THE GRAPEVINE
THE GRAPEVINEContents:
Every once in a while inertia claims my spirit and I rationalize that basking in the balmy sun and breezes or retreating from the wintry blasts is quite all right. Ahh! Some time to "veg out", to let the rest of the world go by, to retreat.
My guess is that each of us recognizes the need for such down time. Nature seems to require it of us; our spirits shift gears. Fortunately in the human condition, metamorphosis can then take over. We have the fortunate ability to respond to a restless spirit, to emerge from our stupor willing to "get on with it" with renewed insight and vigor.
Life in the institutional church is no exception. Stress has been eminently present in recent months. Many have wanted to crawl into tents and close the flaps, longing for quieter times when we fantasize that there was no change to face. But those restless spirits of ours nudge and tug at the tent flaps and our creative spirits venture forth. New solutions for new times begin to emerge to be tested and refined.
And so it is now. Here in Province II we are studying new ways: the Lutheran-Episcopal Concordat; the development of a new ministry team of the newly created national network of Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation (JPIC) ministries; communication through cyberspace over Ecunet/Quest and the Internet, to highlight a few.
Other critical concerns have no official provincial framework but are before us wherever we dare to look - children, abuse of people and substances, health of body and spirit. Some are emerging as ministries which can be addressed very well within our provincial framework. Province II is uniquely positioned to provide a forum for multicultural ministry development, and through our ministry network, we are beginning just such an endeavor.
Some of the largest concentrations of Hispanic, Asian American, and Native American populations in the nation are here within our boundaries. We have much to learn and to share with each other, and with the larger church.
Other changes are here. By the time you read this we will have welcomed the first woman bishop in Province II. Within a few months new leadership will be elected at Synod in May. We are facing the challenges of the changing format of the church, a subject high on the agenda of the meeting of the provincial presidents and vice-presidents last December at national church headquarters in New York. Indicative of the need to respond to new expectations was the inclusion at the meeting of paid program coordinators from Provinces I and VIII, and Province II's volunteer network coordinator, the Rev. John Rollins (N).
As provinces are expected to carry more of the responsibility for programming, it is evident that specific provision for this must be made through personnel and funding. Concern for this was expressed through a resolution directed to the Executive Council and to the Committee on Program, Budget and Finance requesting shared funding for provincial administrators/ministry coordinators. This is a serious issue which Province II has anticipated by our Ordinances which allow the Provincial Council to employ an executive. (In addition to those mentioned above, Provinces IV and VI currently employ part-time staff.)
It is imperative that the possible employment of a staff person in Province II and the possible redesign of our budget process be prime subjects for our Synod. We have constructed the framework. The next decision is how it will be filled.
This is not a time to give in to inertia, but to energize ourselves and our ministries through the metamorphosis that will meet the demands of current realities. As our theme for our next Synod (May 9-11) states, "Full Speed Ahead."
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The procession entered the church and started up the center aisle when I saw him. A cute little boy about two in the arms of his father in a pew toward the rear on the aisle. Mother held the hymnal, Dad held the little boy, and they all sang lustily. When the altar party reached the front of the church, the celebrant, deacon, and subdeacon, as was their custom in that place, turned and went back down the center aisle sprinkling the congregation with baptismal water. Just as I reached the pew where the family was standing, there was a significant pause in the singing of the hymn and the following things happened.
I sprinkled the family (which came as a bit of a surprise because they were not accustomed to "showers" at the Eucharist), and the little boy rubbed his face with glee. The deacon, subdeacon, and I turned around to go back up the center aisle to begin the liturgy. Then, clearly swept up in the moment, and taking advantage of the silence before the next verse of the hymn, the little boy looked up at us and said, "Goodbye, now." It was a magical moment.
What I learned from that moment and others like it is that children often participate in the liturgies in ways far more profound than we readily give them credit for. The purpose of this short article is to reflect upon some of those ways and to share a few ideas which may help to make children more effectively a part of our congregations.
