CALVARY EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Children & Youth Ministries Newsletter

June 2018

June is a pivotal month, as we shift gears from the school year into summertime. Children take exams, sign yearbooks, bid farewell to classmates, teachers & bus drivers, and then sign up for swimming, tennis, art, etc. classes, learn to ride bicycles, go camping, travel to new places, or visit relatives. June brings the blessing of light, giving us more daylight hours in which to enjoy life. May God bless your family with a sense of milestones reached and happy times ahead.

CYM is in the process of evolving our ministries. We have implemented several new things this year, such as a Parent Board, a new Facebook page, online volunteer sign-ups, Class Parents, Movie Night, and Game Night. We will be trying out more new things next year, such as a Children's Choir, alternative options to the Junior Youth Class, and a Cooperative Youth Group with St. Paul's Harris Hill. Many, many thanks to all the children, youth, parents, teachers, parish leaders, and staff who are helping to rebuild CYM and find the best ways that we can bring God's love, community fellowship, and Christian vocation to Calvary's youngest parishioners.
 
-Emily Sityar
CYM Coordinator

Upcoming Event
Sunday, June 10
for  Middle School Youth

Middle School Youth from Calvary and St. Paul's Harris Hill will meet for lunch at Calvary, a scavenger hunt, and ice cream at Sweet Jenny's. The event will wrap up around 2 pm.
 

Sunday School Recruitment

CYM is recruiting volunteers to teach Sunday School class on a short-term (one-to-two month) rotation or to substitute for a teacher on occasional Sundays. Having more volunteers will allow Sunday School teachers to go on a vacation, carry out other commitments, or attend a full 10 am service. 

A good Sunday School is essential to the vitality and future of any church, and teaching children and youth about God's love and the Christian way of life can be a deeply rewarding experience. But without some respite for spiritual renewal, teachers may experience burn-out. 

If you feel God is calling you to be part of our Sunday School team, please contact Emily Sityar at emsityar@yahoo.com. All Sunday School volunteers will need to undergo Safe Church training and have a background check done. Thank you!

End of the Year
 
June 3rd was the CYM Moving up Day and Picnic. We had a great time!



TEACHER FEATURE
Highlights of the Year

Children are magic. They live in a magical world and they are, themselves, magic. I watch the magic in Sunday school and the Children's Chapel.

I have to say those dedicated teachers are real magic too. They have carried on this program with their attention and steadfastness. I admire the teachers, coordinators, nursery workers, Children's Chapel leaders, the music, singing, and Fr. Robert's weekly participation. There's a lot going on down there. I especially enjoyed being with Christina McCormick in her Jr. High Class where I could participate a little with some insights to the Prophets and Parables. I sat with George Mayer and Brian Donaghy, joining their Intermediate Class a few times too. They are insightful and interesting teachers, and we'll miss their special talents. Thank you both - it was a pleasure to be there.

This year CYM participated in our Clean Up Day, visited the recycling center, played a great Game Night, baked pretzels (remember those at coffee hour?- they magically disappeared), ate pancakes and Zootopia'd at Movie Night. They learned the importance of Community Service. Their can and bottle recycling project contributed nearly $700 to UNICEF hurricane relief in Puerto Rico. They know they are part of a Christian community.

There's a new door from Children's Chapel to the playground! - some of that magic energy can go outside! Two separate Scout projects cleaned the play area, and also fenced some other space to move the trash bins.

Deacon Mona is enhancing the Youth program, coordinating several joint youth events with St. Paul's Harris Hill.  

Next program year the Youth Class will have options to acolyte, help with teaching, and join choir! T he Intermediate Class is still in place, but they may also acolyte or join the choir. By September, we are hopeful Kevin Durkin will have a children's choir and a coordinator/choir trainer all in place. The whole CYM will be enjoying a full service too, as everybody comes upstairs for the 10 o'clock Children's Service on the last Sunday of every month. We look forward to another even more successful program!

A huge "Thank you!" to all of the great people in Children's Ministry. You are marvelous magical people.   

-Jim Greno


FROM OUR TEACHERS

Children's Chapel
Ellie Yuhasz and Carol Mayo

It's hard to imagine that the 2017 - 2018 Sunday School Year has come to a close, ending a year which began by welcoming Father Harvey into our Children's Chapel. How special it has been to have him lead us in song and worship and then with encouragement, sharing our songs with the congregation. We are thankful for the additional company of teachers and parents which has added so much to our little service.

In September, we will work diligently to have the candles lit and start our 15-minute service at 9:30. This year we have been pleased with the active participation of the children in reading prayers, and other functions during the service. Please be assured that parents are welcome and appreciated in our chapel.

Sunday School is having a summer vacation. Those of us involved with this ministry have high hopes the children continue to be mindful of their prayers and continue to "let their light" burn brightly at home and in their neighborhood.

