Has it really been five years?

Has It Really Been Five Years?

Well, the answer, I guess, is that it has!

Remarkably, Sunday School at Trinity Lime Rock -- what we were talking about a few years ago -- is still a going concern.  We have continued to operate 52 weeks a year (more or less -- we always have a couple of unplanned "no days" a year when there are simply no kids in the building.  The routine is still Sunday School on Sunday mornings during the normal school year, plus Summer Sports during the Summer months, when nobody has Sunday School.  Some months we have a Youth Sunday, when there's no Sunday School but when the kids are in church, and depending on who gets cold feet any particular Youth Sunday, we may have kids assisting as Ushers, doing the readings, and even serving at the altar.

We started keeping a count of how many people under the age of 18 were present in the building each Sunday morning.  The number isn't exactly huge, but when you compare it with the attendance of young people at other houses of worship in our area, it is downright spectacular.  Young people in our area do not have much to do with church anymore, sadly.

We count ourselves lucky.  We work on encouraging the kids we have, and we encourage them to take more and more responsibility, both for themselves at church, and for telling us how they want church to interact with them.  They surprise us regularly.

For example, the previous tranche of kids thought that the red streamers that come out every Pentecost were hopelessly uncool.  This group thinks they are great.

And we see some interest in sports!  Here are some of the kids running towards the soccer pitch of bygone years.  It was great to see, and we hope that someday we're back with a virtual mob scene on the soccer field!  We are definitely not giving up!

Things Change over time

Ten years ago, when we started Summer Soccer at Trinity Lime Rock, it seemed like the notion of letting the kids play soccer on summer Sunday mornings instead of going to Sunday School -- or instead of just staying home or hanging out elsewhere -- was pretty revolutionary.

In retrospect, it was, and, unfortunately, in most parish churches it still is.

However, the nine year old girl whose question about what the kids were supposed to do in the summer after Sunday School stopped for the summer, and suggested soccer as an alternative, is now a brand new mom, and a new half-generation of kids is in her place.

Here are some of the current crop as they appeared last Sunday.  This crew, plus and minus a few, decided a couple of years ago that the program needed to involve sports other than soccer, and thus it became Summer Sports.  But, interestingly enough, the kids also got a whole lot more interested in doing "church stuff" -- the things that kids are not supposed to be interested in doing these days.  

It took me a while to catch on to the changing interests -- even though I was pretty involved in all the activities the kids had added to sports (and regular Sunday School) -- as being something that needed to engender a change in the way we do things.  I found myself, in a small way, becoming one of those "because we've always done it this way" people that everyone who embraces change detests.

Ultimately, since I'm now the verger and thus really cannot run a summer program for kids at the same time, the decision process moved to other hands.  

Although I've been silent here for a while, I anticipate that "Church + Kids + Sports" will be appearing on a more frequent basis now.  While I suppose I'll comment on the subject of the title occasionally, more frequently you are going to be seeing thoughts about how kicking the envelope pretty hard in terms of the traditional relationship between young people and a parish church can be effectively turned on its ear to the benefit of the parish and the kids.

So synecdoche -- the figure of speech wherein a part is substituted for the whole -- will be the order of the day.  "Church + Kids + Sports" will be about disruption of the obsolete and failed norms of the relationship of kids to church.  And maybe doing church a little differently in a whole variety of ways.  Let's see what happens.....

Building a facility?

The photo above is the "Ladies Parlor" at one of the most successful all-purpose buildings that I've seen.  I'm posting it as a reminder that, while readers of this blog almost certainly are focused on the volleyball court, or basketball court, or indoor go-cart track, or swimming pool or hockey rink that a church might construct al all-purpose building to house, that you will get a whole lot farther in getting your project done if you consider all your constituencies.

At Trinity Lime Rock we're in a growth phase (yes, I know that mainstream congregations are supposed to be shrinking rather than growing, especially in New England) and the notion of building an all-purpose building probably has more possibility behind it now than it had a decade ago when I originally proposed one almost as a joke.   Additionally, because so many parishes are closing, it's currently viewed as a bit irreverent to suggest new construction.

