Sunday School Corner

June 2010

The Science Barge,the Sustainable Urban Farm

On Sunday, May 23, following the platform and hospitality, many of us headed down to the Science Barge in Yonkers. The trip, which was organized by Yvonne and Emile Last was attended by over 20 people from our society. The trip was so well attended that we needed to break up into two groups to receive a tour of the barge.

The day was a little windy and as we approached the barge, you could hear the wind turbines spinning to catch the wind energy and convert it into electricity. You could see the solar panels pointing in the optimal direction to catch whatever light was available and convert it into electricity as well. We learned that when there is not enough sun and wind, they use biofuel which comes from recycled restaurant oil.

As the director explained to us, it is a farm without soil. It demonstrates the advantages of hydroponic and aquaponic food production and the future of farming in the city. In the greenhouse, we saw the various methods for growing nutritious fresh fruit and vegetables. Some plants were growing in pumice which had been spun into a fabric that can hold water and is perfect for growing plants. Other plants were being fed with water from a fish tank. The waste products from the fish supply the nutrients needed by the plants to grow. All of the water used on the barge is rainwater and river water, filtered with a reverse osmosis system (removes present salt and contaminants) and no river recontamination occurs. An average tomato grown on an average American farm requires eight gallons of fresh water; a Science Barge tomato only requires two gallons. The Science Barge also expels no C0₂  and requires no pesticides.

The Science Barge truly is a model of sustainable urban living www.groundworkhv.org. If you weren’t able to go on this trip, you can still go to the Science Barge on your own and we encourage you to do it.

Many thanks to Yvonne and Emile Last for organizing this trip and thanks to everyone who attended.

— Jeff Grippe

May 2010

In their annual debate, nine of our Upper Form students engaged in a spirited and informative discussion of the death penalty. Each student assumed the role of a character, such as the relative of a murder victim, a district attorney, a public defender, a humanist, and a civil liberties advocate, and spoke either in support or opposition. This year’s debaters were Alec, Casey, Jeff, Mark, Matteo, Maya, Noah, Sebastian, and Will. Both sides raised important issues, including the needs of family members affected by crime, the role of race in false judgments, and the value of all human life.

— Greg Daugherty

I imagine that most of you reading this (but certainly not all of you) are anti-death penalty. The death penalty is the topic of our Upper Form debate this year. No matter which side of this issue you find yourself on, if you give it some thought, it is not obvious that you should hold that position.

As someone who has always been staunchly against the death penalty, I have always tried to be honest with myself and acknowledge that if someone I cared about were murdered, forgiveness would not come quickly or easily. I might still find a way to content myself with what I believe is right but the death penalty might suddenly seam fair. It is impossible to predict how I would really feel in this situation.

If I were for the death penalty, I would need to take a hard look at the fact that it does not in any way act as a deterrent to crime. I would have to wonder why so many of the world’s most modern countries have abolished it. I also could not ignore that fact that so many people who have been sentenced to death have had their innocence proven and were released.

It will be interesting to see what our Upper Form students have to say about this issue which is clearly not black and white regardless of which side you find yourself on. I urge you to attend the debate on April 18^th.

I would also like to remind everyone that I am still looking for some parents to coordinate a Sunday School trip to the Science Barge and I am looking for someone to arrange a visit for our Upper Form students to the Unitarian Church Sunday School. We had a visit from their Sunday School last year and listening to both sets of students discuss their religions was fascinating.  I am reaching out to you because right now, this isn’t something I can do by myself. If you are a Sunday School parent who is not already involved with the Sunday School, please send me an email at if you would be willing to help. Thank you very much.

                              — Jeff Grippe

March 2010

The Middle Form Sunday School Class, being taught by Jyoti Weber and Ruthanne Worden, is currently using the Heart Talk curriculum. This series of lessons is based on Marshall Rosenberg's concepts of “Non-Violent Communication”. It is reflective of Ethical Culture core values, and attempts to “connect kids with their own power to create peaceful relationships”. The lessons focus on identifying feelings, universal needs, how to ask for what you need, empathy, gratitude, transforming anger, conflict resolution and active peacemaking. Stories, music, game and art projects are employed. We hope this will be an informative and fun curriculum for the students!

. — Ruthanne Worden

February 2010

Where in the World is …
the Sunday School Director?

Some of you may have noticed that I haven’t been at the Society lately. Unfortunately, I am having quite an extended absence as I clear up a problem with my knee. I’ll get back as soon as I can but realistically, it won’t be until sometime in April at the earliest. But this column isn’t about me, it’s about Sunday School.

