SESSION 13 TRADITION: OUR NECK OF THE WOODS. Published by

SESSION 13 TRADITION: OUR NECK OF THE WOODS Published by

SESSION 13THEOLOGICAL STATEMENT In the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a mature profession of faith in confirmation is also a step towards taking part in the leadership of the church. No longer merely passive observers, members are vested with the responsibility to seek out the will of Christ for the Church. In our Reformed tradition, we believe that all of the church s members are part of the Priesthood of All Believers. The Church is reformed and yet always reforming. We must always be open to the movement of the Holy Spirit, the call of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the sovereignty of God. But this movement is two-fold. The Church is not merely this entity out there that is reformed and reforming; we who are the body of Christ and God s Church are also reformed and reforming. We examine ourselves as well as the Church as a whole, aware that we too are subject to reform. It is a calling that is both humbling and joyful. We bear witness in the world, but also must hear the witness that is borne to us in the Word of God and in the witness of the Church. It is in that balance that we can be reformed anew, able to show forth the marks of the true Church, and yet keenly aware that our work is never done. We listen and we speak, and in that conversation we are challenged to grow more fully into the likeness of Christ. Life Lessons: You have a calling from God. In the best possible way, your work is never finished. Life Skills: Discerning gifts for ministry Working collaboratively 2013 CnC Tradition: Our Neck of the Woods Page 1

PRE-SESSION CHECKLIST Before the day of the session Review all the scripted and spoken parts of the session, paying particular attention to the things you should read aloud during the session. Remember, the provided text is merely a suggestion improvise, add to it, or change it as you see fit. Review the timeline for this session. The timeline is a suggestion only, and you should feel free to adapt it if more time is needed for an activity or a high-energy discussion. Be sure you know the name of your Presbytery and Synod! Make sure you have the following on hand: Post-It notes, one pad for each youth. Large pieces of construction paper (24 X 36 ), enough for all youth to have at least one Flip chart paper Long piece of paper to make a banner (approximately 6 feet long). See On the day of the session for directions on making the banner. Scissors, enough for each person to have a pair Ball point pens and/or pencils Felt tip and marking pens Masking tape Small prizes of some form (M&Ms, Hershey s kisses, stickers or temporary tattoos, etc.) Video equipment Extra copies of the Memorizing Your Bible Passage handout (found in the Session Materials) Copies of Definition of a Ruling Elder (found in the Session Materials) Copies of Openness (found in the Session Materials) Copies of Letter to a Young Doubter, one for each youth (found in the Session Materials) The Rules of the Road The file box with youth file folders On the day of the session Set up the space [approximately 45 minutes] Create the banner that says on the top line Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda and The Church reformed and always reforming underneath. Check the space you ll be using for the Gathering and other activities. Is there enough room for everyone? Enough chairs and floor space? Place construction paper, scissors, and markers on a table accessible on all sides ready for when youth arrive. Have copies of the handouts ready to distribute. Have prizes hidden, but ready to distribute during the presentation. 2013 CnC Tradition: Our Neck of the Woods Page 2

Have the banner rolled up, but ready to post with the roll of masking tape. Post the service project flip chart sheet. Have a piece of flip chart paper up on the wall and a marker accessible. Have the file box with youth folders available. Post the Rules of the Road where youth can refer to them. Timeline for a Ninety-Minute Session -0:05 0:05 Gathering: Making Paper Stoles 0:05 0:10 Service Project Check-in 0:10 0:15 Bible Passage Check-In 0:15 0:50 Presentation: Our Neck of the Woods 0:50 1:00 Discussion: Our Best Feature 1:00 1:25 Activity: An Ad for the Church Timeline for a Sixty-Minute Session -0:05 0:05 Gathering 0:05 0:10 Service Project Check-in 0:10 0:15 Bible Passage Check-In 0:15 0:45 Presentation: Our Neck of the Woods 0:45 0:55 Discussion: Our Best Feature 0:55 1:00 Closing Prayer 1:25 1:30 Closing Prayer 2013 CnC Tradition: Our Neck of the Woods Page 3

