I have the best seat in the house on Sunday mornings; and it is a privilege I don’t take for granted.
We who serve from the chancel (altar area) on Sundays get to see your faces instead of the back of your heads: so, I see you smile as you share the Peace; sing lustily along with a favorite hymn; laugh when we joke from the pulpit, and sometimes cry when a chord of grief or joy is struck.
I also get to watch Christ the Good Shepherd as he lovingly keeps watch over us, the sheep of his pasture. Our backs are to him most of the time as he watches from the window above the former choir loft, a staff in his hand and a wayward sheep slung over his shoulders; and while we rarely acknowledge his presence up there, I’ve not seen him miss a Sunday yet.
On June 12th, I’ll be watching him closely as I expect a little smile may appear on his face when
the children of our parish walk in procession to their Godly Play Room for the first time since March 2020, all of us joining in as they sing, “I want to walk as a child of the Light.”
While we were able to re-open St. John’s Preschool at half-capacity in Sept 2021 because the diocese considered our preschool an essential service for families, all the church nurseries and Sunday schools in our diocese were closed (or moved online or outdoors) until Covid vaccination became widely available for 5 – 11 year-olds in Dec 2021, just six months ago.
With staff changes and the need to re-gather and refresh training of our Godly Play teachers, it’s taken six months for us to return to weekly Sunday School at St. John’s, but we’ve done our faithful best in the meantime to foster the faith of our children and families through online gatherings, resources sent home, monthly child-friendly worship (PRAYground), and short Sunday School programs during Advent and Lent.
Still, I can’t tell you how excited I am that our children and families will soon have the support and attention they need on Sunday mornings to worship, learn, and grow in relationship with Christ and others as a full part of our extended, multi-generational family at St. John’s.
The vision we set our eyes on back in 2018 for deeply and joyfully engaging children and families at St. John’s has taken three steps forward and two steps back, such that we’re nearly back at the place we started four years ago. But whenever I am tempted to feel discouraged about this, I try to remember that very few things in life go exactly according to plan, do they? I also remind myself that while I can see a lot about each of you and our whole parish family up there from the chancel, I still don’t have the view that Jesus has. He is our Good Shepherd; and he is up there ready to lend his guiding hand whenever we feel lost. I’ve not seen him miss a day yet.
Our ministry with children and families continues to need our investment and support if it is to grow and thrive. At the moment it’s a bit wobbly on it’s newborn legs. The more of us who make a small investment in the nurture of our children (as we pledge collectively to do in our baptismal vows), the greater their growth will be.
Would you consider learning to lead Godly Play once every six weeks? Would you help in the nursery on occasion if one of our nursery attendants is out sick? Would you be a prayer partner with a child or a teen for a season? Would you organize a hike or a Hot Dog Sunday? Christ is not only the Good Shepherd, but also the One who multiplies loaves and fishes, and makes small offerings enough to feed a crowd. What might you offer him to work with?
Many thanks to Fr. Stephen who currently oversees the effort to rebuild this ministry. Thanks to Jane and Bob Hill and Lisa Girimonte (Co-Director), as well as the Preschool Board and Vestry as we conclude a very successful first year re-opened! Thank you to all who serve with Fr. Stephen on our new Children’s Formation Committee: Kenille Baumgardner, Sarah Crate, Sarah Goodwin, Helen Holt, Emily Larsen, Carol McClain, and Sandra Rhodes. Please speak with any of them or reach out to Fr. Stephen (srassociate@stjohnswf.com) or me (rector@stjohnswf.com) if you want to think about what you might bring to the party!
This comes with Love,
Mo. Sarah+