Upper Perkiomen School District

Life Long Learning, a non-profit corporation, was organized on March 11, 1993. Its purpose is to offer individuals residing in or near the Upper Perkiomen Valley opportunities to learn through hearing talks and participating in discussions on many topics including history, the arts, health, religion, travel, gardening, cultural diversity, cooking, literature, finance, and much more.

Life Long Learning fulfills its purpose by offering a series of seminars in the spring and fall each year. Three concurrent one-hour seminars are held before a thirty minute coffee break and three concurrent seminars are held after. Participants may choose two seminars – one from each time frame. Field trips may be planned to enhance the classroom experience. It is our hope that there will be something to interest everyone with each spring and fall session.

Life Long Learning is intended primarily for senior citizens in the Upper Perkiomen Valley and surrounding areas, but people of all ages are welcome to participate. There is a modest charge for the educational series to cover refreshments, facility costs, insurance, postage and equipment. The New Goshenhoppen United Church of Christ graciously provides rooms and the necessary clerical and custodial services. The Upper Perkiomen School District generously assists with technology needs and printing requirements.

Life Long Learning has no paid staff. Its board of directors and all of its faculty members are volunteers, freely contributing their time, talents, and energy to what has become an important and popular part of the Upper Perkiomen Valley’s cultural life.

Board of Directors
Eliza Mann, President
George Bonekemper, Vice President
Annette Thompson, Treasurer
Priscilla Kistler, Recording Secretary
Sharon Muntz, Recording Secretary
Maribeth Reigner, Communications Secretary
                       
Carol Elias             Roselyn Parry                              
Gail Gerhard         Susan Royer                           
Glenn Gilbert        Charles Shagg           
Thomas Henry       Jean Thobaben       
 Lucy Kern              Kathie Utz    
                  
Rev. James Roth, Audio-Visual Coordinator                          
Dr. Allyn J. Roche, Upper Perkiomen School District Liaison 

The entire cost of the four-week educational series is $20 which covers coffee breaks and incidental expenses.

Fall 2021 classes will be held on the following four Tuesdays in October - 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th.  One session of three concurrent classes will be held from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Following a half-hour coffee break, a second session of three concurrent classes will be held from 11:00 a.m. until noon. Participants can register for one course at 9:30 for all four weeks and one course at 11:00 for all four weeks and attend the courses for which they are registered. 

All sessions will be held at New Goshenhoppen United Church of Christ in East Greenville. Parking and elevator access are available in the lower parking lot next to the main church building.

All registration is by mail. Click here to open the registration form and then mail it with $20 non-refundable fee to:
Life Long Learning
New Goshenhoppen UCC 
1070 Church Rd
East Greenville, PA 18041  

Enrollment is limited.  Prompt registration will ensure your place in the classes of your choice.  Please indicate your 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice for each session.

On opening day, Tuesday October 5th, an orientation session will be held at 9:00 a.m. Please make every effort to attend.

According to the New Goshenhoppen UCC Covid policy, starting September 13, 2021, masks or face coverings are to be worn at all indoor events and activities.

For more information, call Gail Gerhard at 215-679-6523.

All sessions are held in the Educational Wing of the New Goshenhoppen United Church of Christ in East Greenville. Parking and elevator access are available next to the main church building.

If you are interested in being a speaker for one of our upcoming events, please contact Eliza Mann at 610-326-3099 or via email at elizamann@comcast.net

Each instructor contributes their time to the Life Long Learning program.
We express our deep gratitude for their kind assistance.

Kurt Althouse – Retired VP of Manufacturing at Milford Enterprises, former student at the Kodaikanal International School in India for 7 years

Yvonne Caputo – Author, Teacher, Story Teller

Rev. Dr. Deborah Rahn Clemens – Former Senior Pastor of New Goshenhoppen UCC, Author, Theologian, Historian

Larry Cohen - Retired Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State

Jeanne Cove – Director of Upper Perkiomen Valley Library, Book Lover, Literacy Advocate

Kathy Doyle – Former Coastal Carolina University LLL program development specialist and coordinator
     
Dr. John Farris – Retired Dentist, US Army Dental Corps Veteran, Vietnam Tour 
     
Jay Fischer – Electrical Power Systems background; Italian Renaissance Art hobbyist, extensive travels in Italy

Bradley Hendershot – Award winning contemporary representational artist of rural life of both Pennsylvania and Maine

Clyde Hoch – Pennsburg Native, Veteran, Author

Ed Johnson – Retired History Teacher, Pennridge H.S., President of Goschenhoppen Historians

Katharine Krieg – Contemporary artist and teacher with students in Green Lane, PA and Monhegan Island, ME  

Eliza Mann – Retired Teacher UPSD, LLL President

Candace Perry – Curator of Collections, Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center
    
Maribeth Reigner – Retired Teacher UPSD, LLL Board Member
 
Charles Shagg – Retired History Teacher, North Penn SD, Vietnam Veteran, Green Beret, LLL Board Member

Linda Shagg – Retired Nurse, daughter of a Norwegian Sea Captain from Brandal, Norway
 

SESSION 1 - 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
A. Travel	B. U.S. Policies & Diplomacy All classes conducted by Larry Cohen	C. Mysteries Uncovered
October 5 Revisiting Childhood Memories of India Kurt Althouse                      October 12 Travels to Lebanon Dr. John Farris   October 19 Travels to Norway Linda and Charles Shagg                                              October 26 Iceland Eliza Mann and Maribeth Reigner	October 5 Pottstown Firebirds October 12  The State of the State Department October 19 Contemporary Issues in Government October 26 Contemporary Issues in Government	October 5 Fraternal Societies in the U.S. Ed Johnson October 12 Improved Order of Red Men; A Closer Look at one Fraternal Society Ed Johnson                                  October 19 The Slave in the Parsonage, Part 1 Rev. Dr. Deborah Rahn Clemens October 26 The Slave in the Parsonage, Part 2 Rev. Dr. Deborah Rahn Clemens

 

SESSION 2 - 11:00 am to Noon
D.  Literacy Lovers & a Little Theater	E.  The World of Art & The Artists	F.  Serving Our Country
October 5      Flying with Dad: A Daughter, A Father, and the Hidden Gifts from His WWII Stories Yvonne Caputo              October 12 The Ladies of 20th Century Pennsylvania Dutch Literature and Illustration Candace Perry October 19 Acting Dutch: Pennsylvania Dutch-Inspired Theater in the 20th Century Candace Perry                                              October 26  It's No All Fiction: Stories from the Other Side of the Library Jeanne Cove	October 5 Special Places, Special Times: Painting My Life Bradley Hendershot October 12 The Peales: A Family of Artists or Curious Revolutionaries Kathy Doyle          October 19 Working Outdoors Katharine Krieg October 26 Renaissance Art Treasures Found in Florence, Italy Jay Fischer	October 5 Hometown Heroes Clyde Hoch                  October 12                Impeachment Charles Shagg October 19 Vietnam Veteran Clyde Hoch   October 26 Vietnam Veteran Charles Shagg