SESSION 13 GATHERING: MAKING STOLES ~10 MINUTES Welcome youth as they arrive. Each youth will make themselves a paper stole but they are not told that this is what they are making. Instruct youth that each of them needs to cut out a large U from a piece of 24x36 paper. They then have 2 minutes to use markers to put symbols or words on the stole that say something about who they are or their gifts or abilities. When they finish, youth can leave the U s under their seat until instructed otherwise during the Presentation: Our Neck of the Woods. When everyone has made a stole, start the continuum activity. Let them know that, as in past weeks, they will respond to a few statements by moving to a spot in the room, indicating whether they strongly agree, strongly disagree, or stand somewhere in between. Indicate which end of the room means they strongly agree and which end means they strongly disagree. Then make the following statements. I m having a good day. I m in the middle of a good book. I like to skip to the backs of books to find out what happens or to find the answers. I hate it when people share spoilers and ruin a movie for me. I close my eyes during the scary parts of movies. I close my eyes during the scary parts of Confirm not Conform sessions. SERVICE PROJECT CHECK-IN ~5 MINUTES Spend a couple of minutes checking in on the service project. Write down their answers on the flip chart paper from the previous sessions. Ask if anyone has gotten more information on the charity or project. Ask if there have been any developments or decisions about what they will be doing or when. Ask what they need to find out or do next. Ask who will be doing it. 2013 CnC Tradition: Our Neck of the Woods Page 4

BIBLE PASSAGE CHECK-IN ~5 MINUTES If there is any youth who has not yet settled on a passage to memorize, set up a time to meet individually. Check to make sure everyone has received the Memorizing Your Bible Passage handout; distribute extra copies if needed. Ask if anyone has come up with other memorization techniques that can be shared with the group. PRESENTATION: OUR NECK OF THE WOODS ~35 MINUTES [Note: If you are doing the shorter sixty-minute version of this session, you will only have thirty minutes for this presentation instead of thirty-five.] Say, using your own words or the following: During this session, we are going to talk about what is unique about our tradition, the Presbyterian tradition. Let s start with our name. The word Presbyterian comes from the Greek word presbuteros [prez-bit-a-rose], which actually means elder. Ask youth to make their best guess on how to spell the word presbuteros and write it on a Post-It note. Let them know that anybody who spells the word correctly can have a prize, and that there will also be a prize for most creative spelling. Note that you are final arbiter of creative spelling. Once they are finished, have youth put their Post-It note up on the wall. (Don t insist if some do not wish to participate.) Write the word presbuteros on the piece of flip chart paper and the word elder next to it. If anyone spelled the word correctly, give that youth a prize. (That Greek letter upsilon, which looks like a u but sounds like an i is the killer.) Also give a prize for creativity as you see fit. Continue, using your words or the following: Unlike many other churches, the Presbyterian Church is run by a representative form of government, with two different groups that are equally represented and have equal authority. The first group is the Teaching Elders. This includes [include the name of your church s Teaching Elder] who, as you might guess from the title, has a primary responsibility for teaching, especially about the Word of God. 2013 CnC Tradition: Our Neck of the Woods Page 5

The second group is the Ruling Elders. These are people selected from the congregation to provide oversight to make sure things are running smoothly. You do not need to have a special education or training to be a Ruling Elder. You also don t need to be old. In fact, after your profession of faith at Confirmation, any of you could be elected to be a Ruling Elder. Let s take a look at the definition of a Ruling Elder. Distribute the Definition of a Ruling Elder from the Session Materials and ask for a volunteer to read it out loud. Congregations should elect persons of wisdom and maturity of faith, having demonstrated skills in leadership and being compassionate in spirit. Ruling elders are so named not because they lord it over the congregation (Matt. 20:25), but because they are chosen by the congregation to discern and measure its fidelity to the Word of God, and to strengthen and nurture its faith and life. Ruling elders, together with teaching elders, exercise leadership, government, spiritual discernment, and discipline and have responsibilities for the life of a congregation as well as the whole church, including ecumenical [eck-you-men-i-cull] 1 relationships. When elected by the congregation, they shall serve faithfully as members of the session. When elected as commissioners to higher councils, ruling elders participate and vote with the same authority as teaching elders, and they are eligible for any office. Ask youth for the key traits of a ruling elder noted in the first sentence. Write them down on the flip chart paper under the word presbuteros. What you re looking for are: Wisdom Maturity of faith Demonstrated skill in leadership Compassionate in spirit Ask youth for another word they might use for compassionate and write that next to that term on the flip chart paper. (Some options might be kind or loving. ) Ask youth to take a minute or two to write the gifts they would bring to their church if they were elected as a ruling elder. Say, On four Post-It notes, write down How you are wise what is something you know or understand? How you are mature in faith what is one way you have taken responsibility for your own faith or grown in faith? How you have demonstrated leadership when have you led others? How you have been compassionate when have you cared for others? When you are done you can post them around your Post-It that spells presbuteros on the wall. You can also correct your spelling, if you want to. 1 Relationships between different churches 2013 CnC Tradition: Our Neck of the Woods Page 6