First, baptized children of all ages should receive Holy Communion. The prayer book clearly says that baptism is full initiation into the church, and the Eucharist is our fundamental expression of our common life as the body of Christ. Back in 1970, the church decided that baptized children could receive Holy Communion before confirmation. Despite the clarity of the church's position, taken nearly a generation ago, the admission of children to Holy Communion seems an unresolved point of church discipline.
Many are concerned about children receiving Holy Communion because they may not understand what they are doing when they receive the sacrament. However, if full understanding of the eucharistic gift were required before Holy Communion, I believe that most of our altar rails would be empty - as might be many of our altars. Children, like adults, grow in their understanding of the Eucharist as they develop spiritually. Even the smallest child can appreciate the idea of being fed and included, and few would deny that this brings perception and discernment of Christ.
Very small infants and children can receive in several ways. Often, I place two particles in the parent's hand; one for the parent and a very small one for the infant. Then the parent can communicate the child. In our parish here in New York City, the ministers of the chalice wear spoons around their necks (discreetly beneath their dalmatics) which can be used to communicate infants. Just touch the spoon to the surface of the consecrated wine in the chalice, put the spoon at the infant's mouth, and nature does the rest.
Second, creating a child-friendly worship is helpful. We have a baby sitter at our parish, and that sitter is present even if there are no children. We advertise that child care is available, and it always is even if there are no children. We want the single mother who comes twenty minutes late with her toddler in tow to find that child care is available, even if she had trouble getting the child all pulled together in time for church. We publish a little map showing where to find the child care center.
There are no hard and fast rules about this, but children will learn more about God when God is presented at their level of understanding. And, as soon as children are old enough to begin learning, the child-care staff introduces them to the first level of our curriculum. This is nice for parents, too. The first part of the liturgy is the place where there is the most variation from Sunday to Sunday with different readings, hymns, chants, and ideas presented in the homily. This is the time when the adults need to have the greatest degree of quiet in order to focus on the worship. The second part of the liturgy, for which we bring in the children, is much the same from Sunday to Sunday, and if the children make more of their "joyful noise", it is not a problem.
Teach your child a little about worship. Show her or him how to make the sign of the cross. Teach her or him how to say or to sing "Amen." Let the children sit on the kneelers if they wish, or play with quiet toys. (Keys or papers are not quiet toys.) Publishing houses have versions of the prayerbook set out with drawings about the liturgy, and these may be helpful for children to look at at times when they are bored or inquisitive.
Third, don't forget the power of music and the ministry of your church musician. Many church organists have training and experience in organizing children's choirs, and such choirs are wonderful ways of involving children, teaching them about the liturgy, the seasons, and basic Christian doctrine, and giving them a ministry to do as a response to their baptism. You may say, "Oh, but he works in a New York parish where that would be easy to do, but it wouldn't work here." Well, maybe not, but maybe it might.
We began here with no children, not a one. Shortly after we organized the world's smallest church school program, we organized a children's choir. And, true, for four years, it was two or four children, with lots of ups and downs. After five years, however, we now have sixteen children and they sing once a month. They know what Lent is, how long Easter lasts, why we use incense, what an introit is, and they sing simple but high quality music. And we did this in a neighborhood with very few children, in a congregation with only a few traditional families, and with volunteer help. Ask your musician. She or he might simply be dying to try out a program like this. To quote from the film Field of Dreams , "If you build it, they will come." We did. They did.
Fourth, keep on going, even if it doesn't seem to be working. Even when we knew that we might not have children for a given age group, we recruited a teacher and got a curriculum so that new children coming into the parish might feel that we had prepared for them. It is easy to get discouraged. However, keep the program going even when there are very few children, because having a program for children is a way of welcoming them and their parents to church.
I will end where I began. Having children actively involved in the worship of the church is the first step in helping them begin to undertake their ministry as a part of the baptized community. But like the little boy at the beginning of the story, children's religious awareness needs to be taken on their own terms. They may respond a little differently than an adult might. A little flexibility on our part will help them to tolerate church and, lo and behold, even to delight in it, as we come to delight in the spontaneity of their responses.
