The theme for First Day School this past year was the Old Testament. Teachers for the year included Chris Meyers, Rebecca Zug, Susan Rich for the Kindergarten and First grade group, Ellen Harter for the Second and Third grade group, Bill Grimm for the Fourth and Fifth grade group and Margaret Plank with help from Sara Anderson for the middle school group. There was not a high school class this year though a number of Bethesda Friends Meeting youth participated in the Baltimore Yearly Meeting Young Friends programs.There were:
12-15 in Kindergarten/Grade 1
3 in Grades 2/3
5 in Grades 4/5
8 in Middle School (grades 6-8)
While attendance in classes varied considerably most weeks there was a core group of 4 or 5 in each class most First Days. Holidays such as Christmas and Easter drew the largest number of children. Bonnie Grimm led junior Meeting for Worship and Sing on several First Days.
Several regular annual events were held during the year. In October, students helped raise money and awareness about the homeless by walking in the Fannie Mae Walkathon for the homeless. In December, students participated in the annual Christmas Pageant that included elements of the opera 'Amahl and the Night Visitors.' Middle School students also sold cookie-making kits they assembled for holiday gifts and gave the proceeds to charity. The annual Easter egg dye took place on Easter. The year ended with a well-attended gathering at the Lily and Tom ConradÕs home that was a lot of fun.
Committee meeting discussions throughout the year covered a wide range of topics including when the children should come into Meeting, how to improve communication between the RE committee and teachers, the RE committee and parents and the RE committee and the Meeting, how to celebrate the presence of children in the Meeting more fully, how to nurture the Light within children and adults alike and how to build a strong and vibrant community.
Some committee meetings were dedicated to the topic of curriculum for the coming year. While many people on the committee thought that teaching some aspect of Quaker faith, practice, history and values each year - alongside the Bible and other traditions - best reflects the current needs and interests of the Meeting and the families in the Meeting, the committee could not reach unity on this. For the coming year, we will be covering the New Testament and linking it to the Quaker testimonies.
The Religious Education Committee did not have enough members this past year to complete all the tasks outlined in the previous year's report or handle the differences in perspective that the Committee labored with. Clerks of several other committees as well as the co-clerks of the Meeting have been attending the Religious Education Committee meetings as we find our way forward. The nominating committee was charged with finding several more members for the coming year, and has three nominations. We look forward to a more robust committee.
While there have been differences this year on how to proceed I suspect that all would agree that it is incumbent upon us - as George Fox intoned - to 'Be patterns, be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations wherever you come; that your carriage and life may preach among all sorts of people, and to them; then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone; whereby in them you may be a blessing, and make the witness of God in them to bless you.'
