Music to My Ears

Ryan, a new boy came to Children’s Chapel on Sunday.  Ryan’s grandma brought him. He fit right in and seemed to have a great time. At the end of the service, his grandma asked him if he would like to come again. He nodded his head “yes” very eagerly and said he really would. She asked a lot of very good questions about what we did and how we did it. She collected all the paperwork telling about our Sunday morning procedures. She explained to Ryan that she liked to attend the 9:00 service because that’s when her friends came so she would be talking to his father to see if he could come and bring Ryan at 11:00. “I love Unity. I hope he will too,” she said. That settled, they started to leave.

Another boy was also leaving with his mom and had been listening in on our conversation. He called over his shoulder “And they have awesome teachers here!”

I know my grin spread from ear to ear. The other kids and parents laughed and said, “Yes, it’s true!”

That felt sooo great. 

I think our teachers are pretty wonderful too. We have a very small team of volunteers in our Children’s Chapel. Five to be exact at this time.

Louis has been teaching 3^rd-5th grade for 26 years. His lessons are action-packed with props, movement, laughter and fun. He always has a clear lesson point. He is respectful to each child yet knows how to facilitate their behavior to bring out the best. He has a special gift for the kids who don’t do well in other settings. He takes off the first and fifth Sundays.

Therese has taught 3^rd-5^th grades on the first Sunday for five years. She has worked skillfully with this age group,  perhaps because her two sons were in this class. She seems to know what makes the kids this age tick. She made thinking about a concept a fun thing to do. She added depth and spiritually enriching ideas to consider. Therese is stepping down in June because her boys are now both in Uniteens.

Anne is a very new K-2^nd grade teacher. She’s not been a parent and came with no experience. The children love her and she has had fun trying out the lessons. What makes her special is her natural inclination to connect with each child as they arrive. This is often a strategy that has to be modeled or taught to new teachers. Anne got it immediately. By the time the lesson begins, the kids are “with her” and ready to see what she is going to do.

Christie has been teaching the K-2^nd grade class on and off for about six years. She is a parent and a professional teacher and brings a whole assortment of skills to our program.  Her two sons have been regulars and you can tell by how they interact as a family that respect, doing your best, honesty, and spiritual practices are important parts of their lives. She brings all that into her lessons. 

Me/Marelu: I am the other K-2^nd grade teacher on alternate Sundays with Anne. I am in a special category as are those of you who are the directors of the program and sometimes fill in as teachers.  We not only must be present with the children in the class and facilitate the lesson flow but must also hold in our consciousness the whole program. A part of my brain is listening to what else is going on in the other classrooms and watching the clock to be sure we are finished on time and being ready to welcome and include the late arrival because Seattle traffic can be a challenge and attending to the need in the childcare room if more help is required and remembering registration deadlines for Uniteen or YOU events and watching for the parent that I want to talk with about his/her child, etc.

I am therefore so very grateful for those excellent people who walk their talk, love kids and are willing to share some of their time and talent to show up on Sunday as teachers.

Later in the week I returned a call from a parent who had been out of town for Memorial Day weekend and was going to be out of town the next weekend as well. She told me her son had awakened on Sunday morning and realized he was missing church. And then realized he was going to miss another Sunday. She said he was very, very disappointed.

I felt another grin forming. I know the kids have a great time when they are with us but I really do appreciate hearing about it. The validation from the children makes our efforts worthwhile.