Give youth a couple of minutes to do this activity. Then continue: So now that we ve looked at the ministry of the Elders, you should know that Congregation members can also be Deacons. What Deacons do differs from congregation to congregation, but most often they are people who have a particular calling to visiting the sick and the elderly and who like to show hospitality for a variety of church functions. Like Elders, Deacons are elected by the congregation. In some congregations, a substantial number of the Deacons are young people. So the Elders and the Deacons are the leaders of a congregation. Some of them also take part in leading the larger regional or national church. But why do we have a church that s led this way at all? This understanding of Church that is led by deacons and elders, rather than priests and bishops, grows out of the period of the Reformation. As you may remember from other sessions, in the 16 th century, a group of people wanted to reform the Roman Catholic Church. These people included Martin Luther and John Calvin. One of the reasons they wanted to reform the Church is that the Roman Church had a very hierarchical organization: priests were considered more important than the people who came to church, and bishops were more important than priests, and the Pope had more power than all of them, and more than some kings. In the Roman Catholic tradition, people believed you had to have a special calling from God to do work in the Church, and that this calling made you holier than other people. The Latin word for calling is vocation. Up to that point, the only people who were considered to have a vocation were those who dedicated their whole lives to Church work (such as priests, nuns, monks, friars, and others who joined religious orders ). But in the 1500s, John Calvin said something quite revolutionary: he wrote that everybody had a vocation, including regular people working in regular jobs, like farming, or teaching, or being a lawyer (like Calvin himself was). One vocation was not more spiritual or worthwhile than another. He went so far as to say, There is no work, however vile or sordid, that does not glisten before God. Think about this for a minute: The most vile or sordid chores you have to do, whether it s washing the dishes or taking out the trash, or cleaning the bathroom, or whatever job you may have, whether it s being a student or a babysitter or working in an office or a restaurant or whatever it is, is just as important as being a priest. To God, all work is holy work. We are part of the Priesthood of All Believers. A sign of this vocation is the stole, which is what you made at the beginning of the session. Because all of you have a vocation, you should now put on your stoles. After they have done so, say: 2013 CnC Tradition: Our Neck of the Woods Page 7

This is a reminder that you have a calling from God to use your unique gifts and talents to serve God in the Church. In other words, vocations are not just for pastors! You may want to ask some of the youth to explain the symbols they chose, but be aware, there s still a lot of material to share. Say, using your own words or the following: So, if you believe that everyone has a calling, or vocation, then what does that mean for how you run a church? If no one person is a priest, and everyone is considered a minister because they do ministry using their particular gifts and talents, who is in charge of the church? Give youth an opportunity to answer: The answer you are looking for is everybody. As soon as someone gives that answer, go on. If after an awkward period of time, this hasn t been suggested, continue with the presentation. Say, using your own words or these: The answer is everybody, because everyone in the Church is part of The Priesthood of All Believers. That may sound like a happy ending to the story, but there s a second part to this. We talked about how Presbyterians are part of the Reformed Church, drawing from the theology of John Calvin in the 1500 s. But we are also aware that the Church constantly needs to be reformed. Because we are humans who sin and fail, we will always need to be called by God to become the Church God wants us to be. If you want to get all fancy, the Latin is Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda, which means The Church reformed and always reforming. Unfurl the banner that says Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda and ask for volunteers to tape it to the wall. One way we talk about this is in our desire for openness. Distribute the handout Openness. Ask for volunteers to read each of the ways the Presbyterian Church (USA) seeks to be open (copied below): As it participates in God s mission, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) seeks: a new openness to the sovereign activity of God in the Church and in the world, to a more radical obedience to Christ, and to a more joyous celebration in worship and work; a new openness in its own membership, becoming in fact as well as in faith a community of women and men of all ages, races, ethnicities, and worldly conditions, made one in Christ by the power of the Spirit, as a visible sign of the new humanity; 2013 CnC Tradition: Our Neck of the Woods Page 8

