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Showing posts with label WRE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WRE. Show all posts

Saturday, November 1, 2014

"W" is for WRE Ministry . . .


And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi,
Let me now go to the field,
and glean ears of corn after him
In whose sight I shall find grace.
And she said unto her, Go, my daughter."
Ruth 2:2  KJV
 
'Jesus' on WRE Float
A father and his young son get on a train and sit down across from an old man. The young boy notices that the old man is holding a box and he’s very curious and begins to wonder about what’s inside . . . Cookies? A toy? Candy? What does this old man have in his box???? And will he share it with me?
 
Finally the young boy just can’t hold back any longer and he asks, “Hey mister, whatcha got in that box?”
 
The father says, “I’m sorry sir; please forgive my son for bothering you.”
 
The old man smiles and replies, “I’d be happy to share with the lad what I have in my box.”
 
And so the old man begins . . . “In this box I have – bread, a compass, a roadmap, a light, a mirror, a sword and sixty-six books.”
 
The young boy has a look of surprise on his face and says “Mister, you couldn’t have all that stuff in that box, it’s way too small.”
 
The old man slowly opens his box . . . and shows the contents to the curious young lad.
 
The young boy looks a bit confused and says “Why that’s just a Bible. Where’s all that stuff you said was in there?”
 
The old man smiles and begins to explain . . .
 
“The Bible is the bread of life . . . it helps us to grow spiritually just like bread helps our bodies to grow physically.
 
A compass . . . always points us in the right direction as we travel through life, even when we’re lost.
 
A roadmap . . . directs you to the right road/path and keeps you there.
 
A light . . . helps us see things that are in our pathway that might cause us to stumble and fall.
 
A sword . . . provides us with the power/weapon we need to fight our temptations.
 
A mirror . . . helps us to see the faults in our life that we may need to change.
 
And sixty-six books . . . the Bible has sixty-six books.”
 
WRE Students
walking to class
This story was shared with the third and fourth grade Weekday Religious Education (WRE) students that I work with during our first week of classes this year. Most of the lessons they hear in our classes are stories from the Bible, but a few, like this one, are about the Bible. Each week, during our classes, the students sing songs that go along with that week’s lesson (and maybe some from past weeks); recite their memory verse & receive a sticker for their book; are prayed for; listen to the Bible story/lesson and take home a new memory verse to memorize for the next week. The first verse they took home, after hearing this story, was: “Grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Second Peter 3:18b.
 
This year, as we study the great men and women in the Bible, our students will learn about faith, trust and obedience and how important this is in their own lives. They will also find that the Bible is the most important book in our world today . . . which is why we call it our ‘treasure book.’
 
Yes, the Bible, God’s Holy Word, a treasure book – the bread of life, a compass, a roadmap, a light, a sword, a mirror and sixty-six books . . .
 
The bread of life – we must have bread for physical growth and we also need to be fed spiritually and our Bibles supply the food for our souls;
 
The compass and road map – our Bibles point us in the right direction and keep us going on the right path;
 
The sword – our Bibles are our weapon to fight the temptations that we face every single day and give us victory over those temptations;
 
The mirror – our Bibles help us to see our faults and help us to change our ways;
 
The light – our Bibles bring light into our lives and keep us from doing the wrong things;
 
And sixty-six books – our Bibles are a library of sixty-six books. There are thirty-nine books in the Old Testament and twenty-seven books in the New Testament. This library contains so much wonderful knowledge, we can study it all our lives and still learn new truths each time we open it and read it.
 
God’s Word – A Treasure Book
Study it carefully
Think of it prayerfully
Tis truly a treasure
Which no one can measure.
 
Our Bibles . . . a treasure book guiding us through all of life’s battles.
 
Do you carry a little box with you? What’s in your little box? Do you share its contents with others or keep it closed up? What do you/have you done to share God’s Word, the Bible, with our Young Friends/youth? Are you willing to share what’s in your box with others?
 
