Adult Education: July 2009

Summer Fun

By Lorene Hanley Duquin

Summer is a great time to shift your focus to fun.  Planning some summertime recreation for the people involved in adult education in your parish has lots of wonderful benefits. 

• It restores everyone’s spirit.
•  It rewards people for all the work they done during the year.
•  It helps everyone to get to know each other a little better.
• It generates new enthusiasm and ideas for the coming year.
•  It reminds everyone that an essential part of any ministry is a sense of joy!

The important thing to remember is that your plans for summer fun can’t be a burden for anyone.   Whatever you decide to do, it should be informal, inclusive, and easy. 

No pressure.  No sense of obligation.  Just plan some fun things as a group that you normally would not do during the year.

Here are some easy ideas for summer fun.

• Plan a pot luck picnic at a local park.  If people bring their own food and supplies, no one is burdened with preparation and clean-up is simple.
•  Attend a parish lawn fete or carnival as a group.  If your parish doesn’t have one, attend a function at a neighboring parish. 
•  Pick a book to read during July and set a date for an informal book discussion in August. 
• Schedule a morning of silence.  Start with Mass and then spend the morning together in silent prayer.
• Plan a prayer walk at a park, on a beach, or in the country. 
•  Take a tour of a local monastery, shrine, or historic church in your area.
•  Spend a day at a local retreat house.
• Attend a summer lecture or concert together.
• Have a simple get-together to reminisce about all of the good things that happened during the past year.

The time you spend having fun during the summer will reap rewards throughout the year.

And best of all, you’ll have lots of fun!