Spring is here! We often talk about renewal in this time, and there is also a duality about springtime that can feel liminal. In March, the warmer sunlight belies the chill still in the air. Flowers pop up along the edges of lawns still covered in autumn leaves. Easter has the dual, entwined messages of loss and joy. Resources and ideas are offered below for families and meetings as we move into the spring months! Please also check out and share with families in your meeting the April and May events for children,youth, and families being hosted by the wonderful PYM Youth Programs staff!
Easter Ideas & Resources
Some meetings will explore the Easter story this weekend, and others may not focus on the theology but celebrate community with a breakfast or egg hunt. While our traditions and practices vary, there’s room for all of them.
Wondering what to say to children about Easter?
The podcast “How to Talk About Jesus on the Cross – With Kids” is a thoughtful conversation with parents who are also Episcopal clergy, and offers practical insights like “let the child’s questions guide you.” A good listen for parents, caregivers, and teachers!
Resources and ideas for Easter and Pentecost on May 19 can be found in the PYM Resources section for Religious Education and at the Quaker Religious Education Collaborative website.
Watch Stories Online
Faith & Play Stories on YouTube
There are several Godly Play and Faith & Play stories, including “An Easter Story for Friends” that can be watched as part of a spiritual practice in the days leading to Easter, or to share with others in your meeting.
– An Easter Story for Friends
– The Faces of Easter
– The Parable of the Good Shepherd
– The Woman at the Well (a story in the style of Godly Play® based on John 4:1-42)
An Alternative Egg Hunt!
This egg hunt connects collecting with giving. We’ve done it for three years at West Chester Meeting, and our Youth Meeting for Business does a great job discerning the recipient organizations. “Vouchers” for $1, $5, $10 are in the hidden eggs (which we recycle every year). The children bring their eggs to a table where there are baskets to make donations to the organizations they chose. A great opportunity to connect stewardship, care for neighbors, and discernment! Ask Melinda for more info and the voucher template.
For Meetings
New Curriculum for Holy Troublemakers and Unconventional Saints
There’s a new Holy Troublemakers & Unconventional Saints companion curriculum! Two curriculums are now available: Part I: “Love Live Good & Holy Trouble,” and the new Part II: “We are Made of Stories & Stardust.” The book’s companion curricula support expansive, inclusive, and joyful faith that helps stir up good and holy trouble where it’s needed and commits to telling stories of love, kindness, courage, and justice. PYM is committed to sharing a copy of the Holy Troublemakers and Unconventional Saints book with every meeting who requests one. Did you get yours?
George Fox’s 400th Birthday
Celebrations for the 400th birthday of Quakerism co-founder George Fox are underway across the globe. A special Birthday Pack from FWCC includes stories, songs, pictures, a Bible study, and even a dramatic duologue which could be performed in period clothing. These are great resources for meetings to plan a program!
SAVE THE DATE: June 29 (10am-4pm) is our PYM Birthday Party for Fox at Arch Street Meeting House!
Accessibility, Inclusion, Belonging
Program and Religious Life staff recently hosted an online gathering to explore “All Manner of Friends: Actionable Steps for Creating Inclusive Meetings” with children’s ministry consult Bird Treacy. Links to resources are shared below — It was a great conversation (and part of a bigger, ongoing conversation for PYM Friends) about specific ways to create and communicate welcome for people with disabilities, and those who are neurodiverse. More to come!
- Neurodiversity Celebration Week — website includes a wealth of resources
- Friends Journal: “Welcoming Joy and Spirit Through Accessibility”
- “Neurodiversity in the Classroom: Creating a More Inclusive Sunday School”
Book suggestions:
You Will Always Belong 
by Matthew Paul Turner is “a joyous reminder that we were created by God with infinite beauty and purpose from the day we were born, just by existing as who we are, with all of our quirks and differences. In this hopeful and encouraging children’s book, parents and kids alike will be encouraged to live confidently and freely as their whole selves, certain that God created everyone exactly as they are supposed to be.”
The Book of Belonging: Bible Stories for Kind and Contemplative Kids
by Mariko Clark and Rachel Eleanor
I’ve been following this storybook Bible’s development, and it’s available now to pre-order!
“The Book of Belonging is designed for families seeking a Bible storybook that reflects the diversity of God’s people and for every reader seeking a more expansive and wondrous view of God. Because when it comes to the love of God, everyone belongs.”
Addressing Racism Resources & Action
Bayard Rustin’s birthday was March 17; belatedly celebrating here with resources to learn more about and lift up his voice:
The Black Quaker Project has released a recording of the 2024 “Bayard Rustin Legacy Forum.” The Black Quaker Project partnered with Swarthmore College’s Department of Peace and Conflict Studies to present a limited edition of the Black Quaker Lives Matter Film Festival & Forum, hosted by Dr. Harold D. Weaver, Jr., and moderated by Dr. Sa’ed Atshan. Visit their website here or YouTube channel here for a video recording of the event.
Another great picture book has been published about Rustin: Unstoppable: How Bayard Rustin Organized the 1963 March on Washington by Michael G. Long and Bea Jackson.
For older youth: This “Stuff you missed in History Class” podcast on iHeart radio is focused on Bayard Rustin, “Angelic Troublemaker, part 1” and would be an interesting listen/lesson with older youth. It’s full of stories about Rustin, including his teen years and early protests, and explores his conscientious objector experience. I suggest giving it a listen before using in a program with youth (you know your young people best), and encourage youth to fact-find throughout the podcast, especially the portrayal of Quaker history and beliefs. (There is a Rustin part 2 podcast that focuses on the Civil Rights movement.)
Teaching Peace
Continued war in Ukraine and attacks on the people of Gaza, along with concern about the November election, have peacemaking on my mind. How are we discussing our Peace Testimony with young Quakers, and what tools are we helping them develop to be peacemakers in their schools, neighborhoods, and communities? Let’s talk about this in coming months — at the Community of Practice Conversations shared above, and in our meetings. I’m sharing some books from my shelf below — What would you add?
- Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights
- Sometimes People March
- V is for Voting
- The Peace Kit: Everyday peacemaking for young people
- A Kid’s Book About War
Friends Peace Teams ask the question: “But what kind of world do we want to show to our children?” The Friends Peace Libraries collects books that model behavior for creating regenerative cultures of justice and peace, leveled for reading levels. This would be an amazing opportunity for a service project to contribute to the ongoing, creative work of FPT!
Subscribe
Interested in receiving this information and more in an email format? Subscribe to “Religious Education” to receive The Tote Bag: PYM Religious Education and Family Resources 4-6 times a year. The Tote Bag is for everyone in our Quaker community who holds space for the spiritual growth of children and youth, including parents, caregivers and guardians, religious education committees and youth workers, and Friends interested in supporting children and families.
Friends are welcome to submit ideas for topics of interest, lift up resources to include, or send a question they would like addressed!
There are many more resources in the PYM website’s Resources section for Religious Education.
Featured images from Pixabay.com, iStock, and the author.
