Asking the Clergy: How do you engage children in the summer?

This summer, Long Island houses of worship are offering a variety of opportunities for children to grow spiritually, emotionally and socially during the break from school. This week’s clergy discuss how they continue to engage and educate young people through summer camp experiences, weekend outdoor activities and community service projects.

Rabbi Shalom Ber Cohen

Village Chabad at Stony Brook

Village Chabad hosts a local branch of Camp Gan Israel (Garden of Israel), a network of Jewish day and overnight camps catering to more than 100,000 children worldwide. The Camp Gan Israel movement was founded in 1956 by Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, the Lubavitcher rebbe. In a 1952 open letter addressed “To Jewish Students and School Children, Everywhere,” the rebbe had stressed the importance of a restful vacation that would “bring light and holiness into your vacation time … to improve the quality and quantity of your studies during study-time to follow.”

Our camp, of course, gives the children a relaxing and fun summer, but it also continues their Jewish studies and character development.

In addition to daily study and prayer, campers create cyberart, go hiking in nature, play baseball or tennis, and go on field trips. They participate in Jewish song and dance activities, learn about Jewish history and are reminded of the importance of doing mitzvahs — good deeds.

For our campers, as the rebbe hoped, not a single day passes without the breath of life provided by the “Torah of Life.”

The Rev. Omotayo Cole Cineus

Pastor, Salem African Methodist Episcopal Church in Roslyn

As the new pastor at Salem AME, I’m delighted that this summer our congregation has the opportunity to fully engage with our young people for the first time since before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe that summer programs help prevent the infamous “summer slip” and create experiences that build vision and excitement for the children.

We began in June with our “Friday Night Lights On!,” a six-week series of outdoor activities to provide structure and supervision and prevent Friday night idle time. The program included showings of family-friendly movies, game nights and a dance party, and culminated with an outdoor cookout and celebration.

On July 30, we will begin a new Sunday tradition following our worship services — an hourlong Children’s Collective, featuring book sharing, arts and crafts, guest speakers and other activities. This chance to teach and preach to young people, to encourage and empower them, takes its theme from one of my favorite Bible passages: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) 

‭Mufti Mohammad Farhan‬

Executive director, Islamic Center of Long Island in Westbury, and chair, Children of Adam

During summer break, most of us with families tend to concentrate on our own family group. We may take our children to museums or on vacations away from home, or enroll them in enrichment classes, so they can spend their summertime in fruitful and productive ways.

But summer is also a good time for youngsters and teens to reconnect with the larger Muslim community and serve others when weekend Islamic school and other center programs take a pause. With fewer opportunities to learn and socialize in an Islamic atmosphere on a consistent basis, many of our institutions create summer programs to engage children and teens. For instance, the Islamic Center of Long Island offers a five-week program during which kids can reconnect to spirituality, education, companionship, mentorship and service. The children study and learn about the sacred Scriptures, the lives of the prophets, and good morals and manners, and they partake in community service activities such as volunteering in gardening projects to keep the environment beautiful and neighborhood clean, and assisting at our community food pantry.

All of these summer activities help them to the grow and become more engaged in life while enriching their spiritual, social and personal development.