-Ellie Yuhasz
Nursery (infant - 3 years)
Kelly Blackey
Kiernan Hayward, assistant

It has been a pleasure taking care of the youngest members of our congregation.  Kiernan and I have enjoyed watching the little ones develop and learn new things; oh so many changes in only a few months.  The joy of watching the children cry when they first come to the Nursery, to watching them run to us makes this so worthwhile. Next year my hope is that as long as the weather is nice we may utilize the playground area outside (we are hoping to have it cleaned up and usable soon); that we may incorporate more craft activities for the children; finally, to have more parents volunteer their time. Both Kiernan and I will be returning to the Nursery next year and we are also hoping to include one more assistant so that the children have a lot of one-to-one time. I hope that as our congregation grows, so do the number of little ones that come to the Nursery. If there are any ideas or activities parents would like us to do, please do not hesitate to ask us. 
 
Also, Nursery WILL BE AVAILABLE all summer starting at 9:45; however, if there are no children by 10:15, the Nursery will be closed.
 
Have a wonderful summer.
 
Blessing from,
Kelly Blackey - Nursery Coordinator/Supervisor
Kiernan Hayward - Nursery Assistant

Beginners Class (Pre-K & K)
Dr. Sarah English
Assistant: Andria McCarthy

Have a happy summer!

-Sarah English and Andria McCarthy


Primary Class (Grades 1-3)
Cinda & Wes Stone and Natalie Bottomley
Class Parents: Brian & Christina Donaghy

The students in our Primary class have made the past nine months of our Sunday School program fly right by! They are a wonderful bunch. We have watched them learn about and grow in Christ. They are polite, kind and a joy to be around.
 
We will miss our students that are moving up to the Intermediate Class. At the same time we are looking forward to getting to know our first graders next year. We feel so fortunate to be able to teach this age group from year to year. There is never a dull moment during our lively class discussions and craft times.
 
We wish all of our Calvary kids safe and fun adventures this summer. We will see you back in the classroom in September.
   
-Cinda and Wes Stone
 Natalie Bottomley
Intermediate (Grades 4-6)
Mr. George Mayer & Mr. Brian Donaghy

Another Exciting Year in the Intermediate Classroom
 
Prophets and parables. Elijah and Ezekiel. Old and New Testament. Worksheets and coloring. Ten Commandments and an Exodus from Egypt. And there was so much more. . . It's been a fun year for both Mr. Mayer and Mr. Donaghy and they both want to thank our students and our parents and our cohorts in the other classrooms. Couldn't have done it without all of you. We want to wish everyone a happy summer and good luck next year and a special atta' boy to Owen for a year of perfect attendance.

-Brian Donaghy 
Junior Youth
Christina McCormick 
Assistant: Jim Greno 

Another Sunday School year has come and gone. We had a lot of good lessons this school year. Highlights were the stories on the prophets and the parables. The students did a variety of crafts and used the Church Parable coloring book in conjunction with our parable lessons. I look forward to meeting the new students on Moving Up day. Please have a safe and wonderful summer! See everyone back in the Fall.

-Christina McCormick
Moving Up
 

Congratulations to the following children for "moving up" to the next stage of Sunday School. Note that we will not have a Junior Youth Sunday School Class next year. Instead, those students who are in grades 7 through 9 are invited to do one of three options: (1) be an acolyte, (2) help out in the Nursery or another Sunday School classroom, or (3) join the 
Children's Choir.

From Nursery to Beginner:
Eli Marble
 
From Beginner to Primary: 
Grace Andrews
Ella Bottomley
Joshua Bunting
Kate English
Annaliese Weisbeck
 
From Primary to Intermediate: 
Kaelan Bevilacqua
Olive Donaghy
Drew English
 
From Intermediate:
Megan Bevilacqua 
Jack Capuzzello 
Mason Howell
Patrick Sarzynski


From the Diocese

Visit the diocesan website at  episcopalwny.org
 
Sleep Away Camp
New and exciting things are happening this summer at Camp. Sleep Away is expanding to include all youth exiting grades 2 through 8 this June. The camp will be running two different tracks to accommodate the needs of the different age groups. The first track will be those exiting grades 2-5 and the second track will be for those exiting grades 6-8. Each track will have their own schedule to follow but will have some overlapping activities.

Sleep Away Camp will take place Sunday August 12 to Wednesday August 15 at Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Canter in Bemus Point, NY. To register campers, please download the  Camp Application and Health Form and send in with $50 deposit to the Ministry Center by July 15.

Sue Stanislawski's Annual Sleep Away Camp Scholarship: Sue Stanislawski is a member of St. Patrick's, Cheektowaga and has fond memories of her camp experience when she was younger. She is looking to sponsor two youth with full-registration camp scholarships to Sleep Away Camp this year. Sue would like the child requesting the scholarship to submit a short essay telling why the child wants to attend camp and what the child hopes to get out of camp. Sue also requests that only those with a financial need apply. Download the Sue S Scholarship Form. Completed forms can either be sent to the ministry center or emailed to  wschumacher@episcopalwny.org. Scholarship applications are due by June 1.
 
They are like trees planted by streams of water,
bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither;
everything they do shall prosper.
[Psalm 1:3]
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