At communion time the other day, a toddler from a new family in the parish came to receive Holy Communion. She held out her hands with a little finger paint still on them, looked up at me, and when I said, "The Body of Christ, the bread of heaven," she said in a loud, clear voice, "Thank you!" Not the response required by the rubrics, but after all, what is the Eucharist but our own individual and corporate way of saying thanks to God. Saying thanks for God's creation of the world, for our redemption through Jesus Christ, and for the ongoing gift of the Holy Spirit. That very small theologian had her way of putting the whole matter. I could not have said it better.
Contact: the Rev. Lloyd Prator, 224 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10014-2405, tel: 212-243-6192.
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Episcopalians in western New York and Buffalo are answering God's call in many ways. One of these ways is in renewing our commitment to children.
The Diocese of Western New York is working with Buffalo Public Schools as a part of their Mentoring Program and Adopt a School Program. These programs are designed to help students by increasing the direct involvement of the community in their day-to-day lives. The Rt. Rev. David Bowman has asked the diocese to involve itself in the project as a way of responding to the needs of children, especially children at risk, in the western New York community.
The Mentoring Program allows people to work one-on-one with individual students. Participants go through orientation and training provided by the Buffalo Schools and then meet with students in scheduled after school sessions. Mentors help students with their schoolwork. They also serve as role models and connections to the community that many students otherwise would not have. The Adopt a School Program is one where organizations can literally adopt a school and become involved in its day-to-day life.
Through both of these programs, Episcopalians can become directly involved and begin making a difference in young people's lives. Bishop Bowman has taken the lead by serving as a mentor himself. As schools face increasing budget cuts, programs such as this become more and more necessary.
Contact: Richard Sawicki, 83 Laird Ave., Buffalo, NY 14207, tel: 716-876-5232.
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"What is a special needs church school?" "How did you come to start it?" "What made you think of it?" These are the questions that I hear over and over from people who hear about our efforts at St. Lawrence of Canterbury to begin an unusual Sunday School program.
About two years ago we realized that we had a number of children in the congregation who attended special education classes in the public schools. Among the difficulties these children lived with were deafness, autism, epileptic seizures, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity, fetal alcohol syndrome, and dyslexia. All of these children found a normal church school class did not meet their various needs and it was hard for them to benefit from our program.
After church one Sunday, two mothers approached me with the idea that somehow we might begin a class for their children which emphasized hands-on activities rather than verbal teaching. I was intrigued by the idea and could sense how difficult it must be for a deaf child to try to get anything out of a story-telling session without sign language. On the other hand, this child did very well in church where he could "hear" the organ by feeling the vibrations through the floor and the pews, smell the incense, see the vestments, candles and vigil lights, and watch two people who regularly signed the service for him. There were banners, crosses and flags, and a dozen or so children acting as acolytes, as well as light, color, and movement. Johnnie loves this service and always receives Holy Communion. He becomes very still and his face lights up as he takes the bread. Plainly, something wonderful happens to him and he signs to his mother that Jesus comes to be with him.
Our challenge is to find equally vivid ways for our special needs children to experience other aspects of Christian life, history, doctrine, and scripture, and to grow in faith. So, instead of simply telling a Bible story, we act it out. We make animals out of clay to tell the story of creation, and learn about the Eucharist by making a simple meal. We are big on light and sound, color and movement.
The first year we began the program the diocesan Episcopal Church Women came to our aid with a grant for supplies and curriculum. When we quickly realized that there was no real curriculum that could fulfill our needs, we began adapting the Episcopal Children's Curriculum (which we use for our standard program) by taking the main idea of each lesson and simplifying it. We are very fortunate to have two special education teachers in the congregation and our Sunday School is led by two professional artists. Also, we have both men and women teaching and several teenagers assisting.