However, at present our Sunday School is outgrowing their facility, and the choir has seriously outgrown theirs.  Our art program would be scheduling additional shows were it not for a conflict over the available space with Crescendo, the regional chorus that we spawned about eight years aog.  Our sports program seems to be growing even faster, and we keep coming up with community  activities that we could do if we only had the facility to do them in.  So we're actually in a position of needing to re-thing space utilization.

The Ladies Parlor in the photo was likely a fundamental requirement of Memorial Hall of the Liberty Methodist Church, in Liberty, NY, when it was constructed; as much so as the kitchen or the Sunday school rooms, or the basketball court/volleyball court/space for parish dinners.   While the building was largely the gift of one local family, it doubled the church's footprint, and it needed to deal with the needs of the entire church community -- including, back then, a place for the elderly ladies of the congregation to do whatever elderly ladies do in a Ladies Parlor. 

My personal recollection of this room was that was where I attended Methodist Youth Fellowship (yes, teenagers WERE involved in that church -- likely due to the athletic facilities it had).  Behind the sliding doors at the back of this room (see photo) is the basketball court.  Interestingly, even though the building was already a little long in the tooth by the time I became familiar with it, I never saw those doors opened.  Clearly it was still an imperative that this concession to Victorian times remain separate and distinct.

And well it should have.  It was, after all, part of an all-purpose building.

Summer Sports Field Day

This year in Summer Sports we decided (or, actually, the woman who directs the Sunday School decided, and I concurred) that we ought to end the summer with something new.

Acutally, it wasn't new at all -- it was pretty old, in fact -- and that was a field day. 

The 45 minutes allocated for it were not adequate to have a full-fledged field day in any usual sense of the world, but we gave it a good shot.  Here's a short video of some of the proceedings for your enjoyment:

We think it turned out pretty well.  If you're having difficulty selling the idea of physical activity in your parish or congregation, maybe something like this is the kind of thin entering wedge that might let you get started. 

At very least, it's something we'll be repeating at Trinity Lime Rock!
 

Preventing obesity, redux

We're a little over half way through with the 8th summer of Summer Sports at Trinity Lime Rock, the enterprise that sparked this blog, so it's probably reasonable to provide some updates and commentary at this point.

First off, a comment about why we have Summer Sports at Trinity.  Although we've received favorable comments about how we're fighting back against organized youth sports that have violated the Sunday morning turf, it's not really what the program is about.  Sure, there's an element of that, but mostly that's not it.

Here's one thing that is:  lack of physical activity for kids today.  This article, from the Well blog in the New York Times, provides some statistics about even so mundane an activity as walking or biking to school, and the shocking infrequency with which it happens today.

So, here's one reason for Summer Sports at Trinity Lime Rock: we offer kids physical activity at least one day a week all summer long.  (Honestly, we also offer physical activity for the adults who participate, coaching, helping out, chaperoning, and so forth, but let's keep that our little secret, shall we?  We don't need to tell the adults that they're getting something out of this too.)

Even if your parish cannot mount a competitive soccer team, you can offer physical activity to kids.  That's worth a lot, a whole lot. 

Equine Academy at Lexington Catholic

Just saw this linked from the US Pony Clubs' Facebook page.  It appears that Lexington Catholic -- presumably a parochial school in Lexington, KY -- has decided to capitalize on their co-location with the Kentucky Horse Park and a variety of other equine facilities by offering a high school equestrian program, called, appropriately, the Equine Academy at Lexington Catholic.  

It sounds like a great idea to me.   Knowing the Lexington KY area a little bit, it almost seems like such an obvious opportunity for real synergy that a program like this should have been in place forever! 

So here's the question:  are there any other church-affiliated high schools that could benefit from a link-up with a preeminent sports facility that happens to be local?  Possibly one in your area? 

