Children & Youth

Faith Formation
Handbook
1217 Sixth Ave.
Seattle, WA 98101
Phone: (206) 622-4865
Fax: (206) 622-8726
www.plymouthseattle.org 2010-2011
24
 From my first day at Plymouth, the
community has extended to me an
extravagant welcome. Thank you
for making me feel at home here
at Plymouth.
It is with profound joy that I join
with you in welcoming the chil-
dren and youth in the 2010-2011
Sunday School year. You are a
blessing to the children and the
youth of Plymouth. I look forward to seeing the way the spirit
of God works in and through our curriculum, our students
and each of you to create an environment in which faith can
take root and grow.
I am excited to share with you the steps we have taken to cre-
ate more points of connection and a sense of progression in
regards to curriculum. This year we will be using a lectionary
based curriculum that will allow us to easily connect what
happens in the Sunday school classroom to the Focus 2.0 pro-
gram, to the 11:00am worship service and to Children’s
Chapel. After much research and discussion we decided that
the United Church of Christ curriculum, Seasons of the Spirit,
fits our needs and hopes for the coming year. You can learn
more about this curriculum in this booklet.
I will be available to each of you for resourcing, curriculum,
and/or pastoral care needs. Members of the Children & Youth
Board are also available to assist you and to bring policy and
budget issues to the table.
The staff and board have adopted a four-step model for sup-
porting teachers: recruit, equip, appreciate and evaluate. The
many wonderful qualities you bring to this ministry show that
we have successfully accomplished the first step. With God’s
help, we are committed to following through on the others.
May God continue to grow and form our faith.

Blessings,
--Rev. Brandon W. Duran
Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries
2 23
 Directory
5th & 6th Email
Glen Griswold griswold115@msn.com
Tom Maul tomandsuemaul@msn.com Faith Formation Handbook
Anne Kiemle annekiemle@zipcon.net
Table of Contents
Robert Neer robert.neer@gmail.com
David Marshall dmarshall@davidsmarshall.com
Bob Freund freundbob@aol.com Mission Statement 4
Tracy Simpson llittle@gmail.com Position Descriptions & Definitions
Ann Crandall TeacherCrandall@aol.com Director of Children, Youth, & Family Minis- 5
tries
Confirmation Email
Youth Forum Coordinators 6
Amy Neer amyneer@yahoo.com
Brandon Duran bduran@plymouthchurchseattle.org Children and Youth Board Members 7
Connie Sandstrom cjsarchitect@comcast.net Guidelines for Team Teaching 8
David Regnier dmregnier@gmail.com Operational Details
Joan Griswold griswold115@msn.com
Check In/Out Policy 9
Peter Kahn spkahn@earthlink.net
Steve Schmidt steve.liz.schmidt@comcast.net Field Trip Guidelines 10
Class Mailings, Notices and Copies 11
Youth Forum Reimbursement 11
Ministry Email Classroom Management 12
David Mallory drmallory@plymouthchurchseattle.org
Policy Regarding Children & Youth Protection 12
Eppie Matthews eppiewill@gmail.com
Jim Bechtold jimbec@comcast.net Sunday School Curriculum 13-14
Robin Mallory drmallory@plymouthchurchseattle.org Focus 2.0 15
Todd Matthews matthews136@earthlink.net Important Dates this Fall 16
Emergency and Safety Procedures 17
Focus 2.0 Email
Ann Allen annallen@clearwire.net Sandwich Making for Angeline’s 18
Brandon Duran bduran@plymouthchurchseattle.org Facility Use 19
Heather Hawkins- Fall Lectionary Texts 20
Weinland hawkinsweinland@hotmail.com
Sunday School Teacher Directory 21-23
Linda Strandberg lindastrandberg@comcast.net