Now, more than ever, if you are a parent of a child/children in our Sunday School, your participation is urgently needed. There are some things that I want to accomplish this Spring that I won’t be able to without your help. Here are the things I’d like to see happen.

A Sunday School trip to the Science Barge. Those of you who are familiar with the Science Barge know that it is an endlessly fascinating and remarkably compact demonstration of sustainable living in an urban environment. I need one or two parents to organize this, and make it happen.

Last year, our Upper Form students had a visit from a class at the Unitarian Church. A large group of students and teachers sat in a room and had a lively discussion about what we teach and what we believe. This year, I would like our Upper Form students to visit them. I need an Upper Form parent to arrange the visit and coordinate it with our teachers.

These things won’t happen without some parents stepping forward to make them happen. Both Debra and I can provide some support but with my being absent, we really need additional parent participation.

One final thing, please attend the parent/teacher meetings when they are scheduled. They have been generally poorly attended by parents in the past. They are important and it would really contribute to the quality of the Sunday School if you attend. There is a meeting at Noon, Sunday, March 7. Please mark it on your calendar.

I look forward to seeing all of you in a few months. Please help me make our Sunday School even more special by stepping forward to make these projects a reality.

December 09

This month the theme for our Sunday School is comparative religion. While we feel it is important to teach about our religion, Ethical Culture, we also feel that it is important for our students to learn about other religions as well. As part of our commitment to treat everyone with dignity and respect, we feel that it is important to explore what others believe.

The Middle and Upper Form had a combined class in which we used a quiz show type game to explore different religions. We explored several different aspects of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Secular beliefs. Our students learned about all of these questions. How many do you know?

1. This religion has the largest number of followers in the world.

2. This religion’s day of worship begins on Friday night and ends on Saturday Night.

3. This religion originated in 622 AD in Saudi Arabia.

4. This religion is the third largest in the world with over 1.1 billion members.

5. This religion has followers dating back to ancient Greek philosophy.

6. This religion is the 4^th largest in the world.

7. This religion recognizes three different paths that followers may choose.

8. This religion’s most important holiday is a festival of lights.

9. This religion believes that the first humans were created in the image of god.

10. This religion has no official creed or universal doctrinal requirements for membership.

11. This religion has the second largest number of followers in the world.

12. This religion’s followers believe that what we know about the universe comes from science.

13. This religion has very little to say about what happens after death.

14. This religion teaches that there are three different “persons” that make up one god.

— Jeff Grippe

Answers:

1. Christianity

2. Judaism

3. Islam

4. Secular

5. Secular

6. Hinduism

7. Hinduism

8. Hinduism

9. Christianity

10. Judaism

11. Islam

12. Secular

13. Judaism

14. Christianity

Sunday School Corner

Nov 09

At the recent general membership meeting, when it was time for me to give a report about our Sunday School, I began by saying that the Sunday School was one of the most important programs we have at our society. One of our long time members called out "It's the most important program!"

It is a program that depends on participation. The Sunday School needs the participation of the parents and the general membership. If you are a parent, I hope you know that not only are you welcome in the classroom, but that you should plan on being in the classroom at least twice during the terms. It will be interesting for you and it will show your children that you are interested in their Ethical Culture education.

Whether or not you are a parent, please remember that the Sunday School is staffed entirely by volunteers and is headed up by a volunteer director. All that any Sunday School volunteer needs is the desire to be a mentor to our students and some creativity. I may be starting to sound like a broken record when I say again that we need you but the reality is, we need you. If you are thinking that it's too late since this year has already begun, it isn't too late. If you are something that you are interested in that relates to ethical living, we can use you in Sunday School.

Help keep this vital and import program going.

The Sustainable Living Event on The Science Barge on October 17th is not, strictly speaking, a Sunday School event. However, it is a family event with special activities for children. Sustainable living is one of the major themes of our Sunday School this year and this event is one of the best ways for your entire family to get involved. There is more about this event in other columns. Please come and please bring your entire family.

We had our first food pantry on September 27 and we are off to a great start. Please bring non-perishable goods for us to "sell" at the food pantry and please be sure to stop at the food pantry table while you are enjoying hospitality.

Finally, we still need more Sunday School teachers. If you have a special project that you would like to do with the Sunday School students, please talk to me and let's see if we can make it a reality. Our Sunday School is completely run by volunteers. That means we can't do it without you. If you think that today's youth need to be educated about ethical living and values, this is your chance to act on it. Even if you would just like some more information, please talk to me about it.

