INTERFAITH DAY CAMP TEACHES LESSONS TO LIVE BY.Byline: Jeff Wright Jeff Wright can refer to:
They've been enjoying arts and crafts arts and crafts, term for that general field of applied design in which hand fabrication is dominant. The term was coined in England in the late 19th cent. as a label for the then-current movement directed toward the revivifying of the decorative arts. and music and stories and most all the other staples of Vacation Bible School Origins Vacation Bible School (VBS) is the term for a special type of religious education which caters toward children, usually during the summer. The origins of Vacation Bible School can be traced back to Hopedale, Illinois in 1894. D.T. . But look at some of the other activities on the daily schedule and you quickly realize there's something different about this church school: yoga, meditation, conflict resolution, media literacy. And, oh yes, baking pita bread. The 40-plus kids in attendance at Eugene's First Congregational Church First Congregational Church may refer to:
Welcome to Peace Village, an "interfaith day camp" dedicated to teaching young people the ways and means WAYS AND MEANS. In legislative assemblies there is usually appointed a committee whose duties are to inquire into, and propose to the house, the ways and means to be adopted to raise funds for the use of the government. This body is called the committee of ways and means. of practicing peace - whether by taking care of one's body and mind, taking care of the planet, or taking care to learn healthy interpersonal skills and the negative impacts of media violence. While such a camp might seem typically Eugene, the brainchild actually belongs to a Congregational church in Lincoln City, where a similar camp was begun eight years ago with help from students in the peace studies program at Pacific University. The Peace Village concept now has its own nonprofit board of directors, which hopes to expand the camps throughout the state and beyond. Already, similar camps are under way this summer in Newport, Tigard, Gresham - even Boise. In Eugene, the idea sprung forth "in the dark days of winter when we were entering a war that no one wanted," says Melanie Oommen, an associate pastor at First Congregational and the camp's executive director. Word got around, and Temple Beth Israel and the Islamic Cultural Center soon agreed to join in as camp sponsors. Veena vee·na n. Variant of vina. Howard, a Hindu woman, says she didn't hesitate to enroll her 7-year-old daughter, Gita, and was delighted to learn that a couple of her daughter's Christian classmates Classmates can refer to either:
The weeklong camp, which accepts donations but otherwise is free to attend, begins each morning with a group task - such as passing hula hoops from person to person while everyone stands in a circle holding hands. Then the youngsters, divided by age, rotate among four morning sessions. For the 11- and 12-year-olds, their first stop one morning was a half-hour meditation session with Yochanan Omkarananda, a soft-spoken musician and herbalist herb·al·ist n. 1. One who grows, collects, or specializes in the use of herbs, especially medicinal herbs. 2. See herb doctor. from Lorane. Before long, an unlikely scene unfolds in a corner of the church sanctuary: a dozen pre-adolescents, all sitting quietly in the lotus position. A few are fidgety fidg·et·y adj. 1. Tending to fidget. 2. Creating unnecessary fuss. fidg  et·i·ness n.Adj. but most are in the moment, and the only sound is the whir whir v. whirred, whir·ring, whirs v.intr. To move so as to produce a vibrating or buzzing sound. v.tr. To cause to make a vibratory sound. n. 1. of a pair of electric fans. "I just thought that was really cool," 12-year-old Ian Boyd says afterward. "I lost track of time." In another room upstairs, 7-year-old Gita Howard and 8-year-old Hannah Gilbert have just completed their yoga session. The two friends admit they often get into arguments - "usually at least once a day," Gita says - but not this morning. "In yoga, you just learn to be quiet and flexible," Gita says. "We didn't do fights." "We didn't even think about fighting," Hannah adds. A couple of hours later, they and all the other kids get a different kind of education when the entire village boards a bus for an afternoon field trip to an organic farm. The week's itinerary also includes a hiking trip to Mount Pisgah - all part of an underlying belief that environmental stewardship is an important part of peaceful living. At the Full Circle Community Farm off River Road, the kids take turns harvesting and threshing threshing or thrashing, separation of grain from the stalk on which it grows and from the chaff or pod that covers it. The first known method was by striking the reaped ears of grain with a flail. wheat and grinding it into flour, picking blackberries and shade-drying clover for the cows to eat. But first, farmer Kate Perle gives them a tour of the farm and explains its sustainable practices. At one point, she explains the importance of manure in growing crops, and Nassir Fair, a 7-year-old Muslim boy, makes the connection. "Poop!" he declares. A few minutes later, Nassir obliges when Perle invites him to touch a compost pile. "See, it doesn't smell poopy at all," she says. "It just smells like sweet, excellent soil, and that's what makes all the vegetables grow." Nassir fingers the soil and nods his head - another lesson learned. PEACE VILLAGE INC inc - /ink/ increment, i.e. increase by one. Especially used by assembly programmers, as many assembly languages have an "inc" mnemonic. Antonym: dec. . Nonprofit agency sponsors interfaith day camps for elementary and middle school-age kids To donate or for more information: Write P.O. Box 2635, Eugene, OR 97402 or send e-mail to dreil73@hotmail.com CAPTION(S): Katherine Jesser, 8 (center), plays catch with a ball of dough as she and her group make pita bread at the Peace Village interfaith summer camp. |
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