22 3
 Directory
Crib Email
David Thompson ingridanddavid@comcast.net
Mission Statement for Karen Gwilym kgwilym@centurytel.net
Children & Youth Ministry at Plymouth Church
Toddler & Pre-K Email
Our mission is to create an Adele Reynolds adelereynolds@aim.com
environment that embraces Betty Eberharter beberharter@msn.com
our belovedness, listens for Carol Burkhart carolburkhart@yahoo.com
the spirit of God, and fos- Carol Mooney clam937@q.com
ters faith development. We Dan Landes danlandes@comcast.net
seek to craft opportunities Inge Freund freundbob@aol.com
wherein children and their
Jade Turner jadezt@gmail.com
families might encounter
the dynamic and transform- Mia Wilson basketsmw@comcast.net
ing presence of God. We
seek to point out the paths 1st & 2nd Email
of faith we have come to Beverly Harding-
know, and to be faithful Bueler bevandlarryare @comcast.net
companions along the way. This means: David Fliegel dfliegel@live.com
Jon Daniel roubadan@aol.com
1. communicating to Plymouth children and youth that they Linda Harris lharris961@gmail.com
belong, are cared about and are an important part of the Liz Stone stonee@seattleu.edu
Plymouth community; Sara Christopherson brian.sarah@comcast.net
2. teaching core faith texts, language, hymns and prayers; 3rd & 4th Email
3. including children in the rhythms of weekly worship; Angela Deppe adeppe@comcast.net
Anna Colwell annac514@yahoo.com
4. sharing the larger Christian story, and our particular piece
Clayton Anderson claytron@u.washington.edu
of that story;
Heather Hanson hansonh@seattleu.edu
5. welcoming children into the ongoing process of discover-
weekesgroupbrianajanlance
ing what it means to live as authentic Christians in the
Lance Weekes @verizon.net
world;
Warren Smith warrensmith@igc.org
6. and helping Plymouth parents support the spiritual and
faith development of their children.

4 21
 Fall Lectionary Texts Position Description
(bold indicates text highlighted by curriculum, italic indicates alternate reading)

Jer. 4:11-12,
Director of Children, Youth, & Family
1 Tim. 1:12-17 Luke 15:1-10 Psalm 14
22-28
Exo. 32:7-14
Ministries at Plymouth Church
12-Sep

1 Tim. 2:1-7 Luke 16:1-13 Psalm 79:1-9 Jer. 8:18-9:1 Amos 8:4-7 The Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries
19-Sep (DCYFM) provides leadership in faith formation for children
and youth ensuring strong and engaging age-appropriate pro-
Jer. 32:1–3a, 6- Luke 16:19- Psalm 91:1-6,
15 31 14-16
1 Tim. 6:6-19 Amos 6:1a, 4-7 grams. The director equips teaching teams through curricular
26-Sep support and teacher enrichment opportunities. This role will
also assist the Focus 2.0 teachers by aiding in the develop-
Psalm 137 Luke 17:5-10 Lam. 1:1-6 2 Tim. 1:1-14 Hab. 1:1-4; 2:1-4 ment of a program that is integrated with Sunday school and
3-Oct worship themes. The DCYFM guides and nurtures the Confir-
10-Oct Children's Chapel mation program as well as supervising and assisting the Youth
Forum Coordinators in developing the Youth Forum program.
Psalm 119:97 2 Tim. 3:14-
Luke 18:1–8 Jer. 31:27-34 Gen. 32:22-31
-104 4:5
17-Oct