a new openness to see both the possibilities and perils of its institutional forms in order to ensure the faithfulness and usefulness of these forms to God s activity in the world; and a new openness to God s continuing reformation of the Church ecumenical, that it might be more effective in its mission. Continue with your own words or the following: There are lots of words here, but the important thing to remember is that the Church needs to be listening for God s call to us, so that we can respond faithfully and fulfill our vocation as a Church. It s important to remember also that the Church is not something out there; we are the Church. When we say the Church reformed and always reforming, we need to apply that to ourselves as well: we are reformed and always reforming and hopefully we will be open, just as the Church is open, ready to be reformed as we see God working in us. Ask youth with all this in mind to write four new Post-It notes: one that says something they think God has reformed about the Church; one that says something that they think God is calling to be reformed about the Church; one that says something they think God has reformed in them; and one that says something they think God is calling to be reformed in them. Let them know if they want to keep the Post-It notes about themselves private, they can do so. Or they can post them next to their about their gifts. Have them post their Post-It notes about the Presbyterian Church on the banner. DISCUSSION: OUR BEST FEATURE ~10 MINUTES [Note: If you are doing the full ninety-minute version of this session, your group will have ten minutes for this discussion followed by additional time to create and present some ads for the denomination. But if you ve only got an hour, do the discussion for ten minutes and then skip ahead to the closing prayer without actually making the ads or any videos. You might encourage the youth to do that as a homework assignment, if you wish.] If at all possible, we highly recommend that you create videos of the advertisements created by the youth and post them to YouTube, to be shared on your church s website, Facebook page, etc. For privacy reasons, leave names off of the videos and descriptions, but use this opportunity for youth to share their message about their church to the Church and beyond. Inform the youth that they will be using the information they just learned or their own understanding of the Church to create an ad for their church. Let them know they will have 10 minutes to work as a larger group to come up with their concepts for an ad campaign and (if you are doing the 90-minute version of this session) another 15 minutes to work out the details. 2013 CnC Tradition: Our Neck of the Woods Page 9

[If you have a larger group, quickly break them into groups of 3 or 4.] For the last 10 minutes, you will be filming their ad. Invite them to jot down ideas as they come to mind. Distribute scratch paper and ballpoint pens and/or pencils. Have a marker and flip chart paper ready to write down their ideas. Then begin the following brief discussion: Discussion Question What s your favorite thing you heard today about the Presbyterian Church? What do you think would make the Presbyterian Church attractive to people who don t know about it? If you could tell someone only one thing about the Presbyterian Church, what would it be? What do you think would be a good slogan to get that idea across? Potential Follow-up Questions What s one thing that sticks in your mind? What do you think people ought to know about the Presbyterian Church? Fill in the blank: The Presbyterian Church is Facilitator Notes Write these down. Don t worry if it s all over the map. But also pay attention to what they say; what s most important to them and what they think is attractive or memorable may surprise you. Again, write these down. They may bring up something that is specific to your congregation; write that down too. After all the ideas have been written, you may want to point out that not all congregations have/do this thing, but that it might be a good point to make about your specific church. There will undoubtedly be more than one one thing that people want to share. Make a note if more than one person agrees on that one thing. Allow for crazy brainstorming; this doesn t have to be the fill-in-the-blank response. Then give the following instructions, using your own words or these: Over the next 15 minutes, come up with a way to present your key message as an advertisement for the Presbyterian Church. Keep it short and focus on one main concept you want to get across. You don t have to say the concept in words as long as you find a way to convey the point. You can use drama or simply present the information. You can use any props you can find around or create signs using poster board. I ll give you a warning when you have five minutes left so you can run through your ad a couple of times. Remember, you only have 15 minutes total to put this together, so keep it simple. Then let them work on the activity. ACTIVITY: AN AD FOR THE CHURCH ~15 MINUTES 2013 CnC Tradition: Our Neck of the Woods Page 10

