SO SAYS THE BISHOP
Bishop Charles Bennison asserts that two weeks of Wapiti Camp equals a year of Sunday school in a recent article (Bishop Bennison: Diocese Ready to Heal) that appeared in The Living Church Magazine 03/30/2006.
‘Bennison says “The whole business plan (Wapiti Camp and Conference Center) is working out beautifully,” he (Bishop Bennison) said. “Most people in the diocese want to have Wapiti. We know we can do as much in a week or two at summer camp as we can do in a year of Sunday school.’
NOT SO SAYS A SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER
A Sunday School teacher responds “So, the next time you see a Sunday school teacher, thank them for spending their time with your sons and daughters. As teachers, we are planting seeds of knowledge without knowing how they will grow. We hope the lessons they are exposed to and learn will aid in their spiritual growth as they blossom into adulthood. To help insure that will happen, we need to tend to them regularly in our parish setting and nurture them as seedlings while cutting back on the fertilizer.”
Here is a full response from a Sunday school teacher to the Bishop’s comments. Your comments about “TWO WEEKS OF CAMP EQUALS ONE YEAR OF SUNDAY SCHOOL?” are welcomed.
Thoughts from a Diocese of Pa. Rector’s Warden and long-time Sunday School Teacher:
During my thirty years on the police force, I spent nineteen of them in the patrol division. For those who may not realize it, the patrol division is the first line of defense and aid in a situation. Each shift, I would cruise around the township in the black and white marked car being on the lookout for illegal activity or someone in need of assistance. While I patrolled, I never once had someone flag me down and tell me that he was going to rob the bank, but then he saw me and changed his mind. Nor did anyone tell me that they were going to damage something but decided against it upon seeing my police car. Sure, after being arrested, some people told us that they originally planned to do something but were deterred because at that moment the police were in the area; but they were few and after the fact. The point being, that you can’t always judge your effectiveness in an area until someone tells you later, if at all.
Many times we engage in activities that we hope will have a positive effect on someone, but the reality is we rarely ever find out. That is why I was struck when I read a recent article on The Living Church Foundation website. In that article, the Rt. Rev. Charles Bennison, Jr. is quoted as saying, when speaking of Wapiti, “We know we can do as much in a week or two at summer camp as we can do in a year of Sunday school.” How do we know that? Granted, just like our Vacation Bible School, you can amass a large number of children who may not attend church regularly, if at all, and be immediately gratified, but will what they are exposed to stay with them for years to come or is it merely a snapshot of the moment? To make that type of comparison is demeaning and demonstrates a broad disrespect to all those loving and caring Sunday school teachers who dedicate their time and talents to our youth.
Studies have shown that children who are actively engaged in Sunday school and church services are more apt to return in their adult years and become involved. As a junior high Sunday school teacher, I know what I have put into my lessons and the interaction I have had with my students. On occasion a former student may approach me and mention something that we discussed a while in one of my classes. I also know that one of my classes piqued a student’s curiosity and inspired him to read more about a topic in the Bible. I was pleasantly surprised when I recently attended the memorial service of my teaching partner at our prior church. A student I taught there came up to me, after having no contact with him for nearly eleven years, and proceeded to eagerly talk about some things we did in class. I got a true sense of satisfaction hearing him go on fondly of our time together.
Contrary to the Bishop’s apparent vision that the larger church can better reach the youth of today, I submit that, like the police patrol division, the parish Sunday school teachers are the ones who make the difference. They are the people who interact with our youth week in and week out to help provide them with a basic foundation on which to build their spiritual lives. Sunday school teachers make every effort to reach the often diverse group that makes up their class, and they do. These are the people, some of whom do not even have children in the program, who dedicate their time to provide a religious education to their students. I know the weekly contact allows me to have a continuing dialog on current local issues that class members are dealing with in their daily lives, not a merely a breakout session on a generalized topic.
So, the next time you see a Sunday school teacher, thank them for spending their time with your sons and daughters. As teachers, we are planting seeds of knowledge without knowing how they will grow. We hope the lessons they are exposed to and learn will aid in their spiritual growth as they blossom into adulthood. To help insure that will happen, we need to tend to them regularly in our parish setting and nurture them as seedlings while cutting back on the fertilizer.