2 Tim. 4:6-8,
The DCYFM will also help connect current and visiting fami-
Luke 18:9–14 Joel 2:23-32 Psalm 65
16-18
Jer. 14:7-10, 19-22 lies to ways in which they participate actively in the life of
24-Oct Plymouth. Through a cohesive strategy using the various pro-
grams at Plymouth, (i.e. retreats, Plymouth U, worship ser-
Hab. 1:1-4; Psalm 2 Thess. 1:1-
Luke 19:1–10
2:1-4 119:137-144 4, 11-12
Isa. 1:10-18 vices, etc.) the director will promote the integration of chil-
31-Oct dren and youth into the life of the congregation. The DCYFM
7-Nov Children's Chapel will offer spiritual support to children through regular interac-
tions, to families through regular communication and possible
2 Thess. 3:6-
Isa. 65:17–25 Luke 21:5-19 Psalm 98
13
Malachi 4:1-2a support groups, and to teachers through theological teaching.
14-Nov
Luke 23:33-
Col. 1:11–20 Jer. 23:1-6 Psalm 46 Luke 1:68-79
21-Nov 43 The DCYFM works in close cooperation with Minister of Faith
Formation and with the new settled senior minister expected
Rom. 13:11-
Matt. 24:36–44 Isaiah 2:1-5 Psalm 122
14
in 2011. The DCYFM staffs the Children and Youth Board,
28-Nov the Congregation, and works alongside this board in recruit-
Psalm 72:1-7, ing and resourcing teachers.
Isa. 11:1–10 Matt. 3:1-12 Rom. 15:4-13
18-19
5-Dec
12-Dec Children's Chapel
For a more detailed position description please contact Mary
Psalm 80:1-7, Stevens, Chair of the Children and Youth Board, or the front
Matt. 1:18–25 Isa. 7:10-16 Rom. 1:1-7
17-19
19-Dec office.
Psalm 148 Matt. 2:13-23 Isa. 63:7-9 Heb. 2:10-18
26-Dec
20 5

All facilities at Plymouth are multi-purpose, including your
classrooms. Please take note of the following:
Position Description
Youth Forum Coordinators
The Youth Forum Ministry Coordi-
nators (YFMC) are responsible for
shaping and leading a ministry that
nurtures high school youth in their
Christian faith through study and
worship, fun and fellowship, service
and mission. The YFMC plan Sun-
day morning Youth Forum Ministry
(YFM) gatherings as well as events
throughout the year aimed at building community, creating a
context for faith formation, and connecting with newcomers
to the group. The YFMC plans and leads Youth Forum Minis-
try retreats, mission trips, and fundraisers. The YFMC cares
for the youth and is available to counsel, support, and con-
nect YFM members to other people and resources as needed.
The Youth Forum Ministry Coordinators develop ways to inte-
grate YFM members with church wide-events, retreats, & wor-
ship services. The YFMC seeks to connect the YFM to confer-
ence wide youth events.
Facility Use
Each Sunday, your room will be set up according to the
diagram submitted to the custodial staff prior to the Sun-
day School year. Contact the church office with any
changes.
The chalkboard in the front of your room (if there is one)
must also be available for weekday use.
Please do not hang anything from the ceiling or light fix-
tures of any room without first consulting the church of-
fice.
When you leave on Sunday, please make sure all your
classroom items are in your closet. Please keep all valu-
ables in the classroom closet and do not leave the room
unattended. Your class is responsible for leaving the room
in the best condition possible each and every Sunday.
All use of the kitchen on the first floor must be scheduled
with the office at least one week prior to the Sunday you
wish to use it.
The classrooms are home to the SIDC preschool, offices
and conferences during the week. Please return items to
their appropriate place if used during Sunday School.

The YFMC works with the support and direction of the Direc-
tor of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries. The YFMC is
accountable to the Associate Minister, the Senior Minister,
and Congregational Council. The YFMC participates with the
Children and Youth Board through written and in person re-
ports.

For a more detailed position description please contact Mary

Stevens, Chair of the Children and Youth Board, or the front
office.

