do best...eat! The menu was prepared and served by parish members of St. Mark's. In their recent renovation, St. Mark's has a cafeteria style serving kitchen that made the process of dinner easy. NAECED is the first group to hold a conference at St. Mark's since they finished their renovations last year.

At dinner, I was seated with Margaret Hutton of the Diocese of Washington, Melissa Neofes Mischak of the Diocese of California, Debbi Rodahaffer of the Diocese of Kentucky, and two other women whom I didn't get a chance to talk with so I missed getting their names. I'm sure I'll see them tomorrow.

I am one of the few here who are not a paid staff member. Some have recently been employed at 15 hours after many years of volunteering. Some have been cut from 40 to 20 hours. Others have been cut from 20 to 10. These economic times have touched every church, of every size, of every budget. But the other Christian Ed volunteers I have met all feel as I do...this is our calling and our ministry to our church.

Sports on Sundays was a hot topic at our table as well. Melissa Of California is making it her mission to gather every coach and Board of Education member in her city for a sit down to discuss the issue that accounts for families to have to make the decision of whether to honor their commitment to their child's spiritual formation by attending Sunday School & Youth Group or having their child honor their commitment to their team mates and coaches. We talked about how unfair pressure is being put on families who are trying to do it all, 7 days a week, in an exhausting cycle of schedules and running around.

St. Mark's, by the way, has many similar architectural features that Grace has. The high, vaulted ceilings and beams. The dark wood. The beautiful stained glass. The marble alter. But St. Mark's is much bigger, with 4 sections and 3 aisles. And more ornate wood carvings along all the walls. Still...it says "Episcopal" to me. Anglican. Traditional.

Tomorrow our workshops begin. 8:30am we gather in the meeting room at St. Mark's and then it begins.

Oh, and the location for the 2010 NAECED conference was announced during the banquet...San Francisco, California.

Wednesday

Any conference that begins with a free 10 minute chair massage is the conference for me!

What a nice surprise after registration...of course they didn't have to ask me twice...I was all over that.

This morning I started out early. Breakfast isn't provided today, so I asked the front desk for an inexpensive place to eat within walking distance. They steered me to Twin Sisters Bakery & Cafe.

A chorizo, brown rice and egg breakfast taco awaited me! Yum. Great suggestion by the waitress.

I had some free time before registration at St. Marks, so I took a stroll down to the Riverwalk...a few blocks away from the hotel. I visited San Antonio a few years ago with a group of girlfriends, so I was happy to revisit some of the places along the Riverwalk I had seen back then. The weather is tremendous. Sorry to keep bringing that up, but I just can't help it. It was in the high 40's early this morning, but by 10am, it had gotten up to the 60's. Last I checked it was in the 70's with bright sun.

There is an interesting dynamic here in SA like any city. Homelessness is apparent in the community parks, including the small one, Travis Park, I pass through from the hotel to get to St. Marks. I found out later that St. Marks does a tremendous amount of outreach right outside their own door in that park with community meals, especially.

I spend the early afternoon at St. Mark's registering and talking with the members who are organizing this conference. Kate Gillooly, from the Diocese of Ohio, is President. In the welcome packet she writes that this conference theme is "Marked as Christ's Own." Exploring our baptismal covenant, spirituality, sense of call and opportunities for nurture, refreshment and inspiration through networking and workshops are our focus over these next few days.

St. Mark's has a rich history. They established in 1858 and continued to grow to one of the largest Episcopal churches in the country outside of New York City. In the 1970's they faced a decline in membership, but in the late 1980's new steps they took reversed that trend. They made parking more abundant, introduced mission trips to Mexico and Central America, and introduced new and innovative worship services...contemporary, youth based, and "come as you are."

I talked with Sharon Pearson earlier this afternoon and she was happy to see so many Connecticut parishes represented here (Darien, Norwalk and Greenwich are the others).

In a few hours begins the welcome banquet (no need for dressing up, I'm told. Everyone is casual in jeans, slacks and casual skirts) and Eucharist.

Here is a nifty shot of St. Mark's. I'll check in after the events of tonight.

Hola from San Antonio

I arrived at The St Anthony about 7pm and fell absolutely in love with its historic ambiance. I haven't had a time to explore yet, but that will happen tomorrow. I will post some photos then.

I've been traveling all day and it is 9:30pm here...but my body is still on Eastern time and thinks its 10:30pm.