[Note: If you are doing the sixty-minute version of this session, skip ahead to the closing prayer.] As mentioned above, give youth 10 minutes to work on developing their ad. If they ask for a specific prop or item, offer to help; otherwise, let them figure things out. Don t solve things for them. At the 5 minute mark, let them know they have 5 minutes to run through their ad before filming. At the 10 minute mark (or thereabouts), invite the group to come back together to film their ad. If you have time, you might want to give youth more than one take. Let them review what they ve done. Inform them about your next steps, such as if you plan to post the videos to YouTube or elsewhere online. If you don t plan to post them, still try to find a way to share the work they ve done with them by the next session. Thank them for their work and creativity. Then gather for the closing prayer. CLOSING PRAYER: ~5 MINUTES Have the group gather in a circle. Ask them to take a couple of deep breaths and take a moment to be still. Then read them the following passage: Do not fret about your prayer life. For the moment, a spiritual yearning suffices. Besides, everything is prayer. If you can see for yourself that the world is charged with the grandeur of God ; if in certain times and places you can exclaim, Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads, you are praying, grateful for the awe and wonder of the natural world. If before entering your favorite class, or when sitting down each evening to do homework, you were to say, For what I am about to receive, Lord, make me truly thankful, that would be a most appropriate prayer, for, as they used to say in the good-old-latin-speaking days, Laborare est orare. Work of all kinds done joyfully, thankfully, unselfishly, conscientiously all such labor is prayer. The Rev. William Sloane Coffin, Jr. From Letters to a Young Doubter After reading it, ask youth to take a minute to think about the classes or homework or other work that they have to do over the next couple of days. 2013 CnC Tradition: Our Neck of the Woods Page 11

Ask them to take another breath or two. Then let them know the group will finish by saying together, For what I am about to receive, Lord, make me truly thankful. Say, Ready? then begin, For what I am about to receive, Lord, make me truly thankful. Amen. Distribute the Letters to a Young Doubter handout before they leave. 2013 CnC Tradition: Our Neck of the Woods Page 12

POST-SESSION REVIEW At some point before your next session, meet as a team (if there is a team) or on your own and spend a few minutes reviewing what went well and what could be changed. Some things to consider: Overall, how did this session go? How much progress (if any) have the youth made in planning their service project? Are they clear on what they need to do next? Has everyone selected a Bible passage to memorize? Are they clear on what to do next? What did the youth say was most important to them about their tradition? What s most important to you about your tradition? How did youth work together during the Ad for the Church activity? Do you need to make any adjustments to account for current group dynamics? How will you share the videos/ads you made during this session? If you were doing this session again, what would you do differently? What did you learn from leading this session? What affected you personally? What questions did this session raise for you? How will you address them? For the Scripture memorization passages: Check over any more passages that youth have handed in. Make a personal call or meet with each youth to ask why s/he chose this passage. If you feel the youth has a good grasp on the passage, what it means, and its significance to her/himself, encourage the youth to get started memorizing. If you feel the youth could dig a little deeper into the passage, engage him/her in a discussion about it. Make a copy of the chosen passages for your files and send the original back to the youth. Call any youth who have not turned in a passage to memorize and remind them to get that to you by the date you set. Offer help if needed. Once you receive their passages, follow up with them as described above. As you plan ahead: What needs to be done in advance of the meeting with the Session? What needs to be done in advance of the service project? What needs to be done in advance of the confirmation service? What needs to be done in advance of the iconfirm service? Break these down into small, manageable pieces to help you get through them! 2013 CnC Tradition: Our Neck of the Woods Page 13

Be sure to take a look at the next session. Figure out: What needs to happen by then? What materials do you need to gather or purchase? Who will do these things? When will they be done? 2013 CnC Tradition: Our Neck of the Woods Page 14

