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A Note from Rev. Bonnie
Looking Toward Next Year

This is the time of year when Eliot's leadership turns to detailed planning for next year. We're thinking through what could be accomplished during the year, and what you would most like to see happen. Our hopes and dreams are reflected in the congregation's budget. So there will be several meetings very soon to float ideas about what you are most enthusiastic about accomplishing here. The meetings will be February 23 and March 2, after the services in Adams Hall.

One of the ideas we will be talking about in these meetings is increasing the salary for our Director of Religious Education. You may not be aware that this position is a full-time job. This position includes:

• recruiting teachers (over 100 a year needed for our program)
• offering training and support for teachers
• organizing the classes through registration of children and assigning teachers to classes
• preparing the curriculum for teachers and getting supplies
• on-going communication with teachers and parents
• organizing special activities such as the Secret Pal program, Holiday Pageant, GATE, etc (done with strong support from the Religious Education Committee)
• meeting with the RE committee, church staff, and ministers
• continuing education training
• and more.

Yes, it is a full-time job. And the responsibilities have increased in the past few years. The salary, however, really hasn't. The Personnel Committee is aware of this, and would like to address the situation.

I know our RE families are often spread way too thin to attend extra church meetings, especially ones about budgets! But these meetings are about our hopes and dreams for our RE program, and about appreciating staff. If you cannot get to one of the meetings, please find another way to make your voice heard. Contact the Canvass Team, via notes to the office, or e-mail one of the ministers. Also be aware that if we're going to be able to make this commitment to our staff, your generosity is crucial. Please consider whether you yourself are able to increase your financial gift to the church as you give an opinion on how the money should be spent.

There are other hopes and dreams for next year that will be presented at these meetings. An order of service insert on Feb. 23 will detail some of the other ideas. Be sure to consider them carefully. What I'm really hoping for is that our families' voices will be heard, no matter where you decide to put your support.

Thanks to all!

Faithfully, Bonnie

Family Worship Sunday

On March 23, we will have our last Family Worship service of the church year in Adams Hall. As before, it will run concurrently with the service in the sanctuary. Many of you may have already experienced Family Worship. We again hope to provide children a full worship service at a level they will understand, while giving families an opportunity to have a common worship experience. Everyone is invited to attend, and we especially ask that families with children PreK - 5th grade enjoy the service together. We will continue to have teachers at each level to escort children whose parents are not attending Family Worship to the service. Children left with teachers will return to their classrooms to be picked up after the service in the sanctuary. The Nursery at both services and at 10:45 6th grade and up will meet as usual. Intermediate teachers have the option to stay in their class or attend the Family Worship.

Top 10 Reasons for Teaching RE
Why Teaching RE is so Satisfying by Debbie Fechter

10. My own children’s attendance at RE is remarkably good when I teach.

9. It’s a family affair. My daughters make my “sample” crafts, my husband clips pictures from magazines and we read the recommended books and vote on our favorites.

8. I feel supported. Joan (our RE Director) is wonderfully attentive and the curriculum is easy to follow.

7. The fun of rushing to a window to watch a freight train pass by.

6. Encircled by children and sensing a quiet anticipation as I read a wonderful book. Realizing yet another train is rolling by but this time nobody seems to notice.

5. Drawing pictures with scented markers and laughing at each other’s “dotted” noses.

4. Meeting a visiting mom or dad, with a shy child peeking from behind them, and feeling tremendous confidence in saying “Welcome.”

3. The endless supply of Goldfish and Animal Crackers in our RE cabinet.

2. Lighting the chalice, singing our song, feeling connected to such little people.

1. Navigating my way through Adams Hall after a service and feeling a slight tug at my shirt or small arms beginning to wrap around my legs. I look down to find a small familiar face smiling up at me. That face says it all – “You are an adult I know and trust”. It’s what I want for my own children and I’m privileged to give of myself in this simple yet powerful way.

Important Note to Parents

For your children’s safety - please do not allow your children to play on the playground unattended.

FYI - Please be courteous to our volunteer teachers and pick up your children from their classrooms at 10:15 or 11:45, or if the service runs late, immediately following the adult service. Teachers often have their own children to get from other classrooms, as well as needing time to clean up after class. Make a note of the dismissal policy note below.

Note to Teachers

• New dismissal policy - for all classes
  
  At the end of class, for our Eliot Chapel children’s safety, children 5th grade and younger should not be released from the classroom without an adult or responsible older sibling (6th grade or up.) Youth 6th grade and up may make arrangements to meet their families elsewhere, but teachers should wait for the adult service to end before dismissal.
  
  Parents should pick up their children immediately following the service (see note above). Teachers - if you have a child who is habitually not being picked up in a timely manner, please feel free to talk to the child’s parents or ask Joan to do so for you.
• On another note, be sure to leave a note for parents on your classroom door if you take your class outside to play.