6 19

Sandwich Making for Angeline’s
What is Angeline’s? Angeline’s is an outreach of the YWCA
which provides daytime shelter for homeless women. The
Center, located at Third Avenue and Lenora in Belltown, pro-
vides a safe place where the women can access meals, show-
ers, and laundry facilities. The women also receive the sup-
port of staff and service providers. Angeline’s meal program
consists of a light breakfast, lunch and an evening snack.
Making Angeline’s Sandwiches. Your class is invited to make
sandwiches for Angeline’s. Plymouth has committed to make
sandwiches for the lunch they serve to the women on the 3rd
Sunday of each month. Angeline’s would like us to get the
sandwiches to them as close to 11:00am as possible. (Map to
Angeline’s is available at the church office.)
We make 120 sandwiches using 12 loaves of bread. Gener-
ally, it works best to make the sandwiches in your classroom.
Please help your students with washing their hands and keep-
ing work surfaces clean. When the sandwiches are made, put
them in the individual baggies provided. Once the sand-
wiches are individually bagged they can be packed into the
bread loaf bags for delivery.
Angeline’s asks that we make about 10 vegetarian sand-
wiches. Angeline’s also welcomes items to compliment the
sandwiches such as chips, carrots, cookies etc. (Please submit
bills to the Church Business Administrator for reimbursement.
Marlene Falkenbury currently purchases the food and bags.
She can be contacted by email at falkenbury@nw-link.net. If
your class would like to serve the sandwiches, contact Ange-
line’s regarding your request and coordination.
18
Position Description
Children & Youth Board Members
The Children and Youth Board plays an integral part in the
faith formation of the students and teachers in the Sunday
school program at Plymouth.
The responsibilities of the Children and Youth Board include:
Recruiting, equipping, supporting, and appreciating the
work of Sunday school, confirmation, and Youth Forum
Ministry teaching teams.
Celebrating significant moments in our children and
youth’s faith life including: Baptism, Kindergarten & 4th
Grade Bibles, Confirmation, Youth Led Worship, etc.
Evaluating Sunday school curriculum needs and resources
Reviewing childcare ministry to ensure a safe environment
for Plymouth’s youngest members and guests
Facilitating effective communication around children and
youth ministries
Preparing a budget that meets the needs and supports the
growth of children and your ministries
In the back of this booklet you will find a list of the Children
and Youth Board members. Board members are assigned as
liaison to one or more Sunday School class. The liaison is
responsible for providing a link between the Board and the
class, bringing questions or concerns to the Board, assuring
that adequate teaching staff is available in his or her class-
room, and informing teaching teams of Board happenings.
7

