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Regional Religious Education Coordinators Meet

Diocesan Press Service. March 22, 1974 [74090]

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Newly appointed regional religious education coordinators of the Episcopal Church held their first meeting here recently. The coordinators, appointed by the Executive Council's program group on education and the national religious education coordinator, the Rev. David W. Perry, will serve during 1974.

" These regional coordinators," Mr. Perry said, " are seen primarily as regional/ local people who can encourage and support people in local areas to develop their educational ministry. "

Mr. Perry said that the coordinators are not intended to be "the expert" for a region, but rather as "a channel of information and resources." He said that the co- ordinators "will attempt to identify and encourage the sharing of resource ideas and people across regional areas as well. "

Each coordinator has been assigned a specific region, in general corresponding to the nine provinces of the Church.

The coordinators are contracted as consultants by the national office for 14 days per year, which will include planning sessions by the group and time spent responding to regional and local requests for assistance with educational ministries.

The coordinators are now preparing criteria for funding ecumenical and local Episcopal religious education projects.

The coordinators discussed the decision of the Executive Council in December, 1973, not to participate in one of the optional projects of the Joint Educational Development (JED), the educational systems project. At its February meeting, the Council asked the program group on education to reconsider this decision and to report a recommendation to the Council at its June meeting.

The coordinators adopted a statement requesting the national religious education coordinator to "explore what options are available for future participation in educational systems, including cost and personnel requirements."

Mr. Perry and regional coordinator Estelle Warren, Atlanta, agreed to meet with Dr. Oscar Hussel, director of the educational systems project, to gather data to present to the program group at its next meeting.

Though the Council decided not to participate in JED's educational systems project, the Episcopal Church continues its participation in and commitment to other JED projects, such as Black education and SHARE, a quarterly resource publication.

The possibilities of a religious education "event" in each region in the fall of 1974 and of a national religious education "event" in early 1975, were discussed. Also considered by the coordinators was the possibility of publishing an adult book which would update the Church Teaching Series which was produced in the 1950's.

The coordinators will meet with the Council's program group on education at Camp Christopher near Charleston, S.C., April 16-18.

The regional religious education coordinators for 1974 are: Province I, the Rev. Douglas Cooke, Connecticut; Province II, the Rev. Charles Grover, Central New York; Province 11I, the Rev. Paul Westman, Pennsylvania; Province IV, Miss Estelle Warren, Atlanta: Province V, the Rev. William Brown, Ohio; Province VI, the Rev. Thomas McElligott, Minnesota, and the Rev. Richard Hayes, Wyoming, with primary responsibility to serve as liaison with the Coalition 14 dioceses; Province VII, the Rev. William Powell, Oklahoma; and Province VIII, Ms. Marybeth Downs, California. A coordinator for Province IX, which includes the Latin American dioceses, is under consideration by the province.