I've already met someone who is here for the NAECED conference. We rode together on the shuttle from the airport to the hotel. She is Sue Tate, a Diocesan librarian for the Diocese of Seattle, Washington. She spotted me getting on the shuttle and figured out I was here for NAECED too. How she figured that out, I forgot to ask her.

The church that Sue attends has an average weekly attendance of 600-700 people. Yep. You read that right. Their budget is enormous. Yet she talked about having some of the same issues we have at Grace Church--tiny in comparison.

Sue and I both were gleeful at the weather here. Even at 6pm it was in the low 70's and lovely. As I was leaving Bradley this early afternoon, the snow began to fall heavier, the plane had to be de-iced, and I was dreading the worst. But I was blessed with an incident free flight from Hartford to Dallas as well as the Dallas to San Antonio leg.

Tomorrow we gather for the first time in the early afternoon. In the morning I will set out to explore a bit.

Thank you for all the well wishes, prayers and suggestions via email. You can also leave messages here on the blog if you wish to.

Goodnight...more tomorrow.

The night before

I'm keeping an eye on the ever changing forcast. As of this writing, it seems like only a dusting of snow before I take off tomorrow for San Antonio. So hopefully there will not be any delays. We shall see!

Sharon Pearson has already arrived in SA and has been giving us the weather updates and a few tips before we arrive via the NAECED email listserv. I got to know Sharon when she worked in the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut as the Children's Ministries & Christian Education Coordinator,. She left in 2007 and is now the Christian Formation Specialist for Church Publishing Inc. She is a wealth of knowledge and the biggest cheerleader for Christian Ed Directors ever! She has incredible energy and never ceases to amaze me in all that she knows.

The latest numbers for this conference are over 100 Christian Ed Directors from around the country will be attending the conference...the largest number ever. I'm really excited to meet these women and men and share ideas.

The workshops all sound so good, I hope that I get into the ones I marked as my first choice on the registration sheet. We also needed to put down a second choice in case the one we want is filled. Wednesday is the official start of the conference in the afternoon with signing in and a special welcome at our host church, St. Mark's. Later that day is the opening banquet, followed by a Eucharist service. The evening ends with a fireside chat at the hotel.

Thursday and Friday are the workshop days. These are the ones I'm hoping to attend:

1) Youth Christ & Culture: Understanding the Popular Theology of Those in Your Pews.
Recent research has revealed shifts in attitudes among young people and spirituality, faith, morals, ethics and the church. This workshop helps to explain why there is a disconnect between what is taught and how it is interpreted by teens...and what teens are seeking when they come to church.

2) Small Groups for Lifelong Spiritual Formation.
When Sunday worship and coffee hour are over, how do we as Christians continue to grow in community? In this workshop, we'll talk about small group ministries, burn-out, and how to keep the fellowship going outside the church walls

3) So You Want to take a Mission Trip/Pilgrimage?
Everything you need to know about planning a trip for teens or adults, including specific details on the ones that have been used recently in the Episcopal Churches around the world.

4) Homegrown Spiritual Formation for the Small Church?
Talking about creating a formation program that will demonstrate a commitment to children, you and adults

5) We are ALL Leaders- Paradigms for the 21st. Century.
Leaders are not just people with titles. What are some of the new ways to help people of all ages in the parish to understand their roles as leaders and to get them more involved.

6) One Size Does not Fit All: How to Choose a Curriculum

7) New Technologies:
Using technology to reach teens

8) An Introduction to Christian Yoga
A time of relaxation and meditation and incorporating it into your life of prayer.

I will check in again tomorrow with an update. Please keep me in your prayers for a safe trip and a inspiring experience in San Antonio

Preparing

It would be so easy if I could just throw a few things in a suitcase the night before San Antonio and be off. But of course, nothing is that simple. There is much planning--both professionally and personally--for me to be away for an extended amount of time.

I've made the final travel arrangements and confirmed them. Hotel is booked. Shuttle to and from the airport is booked. That is a great load off my mind that I have all that out of the way. By the way, here is the hotel the conference will take place in and where we are all staying. It is the Wyndam St. Anthony. Looks like a really cool place!
http://www.wyndham.com/hotels/SATST/main.wnt



Now I need to get ahead on some web design work for a client so that I can focus exclusively on the NAECED conference without any distraction. I don't want to have to come back to my hotel room at the end of a conference day and have to work on web design if I don't have to.

