DOWNLOAD FLIER - November 19th 2011 Fall RE Conference Flier PDF

Ballou Channing District
Fall Religious Education Conference
"We’ll Build A Land"

A conference for religious professionals and religious education volunteers. 

Saturday, November 19, 2011  
8:30am to 12pm

* Scroll down for worshop descriptions *

Location

Unitarian Church of Barnstable
3330 Main Street
Barnstable, MA 02630-0285

Schedule

• Registration 8:30am
• Worship: We'll Build a Land!    9:00 to 9:45
• Workshops (descriptions below)10 to 11:30
• Close by noon.

Child Care
Yes! It will be available. Details for child care registration will be available shortly.

Food
No meals will be served during this morning program, but hardy snacks, coffee and the like will be available throughout.

Workshops

1) Effective Religious Education Committees
Panel hosted by Diane Elliott
The committee is an important aspect of church life where there is underlying philosophy and belief about the committee and the people who serve on it. Having an effective committee is vital for the growth of the church and the strength of the RE Program.  We hope you will join us to learn more about how committees work and what you can do to help them to function better.  We will learn about the ways to structure committees, what tasks and goals need to be created and ways that you can help to make your committees stronger.  We will hear stories of functioning committees and stories of how committees can were not so functional. 

Diane Elliott: BCD Coach for Religious Educators. Diane has had 25 years worth of experience working with RE committees.

2) A Child With Special Needs ....in My RE Class...What Do I Do Now?
With Michelle Cote
This workshop will be a hands on, practical overview of how to deal with children and youth who are in your programs who may ( or may not be!) identified as having special needs. Topics that will be covered are behavior redirection, strategies to deal with the active child, helping children with learning disabilities and setting up a potential buddy system. Bring your scenarios, issues and concerns.  Be prepared for some active role-playing!  The goal of this workshop is to give you hands on techniques that you can teach to your volunteers or use yourself as you work with children and youth.  

Michelle Cote is in her fourth year as Director of Religious Education as First Parish Church of Stow & Acton.  Prior to taking her position there she taught in private and public school settings as a special educator and a Literary Specialist for over 25 years.  She has worked with children and youth of all abilities and feels that you can always find the good side to every child!

3) Multi-Media and Ministry for All Ages
With Peter Bowden
We live in a society that is increasingly media oriented. This presents a huge opportunity for congregations!  This workshop will look at ways media -- primarily video -- can be integrated into our ministry and religious education.  Workshop will include a brief presentation, video crash-course (video made simple), and time to share other tools participants are using in their congregations.  Participants are encouraged to bring video cameras and other tech for show-and-tell, as well as to share success stories with Peter in advance. Contact him via email, Facebook or phone at 617-744-9784.

UPDATE:  I was just asked if youth could participate in this workshop, YES!  Youth are not only welcome, their voices and ideas will greatly add to our workshop experience. ~ Peter

Peter Bowden, BCD Growth Consultant, is also a television producer and media consultant.  He works on multiple nationally syndicated childrens television programs and speaks regularly on media, communication and culture change.