SESSION MATERIALS 2013 CnC Tradition: Our Neck of the Woods Page 15

MEMORIZING YOUR BIBLE PASSAGE Different people will find that different methods will help them memorize more effectively. Use as many of the following techniques as you wish to help you memorize your Bible passage. Or come up with your own. Do whatever works best for you. FOR UNDERSTANDING 1) Read the entire book in which your passage is found. 2) Without looking at the passage, write out a summary of what the passage is saying. 3) Outline your passage. 4) Make flashcards using only key words from the passage. 5) Without looking at the passage, tell it to someone in your own words. VISUAL TECHNIQUES 1) Create flash cards that contain key words or visual images/pictograms from your passage. 2) Create a PowerPoint slide show of your passage, using words, but also images and colors that the words evoke for you. 3) Write down the passage using only the first letters of each word in the passage (e.g., I t b w t W a t W w w G a t W w G [John 1:1]). Use this sheet of initials to recite your passage. If you get lost, look ahead a few letters to see if you can figure out where the passage is going and try again. AUDIBLE/SOUND TECHNIQUES 1) Have someone else read the passage aloud to you (without looking at it yourself) 2) Say only the vowel sounds of the passage. 3) Sing your passage. 4) Close your eyes and say as many words from the passage that you can recall, not worrying about order or sense (e.g. God, beginning, Word, has, glory, been) 5) Record yourself reciting your passage and listen to it as you do other things. 6) If your passage has been set to music, listen to recordings of it (but be aware that many compositions use the King James Version). 2013 CnC Tradition: Our Neck of the Woods Page 16

PHYSICAL/ACTIVE TECHNIQUES 1) Write out the passage in longhand, organizing it into paragraphs that make sense to you, as opposed to what the passage looks like in the Bible. 2) Make a passage puzzle. Write out your passage on index cards in 3, 4, or 5 word chunks; shuffle them and then try to put them in order without consulting your Bible. 3) Clap or tap out the rhythm of your passage as you read it aloud; then clap or tap out the rhythm as you read it silently. 4) Read your passage (or have it read to you) while you are moving. Pump your fist or make some other gesture when you reach a word that has emphasis. 5) Bounce a tennis ball as you read or recite your passage. OTHER METHODS THAT WORK FOR ME: 2013 CnC Tradition: Our Neck of the Woods Page 17

DEFINITION OF A RULING ELDER Congregations should elect persons of wisdom and maturity of faith, having demonstrated skills in leadership and being compassionate in spirit. Ruling elders are so named not because they lord it over the congregation (Matt. 20:25), but because they are chosen by the congregation to discern and measure its fidelity to the Word of God, and to strengthen and nurture its faith and life. Ruling elders, together with teaching elders, exercise leadership, government, spiritual discernment, and discipline and have responsibilities for the life of a congregation as well as the whole church, including ecumenical [eck-you-men-i-cull] 2 relationships. When elected by the congregation, they shall serve faithfully as members of the session. When elected as commissioners to higher councils, ruling elders participate and vote with the same authority as teaching elders, and they are eligible for any office. Book of Order: The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) The Foundations of Presbyterian Polity G 2.0301 2 Relationships between different churches 2013 CnC Tradition: Our Neck of the Woods Page 18

OPENNESS As it participates in God s mission, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) seeks: a new openness to the sovereign activity of God in the Church and in the world, to a more radical obedience to Christ, and to a more joyous celebration in worship and work; a new openness in its own membership, becoming in fact as well as in faith a community of women and men of all ages, races, ethnicities, and worldly conditions, made one in Christ by the power of the Spirit, as a visible sign of the new humanity; a new openness to see both the possibilities and perils of its institutional forms in order to ensure the faithfulness and usefulness of these forms to God s activity in the world; and a new openness to God s continuing reformation of the Church ecumenical, that it might be more effective in its mission. Book of Order: The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) The Foundations of Presbyterian Polity F-1.0404 2013 CnC Tradition: Our Neck of the Woods Page 19

LETTERS TO A YOUNG DOUBTER Do not fret about your prayer life. For the moment, a spiritual yearning suffices. Besides, everything is prayer. If you can see for yourself that the world is charged with the grandeur of God ; if in certain times and places you can exclaim, Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads, you are praying, grateful for the awe and wonder of the natural world. If before entering your favorite class, or when sitting down each evening to do homework, you were to say, For what I am about to receive, Lord, make me truly thankful, that would be a most appropriate prayer, for, as they used to say in the good-old-latin-speaking days, Laborare est orare. Work of all kinds done joyfully, thankfully, unselfishly, conscientiously all such labor is prayer. The Rev. William Sloane Coffin Jr. From Letters to a Young Doubter 2013 CnC Tradition: Our Neck of the Woods Page 20