 

WRE Parade Float
Weekday Religious Education (WRE) is a time release program offered to public school students around the United States. Here in Indiana, it is allowed under State law. Each WRE program is a bit different as each program creates/selects their own curriculum and what grade level they work with. In Morgan County, our classes are for 3rd and 4th grade students. Letters and registration cards are sent home the first week of classes in the Fall and only those students that return the cards are released from their classes to come to WRE. Students are picked-up from the school and walked across the street to a local Church - at three of our schools we use buses to transport the students, due to distance or for safety reasons. This year our classes run anywhere from 35-55 minutes, depending on what the school can schedule and are once a week. We serve all 15 public schools in the County and have an enrollment of 70% of all the 3rd & 4th graders. We currently have 5 teachers who all have assistants in their classrooms and 3 bus drivers.
 
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
 
Recipes for “W” I found both of these while going through my mom’s recipe boxes this week. The first one I thought I’d throw in is ‘William Tell Coffeecake,’ it’s been a while since I've posted a breakfast recipe. Her handwritten note that says ‘QUICK!’ ‘Wiener Wrapups’ for all my Scouting, Guiding, camping and outdoorsy F/friends – a super simple dough to mix-up and wrap around hotdogs and cook on a stick over a campfire or the grill . . . reminds me of the ‘Pigs in Blankets’ we’d make with canned croissant rolls.
 
Wiener Wrapups
2/3 cup milk
2 cups biscuit mix
 
Add milk all at once to biscuit mix, stirring briefly with fork to form soft dough. Coat hands with a little flour or biscuit mix and form dough into rectangles or six-inch-long fat-pencil-thickness strips. Peel bark off end of green sticks three-eights to one-half inch in diameter, and completely push them through skinless hot dogs. Spiral dough strips around franks, or wrap rectangles around them, pinching dough to secure. Turn sticks frequently about five inches over hot coals of grill or carefully tended campfire, till well-browned. You could also wrap thicker strips of dough around green sticks over fire – for campfire biscuits.
 
 
William Tell Coffeecake
¼ cup margarine
¾ cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
 
Stir butter to soften. Cream together with sugar till fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beat well. Add sifted dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating smooth after each addition. Pour into greased 9x9 inch baking dish.
 
Apple Topping
1 cup finely chopped pared tart apple
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
 
Combine apples, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
Sprinkle apple topping on top of coffee cake.
 
Bake at 375 F for 25-30 minutes.
 
Cool 15 minutes, cut into square and serve warm.


 

 

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

'C' is for Clerk/Clerking . . .

"And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi,
Let me now go to the field,
and glean ears of corn after him
In whose sight I shall find grace.
And she said unto her, Go, my daughter."
Ruth 2:2  KJV

"C" is for 'Clerk/Clerking.' OK, this is an easy one, maybe . . .

Friends/Quakers use the term 'Clerk' instead of 'Chair/Chairman' for the individual who is the head of a committee or group. Now I really got messed up when it came to Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) - as they have an 'Executive Secretary' at the Section level and a 'General Secretary' at the World level - this confused me for a bit, but I've figured it out now, I think. When I use the term 'Clerk' with my non-Quaker friends they think I'm some sort of 'secretary' or 'scribe' . . . they have no idea what I'm talking about, so I have to stop and explain to them.

In the past I have served multiple terms as the Clerk of the Christian Education Committee in my Meeting. My first term began with just my second year on Christian Ed, my second year on any committee within the Meeting, with a phone call from Francis, the previous year's CE clerk, congratulating me on having been nominated/approved to serve as the clerk for the coming year! Say what??? You can't be serious!!!! When did this happen?????

Seems that since we hadn't met in December and she needed to let the Clerk of the Meeting know who the CE clerk was going to be for the upcoming year - she called all the members and somehow I was it! I really had no clue what a clerk did, other than run the meeting, and I had no idea how to do that . . . I was still trying to figure out what CE did in the first place! Francis told me that she'd help me . . . great I could use a lot of help! Did you catch on . . . I was never 'asked' if I would or could be Clerk, I was told I was the new Clerk! I was truly blessed to have been mentored by Francis in my first Clerking position . . . she was a great teacher.

