We offer the following proposals to this Assembly. Our suggestions regarding AREC are grouped into a number of topical categories. Please keep in mind that the same program/recommendation may not work in all communities.

AREC

A. Sunday School engagement with the Church/Badarak

1. Bring children into church for sermons; some should be especially designed for children.

2. Incorporate the teaching of a Sharagan into the Saturday School curriculum; invite the students to sing that hymn during the Badarak on a given Sunday.

3. Teach Sunday or Saturday school students portions of the Badarak and invite those students to participate in the Badarak during that time.

4. Ensure that Sunday School classes alternate the part of the Badarak they attend so that they will become familiar with the entire Liturgy.

5. Plan events that involve the children and the priest/bishop (e.g. apple picking, pizza party).

6. Hold a summer contest to encourage students to come to church during vacation (e.g. lunch with Der Hayr).

7. Arrange summer camps; collaborate weekend camps with other parishes in the region; plan and host a vacation bible school/study, which can be run by older Sunday School students); publish a summertime newsletter for Sunday School students (e.g. Philadelphia)

B. Continued youth involvement post-Sunday School

1. For graduates going to college, clergy from the "sending parish" should contact the church in the community in which the student will be studying to help facilitate outreach

2. Other ideas will be generated by the Youth Panel

C. Approach to Parental Engagement

1. Consider ways to encourage parents to attend the Badarak so that their children will see this as a priority; recognize that we may be training children not to go to Badarak by holding Sunday School concurrently

2. Given that the parents already are not attending Badarak, consider hosting a monthly class for parents during Sunday School

3. Educate parents. Explain the meaning of the Badarak. Also help parents to recognize that their children will lose this tradition if parents do not bring them to church.

4. Invite parents to lead the Sunday school assembly; this is a segue to leadership in the sanctuary.

5. Encourage attendance at the pre-Datev seminar for adults at St. Gregory Church, Philadelphia.

6. Continue active outreach to parents: Der Hayr AND BOT members can reach out to non-active parents; delegate tasks to parents in order to keep them involved (this will help bring talented people back to the church and provide parents an opportunity to engage their children).

D. General

1. Provide regular Sunday School updates to BOT for BOT meetings.

2. Hold occasional Saturday evening Badarak for Sunday School teachers and others who cannot attend on Sunday.

3. Develop a curriculum to prepare future leaders: Incorporate a leadership track at Datev, examining, for example, the qualities of a leader in the Christian church; how should the church approach finances from a biblical perspective, etc.

4. Periodically review the Datev curriculum to ensure that it continues to be relevant for today's youth.

5. Do not talk about negative things regarding the Church in front of the children. Talk about the positive aspects. Discussion about any problems should provide solutions.

6. Look into ways to make the Armenian religious cartoon program, currently available only in Eastern Armenian, available in Western Armenian as well.

7. Make copies of our recommendations from this panel and send them to the BOT of each church.

ANEC

1. Based on Vehapar's message of 2008 and 2009, and the fact that for the past three years we haven't had an ANEC director, and given the importance of the Armenian language in our Prelacy, we propose that this NRA adopt a full time ANEC director and increase the budget from $10,000 to $40,000.

2. EC should appoint ANEC committee.

3. ANEC committee should organize Teachers’ seminars and meet with each parish’s Armenian school committee and become familiar with the needs of each parish.

4. Establish minimum curriculum requirements.

5. Each parish should set specific goals based on their parish’s needs. Involve the parish priest and BOT to assume responsibility of the Armenian school and perpetuate our Armenian language and culture.

6. Encourage Armenian speaking parents to reinforce speaking Armenian at home. Recommend that parishes establish adult education classes for non-Armenian speaking parents in order to reinforce and complement their children's Armenian education.

7. Promote Armenian language studies to students and parents, as a cultural or community service, to be included in their high school transcripts as honorable mention to facilitate their college acceptance. Use Armenian studies in colleges as a means to earn extra credits as required in a Liberal Arts program.

Taking into consideration that each community has a unique problem that is not necessarily similar to other communities, the panel recommends a program that sets minimum requirements for all communities.