Rock-A-thon this weekend is a huge planning process and I can say I am finally at the point where I just need to just gather a few more things from home for the event, haul some stuff over from the Tuttle House on Friday, and then the fun begins Saturday night. That will be another huge thing off my mind.


BTW, if you'd like to sponsor one of our teens, there is a sign up sheet on the bulletin board on the LPH. The money we raise goes to The Windsor Food Bank.

We have a great group of SYG this year. The dynamics of the group has changed tremendously due to the large group of seniors who graduated last year and the addition of several 9th graders. But I am enjoying seeing them interact and get to know each other. And what better way to get to know each other than being locked in a church overnight for 12 hours? We will have many team building games, activities, and of course...food. You can't lock me in with 12 teenagers without lots of junk food, for heaven's sake. That's just cruel.

Speaking of food, I want to thank those who were able to provide food based on my last-minute plea. The economy really affected our donations this year from businesses like Target and Walmart and Stop n Shop who usually donate a gift card that allows us to purchase goodies for events like this.

Christian Ed and SYG will be in good hands while I am away. Amy will be keeping an eye on things by herself, so if any issues come up, please seek her out. If I come back and find that the kids have tied her up somewhere, I'll know not to go away again.


After the conference ends on Friday, Feb 6th, I am using the remainder of my miles to fly on to Santa Monica, California (heck, I'm already that far west as it is) to stay with some friends and family whom I am missing very much. While I am there, I will be visiting St. Aidan's Episcopal church in Malibu (oh, to have THEIR budget!). Whenever I am there, this is the church I attend. This time I'll be arranging a meeting with their Christian Ed & Youth Group Directors (you mean there are two separate people that do that job?) to talk about their program. More ideas to bring home! I will be back home very late on Valentine's Day night.

Next entry I'll be posting a few of the workshops I'll be attending during NAECED. If you have a moment, please give me your feedback on those.

Technology and the Church

I had been thinking for quite some time about beginning a blog for Grace Church. More specifically I had been thinking about using it for Children's Christian Education. As I watched other organizations and personal friends jump into the blogging world, I was impressed with how readily you can convey up to the minute information to so many with just a few keystrokes.

So when this opportunity to attend this year's NAECED conference came around, I knew that the time to blog had come. This would be a great opportunity to take everyone with me! A virtual diary, yes, but so much more. I can share photos, video, and even communicate back and forth on the blog with everyone at Grace. How cool is THAT?

What is NAECED and what is this conference?

NAECED is the National Association of Episcopal Christian Education Directors. Pronounced Nay-said. http://www.naeced.org/. They are a gold mine of resources in Christian Education. They offer support, networking, workshops and conferences to Christian Ed Directors around the country. What I love is their email discussion group which is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to what other Episcopal Churches are doing Sunday mornings in their classrooms. Many of the things we have done at Grace with the children over the years, are ideas I've gotten from this list. And I've shared many of the things we do with them.

Every year NAECED members gather someplace in the country for their annual conference. This year it is San Antonio, Texas, hosted by St. Mark's Episcopal Church in San Antonio in the Diocese of West Texas. The conference is February 4-6th.

The conference consists of guest speakers and workshops on a number of different Christian Education issues. One of things I also appreciate about this organization is that they recognize that it can be overwhelming and exhausting to run a program. That is why one of their goals is to encourage Christian Educators to seek out and embrace practices of spiritual reflection, relaxation and renewal.

Christian Education at Grace has been blessed by having the strong backing of our Vestry ever since Amy (waving to Amy) and I took over the program in 2000. So while I knew they would be supportive of me wanting to attend this conference...the reality is our budget is not.

Enter the frequent flier fairy.

Having to use up my frequent flier miles up before April or risk losing them, I offered them up to pay for the airfare to get me out to Texas in February. Father Parachini encouraged me that we could figure out where the rest would come from...and indeed he was right. We determined that using some of the Christian Ed budget and a wee bit from other appropriate budgets...we could do this. Most of my food in included in the registration fee, and thankfully, I don't need a car while I'm there.

So, my great thanks to the Vestry for giving their approval and support for this conference. I am excited to be bringing some new ideas to grow our program at Grace!

And as I said, I will be taking you along on this journey with me. I'll be posting throughout the conference, sharing with you what I'm learning and uploading photos of it all. Please make sure to leave your comments (you don't need to sign-up)and suggestions. I'll be posting what workshops I'll be attending soon, so if you have something you want me to look further into or specific questions you would like me to ask at the conference, please post them here!