Well, I made it through my first year, and the next four years after that as well - completing my six years on CE before having to change committees or sit out for a year. I chose to sit out for a year - CE was hard enough for this convinced Friend with little ones. I repeated this cycle of six years on and one year off CE for several terms, ending only a few years ago. And I have not agreed to go on another committee since I left CE.

Now, don't think of me as neglecting my 'duty' as a member of the Meeting, not so. I have been the Representative from my Meeting to the Weekday Religious Education Board for over 14 years now - one of those positions that has no term limit, and have been serving as an elected Director to that Board and an Assistant Teacher for the last 12 1/2 years. So, I do feel that I am doing my part - and I rather like being a committee of one . . . in that it means I don't have another committee meeting to go to, only the monthly Board Meetings! I am free to talk to myself whenever I feel the leading to! Oh, and the 'bonus' here is that I'm not required to make monthly reports to Monthly Meeting for Business, but I do make short reports a couple of times a year.

I am, however, currently serving as a Clerk, and how did I get into the current Clerking position? I didn't go to the 2010 Annual Meeting in Maryland, instead I joined the meeting via Skype and I had connection issues, I just love to hate technology! There are some different versions of how this happened - the official minutes say that 'Luanne agreed to be clerk,' the notes sent out the Monday following the meeting said 'Luanne was talked into taking over this role,' and then there's my version . . . I was 'railroaded!' Take your pick on which version you prefer, I'm sticking to mine.

So, what committee is it that I am Clerking, and why when I live in Central Indiana would I have need to go to Maryland for a committee meeting? I am the Clerk for Friends Committee on Scouting, an affiliate of Friends World Committee for Consultation/Section of the Americas(FWCC), but more about them perhaps in a later Quaker Alphabet post, as this post is about Clerk/Clerking.

I knew that Clerking this committee, on an international level, would be nothing like Clerking the CE committee in my local Meeting. Clerking is a serious job and not everyone can or should be a Clerk. Being a Clerk, and being a good Clerk takes a lot of practice and help from Friends. I am extremely grateful for all the help from my Friends over the years as I've tried to figure out how to Clerk this committee. I've also found several really good article on the Internet on Clerking that I've read and found very helpful.

I know that what I've done, and how I've done things, are not the way they've been done in the past - as it's not my way. I was brought up using Robert's Rules of Order, a hard habit to break. I've also had a hard time sometimes cutting off a conversation that has gotten off the point, but I'm working on this and I think I've gotten better with it.

I've learned over the years, with other groups I am and have been a apart of, that communication is huge. So I do tend to send out a lot of emails - and sometimes they do get a bit long and most of these do go out to the whole committee - few go to smaller groups that may have a particular interest in or are working with a particular piece. Keeping everyone informed as to what's going on, keeping them 'in the loop,' makes them feel part of the group, let's everyone see what all we've got going on and I believe gives them more opportunities to see what they might be able to do for the group.

I've also been working to include more Friends in the work that the committee has to do - I've sought out Friends that weren't doing anything on the committee and contacted them and asked them if they would be willing to do x, y or z for the committee. I don't think anyone has turned me down, yet. I'm reminded of the old saying 'many hands make light work,' and it's so true. While some Friends may ask 'What can I do to help?' there are others who sit back just waiting for someone to ask them to help. It's been wonderful getting to know these Friends and it has lessened the workload of others on the committee that just kept adding more tasks to what they were doing.

Being a Clerk takes time. Sometimes there's nothing much to do, and I wonder what am I forgetting. And at other times it seems that the more I do the more that seems to need to be done. I do think that Clerks need to know how and when to delegate tasks to others - to let go and let someone else do some piece that needs getting done. And along with that a Clerk needs to know when they've got enough on their plate and can't take on another project - either within that committee or elsewhere in their life.