Ongoing Groups

Yes to Summer RE

We are really excited to announce that we will offer Summer RE this year. Thank you to the 9 wonderful volunteers who will teach this summer: Angie and Chris Bowland, Carolyn Burke, Beth Campbell-Blethroad, Debbie Fechter, Jane Larson, Lynn Murphy, Teresa Reeves, and Nancy Rubin. We will have one multi-age classroom for children 4 years and older (with older children assisting). We will also continue to have child care for our 3 year old and younger children as we have in the past. Summer classes will meet at 9:30 a.m. every Sunday from June 8 to August 31, except for Father’s Day on June 15, when children will attend the intergenerational service.

Looking for Videos

We are looking for the following videos to use during the Summer RE program: “The Butter Battle Book,” “Horton Hears A Who,” and “The Lorax.” If you have any of these videos and are willing to loan them for a Sunday morning class, please let Joan know. Thanks!

Thank You's

Nursery users have already experienced the brand new safety gate recently installed - it’s so simple even I can use it! A huge THANK YOU goes to Rich and Dianne Wagner - to Dianne for going out and finding it and picking it up, and to Rich for installing it.

To the GATE partners who painted Rooms 001 and 002 in the lower level and the Junior High folks who painted Room 006. We worked hard!

Youth Worship

Amie Merz will lead a Youth Worship for youth in grades 6 - 12 at 10:00 a.m. on March 16 in Children’s Chapel. It will be an all music worship - and you don’t want to miss it!

Lost and Found - Last Chance

Items left in the Lost and Found box across from the soda machine will be donated to charity after March 31 - to make room for new lost and found items. Be sure to check for any lost items before the deadline.

Fun and Games

See if you can break the code. These are people from the Old Testament. We will be looking at Old Testament stories this summer in Summer Camp. (One letter stands for another. If you think an X equals a K, it will equal a K throughout the puzzle. Solution is by trial and error. Hint I = A.

1. P Z I C

2. L I M J L

3. O I U I C

4. X Z O T O

5. I G U I C I X

6. T O V C T U

7. L I P J T W

8. T W J A I C

9. P I Z X J

10. U Q V C

Did You Know...

..that Wiccans celebrate the Vernal (or Spring) Equinox on March 21 with a Sabbat called Ostara? The word Ostara comes from the name of the lunar (moon) goddess Eostre. Her chief symbols were the bunny (for fertility and because the image of a rabbit can be seen in the full moon), and the egg (representing the cosmic egg of creation). This is where the customs of "Easter Eggs" and the "Easter Bunny" originated. And do you notice how similar the word Easter is to Ostara?

Wiccans believe Ostara is a time to celebrate the arrival of Spring, the renewal and rebirth of nature, and the coming lushness of summer. It is at this time when light and darkness are in balance, yet the light is growing stronger by the day. The forces of masculine and feminine energy, yin and yang, are also in balance at this time.

And if you’re wondering what Wicca is, it’s a neo-pagan religion based on the pre-Christian traditions of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

March RE Calendar

March 2, Sunday

Children K-5 in sanctuary first 15 minutes both services
No Children's Chapel/RE Classes as usual
12:00 noon - 4:00 p.m. OWL class

March 7, Friday

9:30 - 10:30 a.m. Play group in nursery

March 9, Sunday

Classes and Children’s Chapel as usual
Children’s Chapel led by Bonnie Vegiard
10:15 - 10:40 a.m. Superst*rs Rehearsal in music room
12:00 noon - 4:00 p.m. Last OWL class

March 13, Thursday

10:00 a.m. Play group meets at Powder Valley

March 14, Friday

7:00 - 11:00 p.m. Senior High Masquerade Party

March 16, Sunday

Classes and Children’s Chapel as usual
Children’s Chapel led by Jeff Matthews, Prelude by Judy Lindquist
10:15 - 10:40 a.m. Superst*rs Rehearsal in music room
10:00 a.m. Youth Worship in Children’s Chapel

March 21, Friday

9:30 - 10:30 a.m. Play group in nursery
8:00 p.m. - 8:00 a.m. Junior High lock-in

March 23, Sunday

Family Worship - See Family Worship article for more details.
Family Worship begins at 9:20 and 10:50 a.m.
10:15 - 10:40 a.m. Superst*rs Rehearsal in music room

March 29, Saturday

1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Social Justice Workshop

March 30, Sunday

Classes and Children’s Chapel as usual
Children’s Chapel led by Jeff Matthews
10:15 - 10:40 a.m. Superst*rs Rehearsal in music room

Answers to Fun and Games:
1. Noah, 2. David, 3. Sarah, 4. Moses, 5. Abraham, 6. Esther, 7. Daniel, 8. Elijah, 9. Naomi, 10. Ruth.

This newsletter is a product of the Eliot Chapel Religious Education Department. Please direct any articles, comments, or questions to Joan Casey (Religious Education Facilitator) at 314-821-0911. An article must be submitted no later than the 20th of each month to ensure it appearing in the next issue.

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