Trade-offs

Early last December, our parish got a call from help from the social worker in a nearby community.  There was, she told us, a fairly large (for our rural area) number of kids who would basically be receiving nothing, or at least nothing much, for Christmas.  Their parents were broke, the safety net was tattered, and at any rate, safety nets don't provide things like Christmas presents.

The parish, of course, responded, because we're pretty good about that sort of thing.  The word went out one Sunday, and the next we had the ingathering of gifts, which appear in the photo.  There was nothing very grand there -- a good part of the collection was clothes (which I thought the safety net was supposed to take care of?), and the soccer ball for a nine year old boy that I was tasked with rounding up was one of the more frivolous gifts requested.

The point here is not to pat ourselves on the back for doing this.  I like to think that any church if called on would do as much or more.  The point, really, came up for me the following month  in a conversation with the president of the local youth soccer league.

The club, it seemed, had received a couple of requests for scholarships from parents of kids who wanted to play and who couldn't come up with the $100 fee.  This club is a very small, very hand to mouth operation, almost entirely volunteer operation, and that $100 fee goes largely for insurance, and what's left over goes to pay a trainer (that's what you call a soccer coach in the UK) who works with the kids, improves their skills, tactics, game sense, and espirit de corps.  For this, the kid gets to practice about 15 or 20 times, gets to play around 10 games all over the western end of the state, and (hopefully) gets some help learning about teamwork, sportsmanship, hard work, fair play, and soccer skills.  Furthermore, once you're on a soccer pitch it doesn't make any difference whether your mom drives a brand new Mercedes or a beat-up Chevy that's older than you are.

That's quite a bit for $100. 

Thinking more about it, I remembered some kids who were new in our parish around the same time I was new.  Although I didn't know it at the time (I found out a couple of years later), they had benefited from scholarships in the same soccer club, and two of them as a result had gotten scholarships at boarding schools.  I had been at the time a little dubious/anxious about their home life, and I think that getting them into boarding school may possibly have been life-changing for both of them.

Although a contribution for soccer scholarships wasn't budgeted, we were able to scrape up on short notice enough to fund one kid with some left over for another, or to pay for a uniform.  The club president -- who, by the way, had let me know previously that she was pretty skeptical about organized religion in all forms -- was very appreciative. 

Then I thought about the Christmas presents we had collected in December and wondered just how life-changing any of them had the possibility of  being. Although it's a lot more fun for the parishioners to go Christmas shopping for kids than to write checks for something as intangible as a soccer scholarship, I concluded that, all else being equal, the possible benefits of the soccer scholarships were greater than the Christmas presents. 

And you know that the safety net doesn't even pretend to cover soccer scholarships.

I prefer to think this isn't needed on a church/sports blog, but....

Here's a good piece about positive coaching from the New York Times. It's very easy to slip into a less constructive coaching style, regardless of the milieu you're coaching (or parenting) in.....

Needy.

Every couple of years, around this time, our local newspaper prints letters to the editor from local clergy bemoaning the fact that kids don't attend Sunday morning programs. Usually they blame organized sports programs that meet on Sunday mornings. This week it happened again. My reaction on reading the letters was "That's incredibly needy. It's downright embarrassing, in fact."

The letters both succeeded in sounding like an actor or musician who was complaining because not enough people bought tickets to their show, or a businessperson who was complaining that insufficient customers came to their place of business. They were evocative of a tenth grade girl bemoaning the fact that no one had come to their party.

First, some practical advice: you do NOT increase the attractiveness of your product by complaining in the media that people prefer other products (e.g. youth hockey) to yours. When you do so, you make even your loyal customers wonder exactly what is so wrong with your product that you need to make such a public protestation.

Interesting: in re-reading both letters for what must be the 10th time, I noticed that only one of them was actively engaged in bashing youth sports and the volunteers who run them for taking "their" Sunday morning time slot. The other letter simply pointed out that church belonged in people's lives, and mentioned Sunday morning worship as one of the many things that churches do. (No issue at all with that point of view, by the way -- but the bad karma from the blast at youth sports in one letter carried over to the other letter, even for someone like me who pays a whole lot of attention to this sort of thing).