Clerking this committee is an interesting challenge, and I don't mean that in a bad way. This is such a diverse group of Friends, representing the different branches of Friends as well as so many different Scouting and Guiding programs - currently we have members in the United States, Canada and Kenya - and we're looking for Friends from other parts of the world to join us. It's been a rather educational experience for me.
 
I'm finishing up my fourth year as Clerk of FCS, and as I sit here writing this post I have been reflecting . . . it's been an amazing four years - I've learned a lot about Clerking and feel I've grown a lot as well along the way - and I have a lot more to learn! A Clerk can't do the job alone, she/he needs a lot of support from the rest of the Committee or Meeting in order to do the job. I've also been truly blessed by the Scouting & Guiding Friends I've gotten to know along the way - from those who are members of the committee and those parents I've had conversations with about our awards. Thanks Friends!

At times having to explain all this gets rather amusing - like two years ago, when I told the Boy Scout District Executive that I was the 'Clerk for Friends Committee on Scouting.' I even explained it to him, in great detail what that was all about, and about a month later, he was emailing me and asking me "So exactly what is it you do again?" Lots of laughs! I think he and some of the other Professional staffers in my Council now understand what I'm involved in and a bit about what I do. I'm not really sure that too many at my Girl Scout Council know and/or understand what I'm doing.
 
So, a recipe to go with this post???? Well, so as not to get in trouble for this one beginning with the wrong letter, I will give you one that begins with a 'C.' I have made this one for my FCS Friends the last couple of years for Friday night dinner and as the Chair, for the last who knows how many years, for the January Monthly Meeting meal at Mooresville Friends Meeting. The first time I took this to Church I expected to take home most of it - if for no other reason than the hot dogs in it - my Meeting at the time was mostly over the age of 65! That didn't happen! I was lucky to get a bowlful to eat that day! My 6 quart crock pot was scraped clean! Last month was the first time I took any home - expect because of the cold temps that kept many away from worship or sent some straight home after worship. It's a good one for all my F/friends and family members out there who are freezing right now, and it's really easy!

Corn Chowder
This is the original recipe that was to serve 2
 
1 can creamed corn (15 ounce)                     1 cup milk
1 cup hash browns (the diced ones)               2 hot dogs - sliced thin
salt & pepper to taste
(I also add some onion powder & dehydrated onions - again to taste)

Mix all together in a small sauce pan on medium to low heat, until potatoes are cooked through. Stir frequently - if the heat is too high it will scorch on the bottom!

Now, when I make this for a crowd . . .

6 cans of creamed corn (15 ounce)             6 cups of milk (more or less)
2 - 32 ounce bags of hash browns
2 pounds of hot dogs (10 regular sized hot dogs)
salt, pepper, onion powder & onion flakes to taste

Mix corn, milk and hash browns together in a large (8 quart) pot and cook on the stove until the potatoes are nearly cooked. Stir frequently - if the heat is too high it will scorch on the bottom! I then pour into my 6 quart crock pot and add the sliced hot dogs and mix. Continue to cook on medium - low for a couple of hours. Keep a watch on it here too, and stir every 20-30 minutes.

Seriously, when I do this for a crowd . . . who measures! At least not the milk part of it. And I tend to not add a lot of salt & pepper - opting to let others add more to their liking.

I love to mix in some shredded Colby jack or mild cheddar cheese in mine! Serve with French bread, crackers or even a grilled (toasted) cheese sandwich.

Enjoy! 



















Saturday, November 23, 2013

I'm Thankful For . . .


"And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi,
Let me now go to the field,
and glean ears of corn after him
In whose sight I shall find grace.
And she said unto her, Go, my daughter."
Ruth 2:2  KJV

Thanksgiving is now just a few days away and as I've thought about it this last week, I couldn't help but think that something seemed to be missing . . .

Then it hit me, for the last several years one of my friends would post one thing that she was 'thankful for'  on her Facebook page every day in November. I realized that she hasn't done it this year . . . and I've missed it. Seeing her posts got me to think about what I was most thankful for that day, and I would post that to my page. It was always interesting to read the variety of things we were thankful for. Sometimes the list continued beyond November 30th.