— Jeff Grippe

June /09

As the Sunday School year draws to a close, I would like to reflect on the accomplishments of the past year and I would like to set some goals for the year to come.

When I became the RE Director, there were a few things that I wanted to see happen. I was interested in starting a class for our Sunday School graduates that was community service oriented. Almost as soon as I said it, Barbara Finiguerra stepped forward and took control of this project. The class became a reality thanks to her. We had our first Sunday School activity for students who were graduates of our Sunday School.

The other idea that I had was the inclusion classes in which we bring the Sunday School experience to the entire membership. Bart created three wonderful platforms that provided an inter-generational experience to our society.

Our regular classes led by our regular teachers were, as always, inspired. Our Sunday School teachers bring real creativity to the teaching of Ethical Culture. They make Sunday School a fun and interesting place to learn about Ethical Culture, Community Service, and a lot of other related subjects.

For the coming year, I have a few new goals. The first is that I would like to expand our Sunday School experience beyond the walls of our society. I would like to arrange visits between our society and the other local societies. It hasn't been done in quite a while and I think that it is time that we start doing it again.

I would also like to begin developing or using a curriculum so that we can make sure that certain things are taught consistently in our Sunday School. I want to try to bring some organization to our teaching while still leaving a lot of room for our teachers to use their creativity.

I would like to remind all of you again that there is room for you in Sunday School. We need you. Please contact me if you would like to work with our Sunday School. I'm sure there is a place for you.

— Jeff Grippe

As we approach the end of the Sunday School year, I am filled with pride at what the Sunday School has accomplished this year. It has been a year full of community service. By the end of May, we will have had three inclusion classes in which the entire membership got to experience what it is like to be in Ethical Culture Sunday School. We have a Graduate class off to a great start. I really can't wait to see what the future is going to bring.

One of the things that I hope the future is going to bring is You. If you haven't taught Sunday School, you don't know what you are missing. You won't be alone. No Sunday School class has just one teacher. You will be get to spend some of your time at the society creating a new generation of people who know what it means to leave a life based on the ethical values which we share.

The Sunday School needs you. We have teachers who have been teaching for a long time that would like to pass the baton. I need you to step forward and take it. You can't know how rewarding it will be. Even if you can only commit to one weekend of teaching per month, you will make a difference in our Sunday School.

I am proud of what our Sunday School is and I'm looking forward to the future.

— Jeff Grippe

Sunday School News

March 2009

Sunday School Corner A Theme of Community Service Ethical Culture Sunday School teaches many different things ranging from Comparative Religion to Current Events. One of the most important things that we do is to develop the habit of on-going community service. The activities of the past month reflect that in many ways.

Both the middle and upper form students learned about “Pennies for Peace.” From their website: “Pennies for Peace educates children about the world beyond their experience and shows them that they can make a positive impact on a global scale, one penny at a time.”

You may have noticed the jars of pennies in our lobby. Please feel free to add to them.

Also feel free to ask our students about this fantastic organization.

Our relationship with the Coachman homeless shelter continues. Our upper form students visited them with a variety of Valentine's Day themed activities. This relationship gives our students a better understanding of what it means to be homeless.

The middle form had a lesson on homelessness and it included a project of putting together “Snack Bags” consisting of juice boxes, granola bars, raisins, and other treats that children who live at the Coachman might enjoy receiving. Community service is a very important part of the Ethical Culture experience. It was one of our founder's highest priorities. At our society, community service starts in Sunday School. — Jeff Grippe

The Upper Form went to the Coachman Family Center on Feb 8, 2009. They brought snacks for the children and craft supplies. The theme was ‘make a gift for someone you care about for Valentine's Day.’ The children had lots of fun making cards and decorating cup cakes for gifts. They also painted wooden boxes and lined them with red felt. The kids from our Upper Form really enjoyed celebrating Valentine’s Day with other children. — Virginia Ferrante

Sunday School News

February 2009

Trips to Coachman. 4-5 times each year our students go to the Coachman homeless shelter. We bring crafts projects and snacks. Our students learn about homelessness and bring something special to the children who live there.

Graduation Project. Every student who graduates from Sunday School performs a community service project. They are presented to the general membership during graduation.

The Food Pantry. The Middle Form students run the food pantry. The food pantry “sells” food brought in by members. The “sold” food is taken to a food pantry. The money is given to charities that are selected by the students.

Post-Graduate Class. The new Post-Graduate Class will provide a meal to homeless men. They will prepare lunch in the morning, bring it to the shelter and serve it. There will also be a Spring project.