Pictured (from left to right): Pastor Wanda Lawry Hughes, Fr. Joseph Pae, Rabbi Stephen Goodman, The Rev. Debra Low-Skinner, Winthrop Hospital Chaplain Jill Bowden, Pastor Jim Adelmann, Mr. Al Chase, Mr. Fino Celano, Dr. Teresa Prendergast, Dr. Robert Feirsen, Ethical Humanist Leader Dr. Anne Klaeysen, Deacon George Browne, and Fr. Rudy Pesongco Submitted by The Rev. Debra Low-Skinner, GCCF President The Garden City Clergy Fellowship (GCCF) held their April breakfast meeting on April 9th at the Cathedral House of the Cathedral of the Incarnation. Their special guest was Garden City Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Robert Feirsen. He was accompanied by his staff members: Dr. Teresa Prendergast, EdD, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction; Mr. Al Chase, Assistant Superintendent for Business & Finance; and Mr. Fino Celano, Assistant Superintendent for Personnel.

As at their last get together in 2007, the clergy and the school staff talked about their mutual hopes and concerns for our young people. Three themes emerged:

1. Our kids are great! We want to equip them as best we can to enable them to have meaningful and successful lives.

2. Our kids face serious pressures.

3. We wish to seek ways to cooperate using our various skills and resources.

Our kids are great. We recognize and appreciate that our young people are good students and truly caring human beings. We hope that our children's education, both in school and in our faith communities, will well prepare them with the kind of life skills that will help them thrive as responsible adults. This might mean some instruction be offered in time management, money management, and/or being more comfortable with diverse persons of various racial, religious, and cultural backgrounds.

Our kids face serious pressures. We are concerned about the enormous social pressures on our youth to succeed and get into prestigious colleges. We are concerned with the amount of extracurricular activities our youth are engaged in, which leave little time for rest, study, and reflection. And we are concerned about the peer pressures on our youth to drink alcohol and engage in other unhealthy behaviors.

GCUFSD and Clergy Cooperation. The clergy and school staff expressed their willingness to help one another in our respective work in support of our young people. The clergy offered their help as pastoral and grief counselors in time of need. Dr. Feirsen offered to have interested clergy receive the same kind training in dealing with child trauma as was given to the teachers. Then, these trained clergy could be called on as "first responders" in case of a school emergency. Dr. Feirsen also offered to be of help to the clergy, if the clergy notice their young parishioners need special help from the schools. A couple of the clergy suggested community action organizations that offer service programs for which young people can volunteer and get hands-on experience in helping others.

All in all, this meeting was a wonderful opportunity in affirming our mutual love and care of our young people and getting to know one another better. We intend to continue our conversation in the months and years to come. We thank the Cathedral staff for their hospitality and generosity in providing the food and meeting space, which was in the newly remodeled Cornelia Stewart Room of the Cathedral House.