We are a small congregation of about 80 people in church on Sunday, and we were running out of financial resources by the end of our first year. It is very hard to maintain a program of this type with purely volunteer leadership. If a critical leader is absent, there is no substitute! We always have a minimum of one adult to one child in this class. The more adults the better. Also, we wanted to advertise the program around our area and try to make our services available to other children.
Thanks to the connection we have with the diocesan ECW, we learned about the possibility of a grant from the National Episcopal Church Woman through their United Thank Offering (UTO). We filled out the papers and the forms, sent in pictures, answered questions, and have now received a grant of $15,000 to continue and improve our work. With this very generous gift we have been able to hire a deacon, the Rev. Kathleen Dorr, who has worked in two state hospitals with special needs children. We are also purchasing badly needed equipment and big-muscle toys for our parish hall, and putting a ramp to our parking lot.
There is much more to do. Parents who are not Episcopalians tend to be wary of a program which is not run by their own denomination, but we are being helped by the Long Island Council of Churches to get the word out. Money is a perennial issue, especially in a small congregation, but we are very creative and a little goes a long way. We lost our deaf child when the local social services were unable to continue to fund housing for his family. They moved out of the area and have no transportation to come all the way back here to church.
We at St. Lawrence of Canterbury believe that "God saw everything which he had made, and it was good!" All of our children are special and they are one of God's greatest gifts to us. This ministry which we are developing is also God's gift to us because it comes directly from a local need. It serves to open our hearts and minds to the breadth of human differences and the wonder and variety of God's creation. We have also learned that when a work comes from God, the resources to perform that work will also follow. That leads to profound thanksgiving and delight.
Contact: the Rev. Hope Koski, St. Lawrence of Canterbury Episcopal Church, 655 Old Country Road, Dix Hills, NY 11746, tel: 516-271-7180.
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Technology is leading Grace Church, Plainfield, New Jersey, into an exciting expansion of one of its outreach ministries.
Since 1991 the parish has sponsored The Plainfield Community Girlchoir, an after school program for girls in grades 3 through 8. Drawing from the entire community, the program has provided a setting for girls from diverse economic, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds to develop in an intense musical program. Dr. Andrew Moore, organist and choirmaster, heads the program with the assistance of Sharon Stemple, formerly an engineer with Procter & Gamble, and a corps of volunteers.
The choir gives concerts at churches, schools, and nursing homes throughout the state of New Jersey. Because the girls come from many denominational backgrounds and are active in their own churches, the choir sings at Sunday morning services at Grace Church only once a year. From the beginning the program has been focused on providing tutoring and recreational opportunities for the girls as well as musical training.
A parishioner involved with the Internet became aware of research indicating that as girls go into the middle grades they fall far behind boys in computer usage and interest in things technical and mathematical. That piece of information coupled with government projections that by 2010 fully 25% of all new jobs will be computer-related, led the parishioner to discuss with the Rev. Robert Griner, Grace's rector, whether The Plainfield Community Girlchoir program could be expanded to include a computer component.
At the same time, a professor at the county community college who was determined to do something about using computers to teach preschool children to read, write, and count was introduced to Rev. Griner. What developed was the concept of a community computer center at Grace Church which would house both the preschool program and a component for The Plainfield Community Girlchoir program.
Two parishes with vision - St. John's-on-the-Mountain, Bernardsville and St. George's-by-the-River, Rumson - were led at this point to offer support in the form of substantial grants to enable the program's launch.
With space and security upgraded, the computers - ten Pentium-based PCs with CD-rom drives - are being installed with a target launch date of late January 1996. On weekdays in two-hour sessions from 9 AM to 3 PM, children from Plainfield's many daycare and preschool programs will have an opportunity to learn the three R's using the center's computers.
After school the center will be transformed to a place where The Plainfield Community Girlchoir members, without having to compete with boys, will have a chance to develop computer and allied math and science skills. The center draws part of its inspiration from "Plugged In", a program in East Palo Alto, California, where students have become so adept at Internet-related design and marketing skills that they actually consult with businesses eager to establish an Internet presence.