Hopefully it's unnecessary to mention that usually when youth sports leagues meet on Sunday mornings it's because it's the only time that a facility and needed volunteers can be available. Clergy: it's not about you.

Here's a radical suggestion: Do NOT fight Sunday morning sports leagues. Praise and publicize the kids in your church who participate and laud their accomplishments right in church. If you know that the team is playing a championship game while you're holding a service, pray out loud for the kids, for the team, for the opposition, and for those who help with youth sports. (After all, they're not in church, so they need your prayers, don't they?)

Two reasons: (1) it was the pharisees who were hung up on formal adherence to religious practice in the temple, not Jesus. (2) you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

Worth circulating to kids in your sports program

Kids, regardless of where they live, frequently get on horses. Some are fortunate, live in rural areas, have adequate resources to be able to afford horses or are able to work and get the use of horses in that way. Others get on horses only on rare occasions -- pony rides, dude ranch visits, happenstance opportunities -- including church youth group trips.

We've talked about safety in sports before, but this video, of Courtney King Dye, the upper level Dressage rider, who suffered a traumatic brain injury while warming up for a competition, makes the important point that you should NEVER get on an equine without a properly fitted helmet, regardless of how low-risk things may seem to be at the time.

If you're not conversant with horse lore, Dressage is generally considered the safest horse sport around. The horses are extremely well trained, they do not jump, and all riding takes place in a ring. Courtney King Dye WAS riding at the highest levels of the sport. She was anything but an amateur; she WAS a highly skilled professional. Grit your teeth and look at her now.

It's painful to watch and listen to this video, but I urge you to do so, and to encourage the kids to watch it as well.

Why what Trinity Wall Street is doing is important

Since I started this blog a few years ago a number of people (not a big number, but big enough to think about) have made comments like this to me: (this is a composite of several questions)

"We would love to have sports in our church, but we're tucked into the middle of a city block, and the only open area around us is the alley where the super takes the trash out. We do have a church hall, but it isn't very big, and somebody put a huge crystal chandelier right in the middle of the room about 15 years ago, and we don't dare move it, and even if we did, all the windows are Tiffany glass, so we can't play inside either. Furthermore, the whole congregation is 70+ years old."

When I mention Trinity Wall Street, I'm referring, of course, to their recent announcement that they will be sponsoring two Little League teams, and encourage their congregation to attend games and cheer the kids on.

And, while the average age of their congregation isn't 70+, they are surrounded by skyscrapers and there's no place to play outside, except for the (historic) graveyard. In other words, they can't really play outside.

What they do have is sufficient money to sponsor two Little League teams (who will be playing on athletic fields built as part of the deal when real estate developers put up some housing on Hudson River landfill.

Let's assume that your parish can't underwrite two Little League teams. But what you can do is donate enough to a local soccer or baseball or basketball or other youth sports organization for one needy kid to play for one season. In our area, to do this for a needy travel soccer kid, it's about $100. In more affluent areas, it's probably twice or three times that. Ask the volunteers who run the leagues or the teams. You may find you get a really warm welcome.

Bravo, Trinity Wall Street

This just in.
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Trinity Wall Street has gotten on the bandwagon, and we are glad for it. Not one but TWO little league teams!!

Congratulations!! The kids and their parents will thank you for this.

For our Anglican friends in the UK

I guess that we Episcopalians in the United States always perceive themselves as a little more enlightened than most of the rest of the Anglican Communion, but we do have to give credit where credit is due. In this case, the credit is due to the Diocese of London of the Church of England.

The Diocese of London is looking for an Olympic Coordinator!! Glory be to God!!

(Actually, the job title is "Olympic Mobiliser" -- and of course Blogspot flagged my UK spelling on that one.....)

A bad example

Well, I was certainly among those applauding when the National Football League decided to face up to the evidence that repeated concussions contribute significantly to brain disease.