Guidelines for Teaching Teams
The Team Teaching model places volunteers together in
groups with complementary gifts. With the fall schedule and
curriculum in hand each team will decide how to best share
the responsibilities of preparing, teaching, and managing the
class according to their talents, availability, and personal con-
nection to the curriculum content. This model gives each
teacher an opportunity to lead with their strengths and evenly
distributes the work.
Members of the Teaching Teams will be responsible for:
meeting with the DCYFM prior to the beginning of Sunday
school;
attending at least one teaching team workshop offered
throughout the course of the church school year;
participating in the scheduling of the teaching schedule
for the year, making sure there is adequate coverage for
each week;
sharing leadership with other members of the teaching
teams;
establishing some form of continuity in the classroom
from week to week in terms of relationships with students
and curriculum content;
preparing a bulletin board display for their scheduled bul-
letin board time period;
communicating with the Children & Youth Board liaison
assigned to each class, to ensure that needs and concerns
of the classroom are addressed
being in classroom or Chapel at 9:45am the morning they
are scheduled to be present.
Members of each of the Teaching Teams are encouraged to
help with the Focus 2.0 program when available.
8 17
Emergency and Safety Procedures
Response to Fire Alarm
By the door in every classroom is an emergency packet. If the
fire alarm should go off, remove the packet and follow all di-
rections. Before going through any door, check to make sure
it is not hot. If it is hot, do not open it. Wait for firefighters to
help you exit from your classroom. If the doors are not hot,
walk your class, single file, to the exit closest to your class-
room. The exit will be indicated on a diagram in your packet.
Be sure to take your attendance list with you. The children in
your class will follow your example, so do your best to re-
main calm and walk deliberately and quickly to your exit.
Spread the adults assisting in your class out along the line, to
give reassurance and help maintain an orderly exit.
Following the directions in your packet, you will proceed
across 6th Avenue to Freeway Park. Parents and guardians
will be instructed to meet their children there. Hold up the
grade level sign included in your packet so that parents/
guardians can find you easily. Be sure to have the parents/
guardians sign their child/youth out on your attendance list
before releasing each child from your class.
Keeping Personal Belongings Safe
Emergency evacuations are rare. Unfortunately, thefts in un-
secured, multiple entrance buildings in downtown Seattle are
not. Please do not leave valuables unattended in your class-
rooms. Keep them on your person or lock them up.
Keeping Our Children Safe
Our most critical security issue is the safety of our children.
Please keep doors to first floor classrooms closed at all times.
Ensure that parents of children follow check in/check out pro-
cedures. Do not let children roam the building unaccompa-
nied. Children in first floor classrooms must be accompanied
by an adult outside the classroom. Children in grades 1st-6th
must use the buddy system.
 Operational Details
Check In/Out Policy
For classes Pre-K/K through 5th/6th grade all children need to
be checked in and out only by their parent, guardian or ap-
proved "pick-up" person. You may dismiss a child only if you
Important Dates this Fall have previously met the "pick up" person and know that s/he
is the appropriate person to take the child that day. Sign in
September 12 Homecoming Sunday: Beginning of Sun-
and out sheets are included in the weekly attendance folders.
day school program, Commissioning of
Teachers during worship
September 17-19 Youth Forum Ministry Fall Retreat
September 24-26 Confirmation Fall Retreat
September 26 Presentation of Bibles to 4th Graders and
Kindergarteners during 11:00 a.m. Service
October 10 Children’s Chapel
November 7 Children’s Chapel
December 5 Youth Forum Led Service
December 12 Children’s Chapel
Operational Details
December 24 Family Christmas Eve Service
Sunday Morning Schedule
9:45-10:00 Teachers arrive
10:00-10:10 Students gather in the Chapel for singing
10:10-10:50 Students return to their classrooms for lessons,
activities, faith formation, and fun!
10:50-11:00 Students are picked up by parents/guardians for
Be sure to check the Children, Youth, and Family Ministries the 11:00am worship service (kindergarten and
blog for updates to the calendar throughout the year. Updates younger can remain in their class through the
will include dates for mentorship lunches, Youth Forum Min- 11:00am worship service).
istry events, Focus 2.0 spring schedule, children and youth
musical events, and more. The calendar can be found online 11:00 Worship service begins, children and youth are
at plymouth-cyf.blogspot.com. encouraged to join in worship
11:15-ish After the Gospel reading, children (through 6th
grade) are invited to join in Focus 2.0 programs
(most Sundays)
16 9
 Focus 2.0
The Focus 2.0 Program is offered for 1st-6th grades at ap-
proximately 11:15am until the end of the 11:00am worship
service. The program gives children and youth hands-on op-
Operational Details portunities for faith development through worship, creative
Plymouth Church Field Trip Guidelines expression and service. The program seeks to integrate chil-
dren into worship services in a meaningful way. The content
The following guidelines should be followed in the event of a of the program will correspond with the liturgical calendar.
field trip:
All children under the age of 18 leaving Plymouth prop- Ann Allen, Heather Hawkins Weinland, Linda Strandberg,
erty for a scheduled Sunday school activity must have a and Brandon Duran are our 2010-2011 Focus 2.0 leaders.
permission slip signed by a parent or legal guardian. They are extremely creative, musically included, dramatically
gifted and have extensive experience working with children
For recurring off-site activities, one permission slip may be and youth. The program for the fall is divided into four units.
signed and kept on file for the entire Sunday school year
(Sept.-June). Unit Title Unit Theme Unit Shared in
Parents/guardians should be notified of the planned off- Dates Worship
site activity one week in advance of the activity.
World The sharing of Sept Oct 3rd
Advance notice to parents/guardians is not required for Communion communion con- 19th, &
recurring off-site activities; however, a schedule should be Sunday nects us as a local 26th
made available to parents/guardians upon request. church and to the
When leaving Plymouth property for scheduled Sunday world wide church
School activities, the following child/adult ratios must be
All Saints A celebration of Oct 10th, Oct 31st
maintained with at least two adults: Toddler-preschool
4:1; kindergarten-7th grade 5:1; 8th-12th grade 6:1. Day / Day of our life and the 17th, &
the Dead lives of past saints 24th
Adults must also be available to remain in the classroom if through music and
there are any children not attending the off-site activity.
poetry
The church office should be notified and visual signage
should be used when the class is off-site. Stewardship The sharing of our Nov 7th Nov 14th
Any injuries or problems encountered during the off-site gifts blesses those
activity must be reported to the church office, the DCYFM near and far
or one of the pastors, as well as to parents/guardians of Advent Celebrating the Nov 21st, Dec 19th
children involved, as soon as field trip participants return
season of hope, 28th, &
to Plymouth.
joy, love, and Dec 12th
peace through the
advent candles and
music
10 15

