I HAD always prided myself on being
an "on time" person. One morning I over-slept and rushed around getting
ready for Sunday school. As I ran out the door, my husband tried to say something.
"What?" I called back. "Don't slow me down. I'm late."
"No, you're not, " he responded. "It's Saturday."
ONE day I asked my Sunday-school class of four-year-olds how
many of them said grace before meals. When I found that none did, I explained what it
meant, and taught them a simple prayer that they could say before they sat down to eat.
A few weeks later one of the mothers came in after class to talk to me. "That
was a lovely prayer you taught Emily, Mrs. Sproul. But I must say, my husband is getting
pretty tired of saying grace every time he opens the refrigerator to get a beer."
AT SUNDAY school class, my plan was to explore the children's
notion of God. I began the lesson with the question, "Timmy, who is God?"
Timmy is six years old. His brow furrowed as he thought about the question he had been
asked. After a few seconds, a smile came to his face. "God," he said,
"is the man who saved the Queen."
OUR church has a children's liturgy once a month. My
four-year-old daughter sits by the altar with the other children at these special Masses,
and I am always nervous, wondering if she will do something naughty. One day I lost sight
of her as the crowd of children filtered back to waiting parents. My sister assured me
that my daughter would find her way, but as the congregation cleared, I saw only the
priest bowing in reverence. Realizing that he was staying bowed much too long, I looked
closer to see my little girl in the folds of his robe with her foot raised. Father was
tying her shoe.
AFTER telling the children the story of Adam and Eve, a
Sunday school teacher asked them to draw a picture. One little boy drew a Cadillac with
three people in it. When told it had nothing to do with the story, he looked up in
astonishment and replied, "But you said 'God drove them out of the garden!' "
AFTER being leaders of our church youth group for several
years, my wife and I decided to retire. Attendance had grown and we felt we could no
longer provide the desired level of personal attention to each of the young people while
we were working full, time. The deacons of the church engaged a fine young couple,
the Heidts, to take over from us. The first Sunday they assumed their new
responsibilities, it was announced to the congregation that the leadership of the youth
program had gone from the Pitts to the Heidts.