Grace Church has already established an independent non-profit, Plainfield Community Outreach, Inc., in anticipation of being able to greatly expand the program through corporate and foundation assistance as a model for helping girls to be included in the transformations computers and the Internet are working in American society.
Contact: Dan Damon, tel: 908-755-4635 (evenings) and e-mail: hotweb@lunar.eclipse.net
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Most of the students try to arrive by 7:45 in the morning, although some are already at school by 6 AM. By 8 AM over 900 students are in lines, by class, ready for flag raising. The kindergarten students have gone to their classrooms, as there is not enough room on the playground for everyone. The sixth graders have already been studying in their classrooms and have come outside for this ceremony. The national anthem is sung; the collect from the Book of Common Prayer is read; the prayer of St. Francis is recited; and a hymn is sung. This is followed by a musical selection by some of the music students.
The students are in classes until 12:30 PM or, in the case of the older students, 1 PM. The children study the same subjects as children in the States but the methods of teaching are very different. Here everything is memorized and they are learning in French, their second language.
Some of the students come to school without breakfast, and milk and bread are provided for them at the school. At noon a typical meal of rice and beans with some vegetables or meat (a little only!) is provided. There is water to drink. We are able to give a daily vitamin thanks to donations from our friends. At the moment we are feeding over 900 people every day -- a real drain on our finances but a necessary service.
Some of the students stay at school for music lessons in the afternoon. Not all can afford these, however. The sixth graders continue with extra classes until 2:30 or 3:00 PM. They must take national exams at the end of the year and will only pass them with a lot of hard work. Holy Trinity School has a high percentage of students passing this difficult test. Last year it was over 95%.
The cost of sponsoring a student for one year is $300.00. That includes tuition, uniform, books, and canteen.
This year has been especially hard on our students because of the daily "blackouts." Many classes have few or no windows and the children need to use flashlights. Many don't even have these to use. We are in the process of installing three inverters which I hope will provide some relief.
Contact: Holy Trinity School, Port-au-Prince, Agape Flights, 7990 15th St. East, Sarasota, FL 34243.
(Editor's note: In a letter from Sister Ann, she says that the Sisters of Saint Margaret are turning over the leadership of Holy Trinity School to the people of Haiti. The Sisters will continue to provide preparation for those to be confirmed. When Sister Ann returns to Haiti after four weeks in Boston, she will be working with the mission church of St. Matthew in an area in Haiti known as Matthew.)
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"You are a child of God; I'll treat you that way." And we do. Especially on Wednesday evenings at the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation in Penfield, New York. Wednesdays are LOGOS nights!
LOGOS is the midweek Christian education program based on a Christian camp or conference experience. Founded 30 years ago, and now found in many Presbyterian churches, Incarnation's LOGOS program is nearing its 10 year mark.
Compacted between 4:50 and 7:15 PM each Wednesday, LOGOS at Incarnation offers four components or ways of practicing Christian ways of behaving and relating to each other: Bible study, music, dinner hour, and recreation.
Children from nursery age through sixth grade are greeted when they arrive, given a healthy snack, and then sent off for 35 minutes of Bible study beginning at 5:00 PM. From 5:35 to 6:00 PM two vocal choirs and a bell choir prepare for Sunday worship. The dinner hour runs from 6 to 6:45 PM and features a weekly fun theme with parishioners serving as table parents. Thirty minutes of recreation, followed by a prayer circle, close out the program which ends at 7:15 PM.
Four rotating meal crews, made up of parishioners, support the dinner hour. Running from early October through April, the LOGOS year is always concluded with a talent night.
We have found the LOGOS program to be an excellent way of including adults in a program which nurtures children, and of bringing newcomers into the life of the church. Twenty-five children are presently in the program with an equal number of adults in various supporting ministries.
Contact: the Rev. Ralph W. Strohm, 1957 Five Mile Line Rd., P.O. Box 122, Penfield, NY 14526, tel: 716-586-7860.
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