A couple of days ago, I thought maybe I would blog about what I'm thankful for this year instead. So, here I go, here's my list, in no particular order, of things that 'I'm thankful for . . . '
 
2nd Jena Family Reunion 2012
I'm thankful for my family - including my parents, brothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, children, and my granddaughter . . . including 'all those aunts, uncles and cousins,' you know the ones I'm talking about here - the ones that I have always called my aunt, uncle or cousin, that are actually my mom & dad's cousins and those friends of the family that aren't related to me in the least and their kids! I was taught to 'respect my elders' as a child, so calling them 'aunt and uncle' was a sign of respect. It would have been weird to call Aunt Mary & Uncle Weir, Auntie Corinne & Uncle Lee, Auntie Elsie Ann & Uncle Paul and Auntie Pearl & Uncle Walt anything but aunt & uncle.

I'm thankful for freedom of religion . . . my Meeting/Church - the place I go to worship God, to share my faith and engage in fellowship with Friends. That I have a choice of where and how I worship and with whom I worship.

I'm thankful for the amazing opportunities I've been blessed with this year to gather with Friends (I'm talking Quakers here), new and old, for worship, fellowship, conversation, sharing, camping and travel . . .

· Friends Committee on Scouting and all my Scouting/Guiding Friends. For the opportunities that we have to get together for our annual meetings, and through emails, Facebook, phone calls and postal mail. For their support, guidance and Friendships over the years. For their dedication and commitment to our Young Friends and the youth around the world. You're all such a blessing to the Scouting & Guiding programs! HUGS all around!

· Friends World Committee for Consultation, Section of the Americas and the opportunity to be able to speak in front of the Section and members of the Central Committee - to publicly thank the three translators who took our US program materials and translated them into Spanish for us and the Friend in Jamaica who inspired us to write a new curriculum that we took global. To present one of our Scouting Friends with the Friends Emblem award for his service. I so enjoyed surprising these Friends! And then to have the opportunity to host a small group, the chance for us to talk with other Friends about what it is that we do and to answer their questions.

· Quaker Haven Camp - I'm thankful just to be able to be able to go up to Quaker Haven and enjoy the beauty that God has blessed us with. An added bonus is the opportunity to be able to 'serve' as a counselor and work with the campers, CIT's, the other counselors & the directors for a week in the summer. The opportunity to worship with Friends at Dewart Meeting from time to time. The opportunity to attend the USFW Fall Retreat with Friends from other Meetings/Yearly Meetings. And I can't leave out the QH staff . . . they take such good care of us and are such a blessing to all who come to QH. Thanks!

· To have been able to be a part of USFWI/QMI Triennial (United Society of Friends Women International/Quaker Men International) and help with registration. I had also been asked to work with the elementary aged children, but God seemed to have other plans for me! I've said it before 'God has a plan for you and me . . .' So, instead I did more registration and some hospitality of sorts. I didn't mind. I really enjoyed hanging out at the registration table answering questions and standing at the door to the dinning room taking meal tickets . . . I met so many new Friends this way! I was blessed over and over each day by the Friends I came into contact with and the conversations we had. And I made a lot of new Friends that weekend . . . including several from Kenya.

· Western Yearly Meeting - it's always a blessing to gather as a Yearly Meeting for worship, fellowship and to share and learn from one another. And a blessing to have some traveling Friends return from other Yearly Meetings and to have our missionary Friends stop by and share what's going on.