Regretably, it appears to have simply been a publicity stunt at best or legal loss prevention at worst. The example of cynicism set by the National Football League to college, high school, and youth athletes in all sports is nothing short of heinous.

If you are involved in youth sports, after the debacle on Sunday, your job in trying to care for the brains of your players just got a whole lot harder.

Physical Activity and Kids

The Center for Disease Control has taken a significant stand in favor of increased physical activity for kids in school programs and family activities.

The post attached provides lots of resources for use in convincing recalcitrant school administrators that physical activity is important. We submit that the same material can and should be used on religious leaders. Here's the link. Use it!

Sexism and the IOC

When you're involved with providing a sports program for kids, you occasionally hear about something that just plain is wrong -- and when it affects one of the kids in your program, you have at least some obligation to try to set it right. When you are involved on behalf of a church, you have even more obligation to do the right thing.

Well, although my church program does not include ski jumping (our field is flat as a pancake -- maybe we could do biathlon) we do have a couple of kids who do jump competitively, and others who occasionally participate who jump very competitively.

Did you know that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not permit women to ski jump in the Olympics?

I didn't either until I read this article in the New York Times today.

Nope, the old goats permit women to box, and to play rugby as Olympic sports, but they cannot ski jump. The IOC raises what is pretty clearly a lame excuse: that there isn't enough competition for women in ski jumping to permit them to have sufficient experience. Well, here in the very small town of Salisbury, Connecticut, we have ski jumping (open to both sexes and competitive for both) and we are definitely the minor leagues.

Fact is that the only possible reason that women cannot jump in the Winter Olympics is pure, unadulterated sexism. "Oh dear, the poor things might hurt themselves!" one can hear those blue-blazered old buffoons of the IOC muttering into their Dom Perignons.

But these are the same buffoons who HAVE approved women boxing and women's rugby as Olympic sports. How can that be? Easy answer: "ladies" don't box and don't play rugby -- but they DO ski! What if some well-bred young lady suddenly got it into her head that she wanted to -- gasp -- ski jump?

The whole thing is absurd on the face of it, but I guess we have a crusade to mount -- just to get women the right to compete in ski jumping at an Olympic level.

Where to begin?

Gratifying

It's always a pleasure to see a young person who has participated in your program honored in the outside world for their performance. In this case, one young lady who was interested in volleyball -- in fact, one who suggested we have volleyball as part of our summer sports program -- just received the "Best Freshman Volleyball Player" award from her high school.

We think that's great, and we're making sure that she gets plenty of recognition for her achievements at church. And, why not? She's in the photo above.

Good info on concussions

A really good resource on concussions in young people's sports from the Center for Disease Control. Recommended!

Keep it fun....

Here is a really good reminder that a church sports program should not be like taking your medicine, or eating your vegetables, no matter how good physical activity is for you.

Recommended: http://tiny.cc/J9yAK

Concussion aftereffects

If you're involved with sports in any capacity, there's no doubt that by now you have seen the preliminary information about the evident correlation between having played professional football or having boxed and dementia. Bottom line seems to be that "punch drunk boxers" were only the tip of the iceberg -- that repeated concussions in any sport can lead to early dementia.

Pro football, pretty much a sacred cow in the US, has been the thin entering wedge regarding the possibility that having the concussion delivered by a fist is necessary for dementia to result -- in other words, we're learning that -- DUUUH -- concussions are bad to have!

Here's a link to what could easily be an outlier -- but possibly not -- who had the telltale markers of trauma-induced dementia but neither boxed nor played pro football (he had played college football). http://tiny.cc/EKsf9 Outlier or not, it's worth reading.

Implications for church sports programs involve the clear necessity to ask seriously if it is appropriate for a church to sponsor or offer programs in sports that appear to involve a high risk of trauma-related dementia. Obviously, boxing and football fall in this category. Both may represent ways "out of the ghetto" and may have roles in reclaiming lives. But there may be better choices, ones that do not entail what appears to correlate the inherent risk of dementia with success.