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Beginning here as a new staff member, one of the most striking images of what this church is about came the first week of church school, as the children processed out of the service to their classrooms. That first Sunday, with Bill playing the organ joyfully, the aisles of the church were just filled with children. Standing in the front, with an admittedly good view, you can see the children coming forward from all corners of the church, of many ages and backgrounds, to walk down towards the door at the front of the sanctuary and out to their places of learning. Parents and the community of the church sing a blessing as the children leave to grow in wisdom and faith. What a lovely sight!
Now on this first day, I am sorry to tell you, this ideal scene does not carry over into the church school hallway. In the first day of church school, kids are checking the outside doors for their classrooms, parents are wondering which class would fit best, and a few toddlers are not quite sure they are ready for their parent to go. It is loud, messy, and just the kind of chaos we come to expect from ninety-some children. But the right classrooms are found and then something wonderful happens. The third grade classroom gathers around to hear a story from a Good Book, and the 3-year olds begin to feel that church is a safe place to be, and the sixth graders begin to slowly and carefully piece together a great lesson with their own hands. As I walk through the halls and peek in on all of these moments on process, I am so honored to have a glimpse of places where the Holy Spirit peaks in.
Looking through the forms you have filled out, I know many parents are sending children into church school with great hopes—hopes for community, for values, for learning to help, learning to pray, and something as mysterious and beautiful as an abiding faith. We, who want to give good gifts to our children, want to give these children something that will carry them, inspire them, and comfort them, and be with them when we cannot. In these hopes I hear the congregation singing its blessing on the children as they depart, that they may learn, grow, and be blessed in faith. But if day-to-day life is more like the messiness of the hallway, that’s OK too. If the hair ribbons aren’t tied, if you are heading straight to hockey practice, or if sometimes your miracle of the day is getting everyone out the door with clothes on, we are so glad you are here! No matter how we come, no matter if we are good or not, no matter if we are ready or not, God is there before us, calling us into whom we might yet become.
First of all I wish to thank this church and its members for the warm welcome I have received. Thank you for the gracious greetings of children, parents, and teachers. Thank you for the flexibility and patience you have shown as we learn, experiment and grow together. Thank you to the staff for your welcome and guidance. I am excited for the year to come, enlivened by many partners in ministry, and deeply grateful for a ministry that allows me to be a weekly witness to God revealed in the classroom windows. Lisa Horst,
Acting Associate Minister of Children and Families
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