·  Now for the biggie, and shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, the opportunity I had to 'travel in the ministry' on a Pilgrimage to Ireland/Northern Ireland with and among Friends for two weeks! What a blessing this was for me . . . I still wish I didn't have to leave and come home when I did, but someone told me I had to, it was time. The Irish Friends, the un-programed worship opportunities, the fellowship, the 'tea & biscuits,' the shared meals, the sites, the stories, the whole of the experience . . . WOW! I'm thankful and most grateful to the Friend who shared this on her Facebook page, way back on February 1st. I'm thankful to the Friend who gave me so much of her time to help me be able to go. I'm thankful to the Friend who shared her flight information with me so that I could get on the same flights over and back with her and another Friend and for answering all my questions. I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to spend the time traveling among the Irish Friends with the other Friends on the Pilgrimage and getting to know each of them, and the Friendships that I've made. I'm blessed! I'm thankful to all the Irish Friends I met along that journey - for their Friendliness, their love, their support, the conversations we shared and for their listening ears. I'm even thankful for the rain that kept us on our toes! And thankful that God, along with our guide/leader, kept us safe during our travels - especially while in Northern Ireland.

I'm thankful for the gifts and talents that God has given to me, that I may share with those around me . . . even if I'm not sure which are gifts from the Spirit and which are natural gifts and talents.

I'm thankful for my fabric stash . . . and all the possibilities it holds! Gifts for family and F/friends as well as items for the Church Bazaar. Some of that stash was used to make the folded star hot pads, small totes/gift bags and luggage tags that I put in the Market Place during Ireland Yearly Meeting this summer. And speaking of luggage tags . . . I made and gave away about 75 of them this year - to my Scouting Friends, the girls in my cabin at Quaker Haven, the Friends I was on the Pilgrimage with and other Friends I met this summer.
From my front flowerbed

I'm thankful 'for the beauty of the earth!' You didn't think I could do this list without including at least part of one song now, did you? Thankful for all of the wonders that God has given us to look upon and be in awe over. Amazing!
 
I'm thankful that I have the opportunity to vote, although we didn't have anything to vote on around here this year. I'm thankful to have the opportunity to be able to voice my opinion.

I'm thankful for the sweet innocence of children! Their questions, their unconditional love and their innocence.

I'm thankful for the Weekday Religious Education program - for the awesome opportunity that we have here in Morgan County to spend time with so many of the 3rd & 4th graders each week and share with them about God - His unconditional love for them, His creation and His Holy Word - through scriptures, stories and songs. Thankful that I am able to be a part of this program - as an assistant teacher in the classrooms, as an elected Director on the Board and as the representative from my Meeting to the Board.

I'm thankful for laughter! And for all my F/friends and family that make me laugh. Thanks!

I'm thankful for clothes, especially those that keep me warm and dry especially during a week like what we've had this week.

I'm thankful for food, that nourishes my body.

I'm thankful for my good health and the good health of my family.

I'm thankful for my home, shelter, a safe place to live and raise my family.

I'm thankful for my neighbors, their friendly greetings, their smiles and their helping hands from time to time.

I'm thankful for those who have made mistakes and are willing to make them right . . . and those that are willing to keep trying until they do.

I'm thankful for all the 'little things' that come my way!

I'm thankful for technology . . . that allows me to communicate with F/friends and family all over the world with such ease, OK most of the time, so that we can keep in touch with each other and share those funny stories & pictures and news.

I'm thankful for Scouting & Guiding programs. For all the youth that are a part of these programs and for all the adults who so unselfishly give of their time to teach them how to be good leaders and citizens. And for all my Girl Scout and Cub/Boy Scout friends.

And I'm thankful for all my F/friends! Your support and friendships mean a lot to me, too!

I'm thankful that I'm not too old to learn and experience new things! I've learned a lot of new things this year, including this blog. I got a passport and traveled overseas for the first time in my life . . . I never thought I would have such an opportunity!

I'm thankful! I'm blessed! I'm overwhelmed!

So, now it's your turn . . 
 
Sunset at Quaker Haven Camp
Do you take time daily, weekly or monthly to pause and think about all you have to be thankful for? Or do you just stop and think about it once a year, on Thanksgiving Day? Or only on occasion when something happens that makes you pause and give thanks?

What are you thankful for today? This week? This month? This year? Have you taken time to stop and thank God for all He has given you?

Why not stop right now and give thanks to God for all your blessings?