Sunday School Curriculum
Seasons of the Spirit
Sessions are written with a 40-minute time frame in mind and
can be extended by incorporating more discussion time dur-
ing the “Engage” section and offering more options during the
“Respond” time.
Operational Details
Class Mailings, Notices and Copies
Edwin Beatty is responsible for sending out class mailings and
notices. If you want a notice sent out, the information must
be submitted in writing by 5 p.m. Tuesday of the week you
would like it to be mailed. Please e-mail your information to
eb@plymouthchurchseattle.org. Article submissions for the
Herald Newsletter can be sent to Robert twelve days prior to
the Sunday you are announcing.
Information to be included in the CYF blog can be submitted
to Brandon Duran at bduran@plymouthchurchseattle.org.
Information submitted for the blog will be online no more
than 48 hours after submission.

If you need copies made in the office, requests are to be made

by Monday at 5 p.m. of the week you will need the copies.
You are welcome to make copies in the church office your-
self. Note: Sunday mornings are extremely busy, so try mak-
ing copies earlier in the week.

Operational Details
Reimbursement
Each class has budget of $20.00 per month for supplies and
snacks. Please complete the pink reimbursement form, attach
receipt(s) and leave it in your attendance folder or turn in to
the church office.
14 11

Operational Details
Classroom Management Policy
The leadership of all age groups at Plymouth will practice a
policy of non-violence. If a disruptive situation should persist,
please talk with the DCYFM Brandon Duran or your class-
room liaison about it. A variety of options could be explored
in order to bring resolution. Please fill out an incident report
form when an injury or behavior problem occurs.
Operational Details
Policy Regarding Children and Youth Protection
Plymouth Church is committed to creating a safe and healthy
environment in which young people can learn about and ex-
perience God's love. In order to ensure this, we require that
all volunteer leaders in the Sunday school program have been
members of Plymouth Church for at least six months or
friends of Plymouth for one year. It is the policy of the church
to provide adequate supervision for all youth activities. We
also expect all employees and volunteers to complete and
submit a disclosure document and Washington State Patrol
check form.
12
Sunday School Curriculum
Seasons of the Spirit
The Seasons of the Spirit curriculum
(for toddler through 6th grade), the
Bible, the Revised Common Lection-
ary and the Core Elements of Chris-
tian Education developed by the
Children and Youth Board are the
basis for Plymouth’s faith formation
for children and youth.
Teachers are provided online access to the Seasons of the
Spirit curriculum appropriate to their class. Seasons of the
Spirit online also provides teachers with songs, prayers, sup-
ply lists, recipes, games, handouts for children, and articles
relating to the weekly lesson plan. This curriculum is lection-
ary based which fosters connections with the Focus 2.0 pro-
gram, weekly worship services, and Children’s Chapel. The
Seasons of the Spirit curriculum is divided into four sections:
September—November: Pentecost 2
November—March: Advent, Christmas, & Epiphany
March—June: Lent & Easter
June—August: Pentecost 1
The Sunday school year is divided into two semesters with a
summer break. This means that not all of the Seasons of the
Spirit curriculum will be used. Teachers are invited to explore
the use of other curriculum ideas in their classrooms. Lesson
plans inspired by and incorporating one of the four weekly
lectionary passages are encouraged as this creates the oppor-
tunity for connection will other faith formation programs at
Plymouth.
Additional resources include story boxes, Bible storybooks, as
well as art and craft supplies. These resources are found in
the resource room. Books are also available in the Library,
which is open from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon on Wednesday
and Sunday mornings and by request to the custodial staff.
13