Help wanted: A few teachers to help co-teach some classes for Sunday school for the 2008-09 school year.

We had a few teachers “retire” from teaching Sunday School this year. If you enjoy children and love working with a great group of fun loving adults, then this is the position for you. We pair new teachers with more experienced ones to help guide them through the year. When possible, there are three teachers per grade to allow more flexible scheduling for teachers to attend services or to take care of personal matters.

But I’ve never taught before? That’s OK, everyone has taught someone something. We’ve taught our children to tie their shoes or to say please and thank you. All you need is the desire to help lead these great kids in their journey to learn about God and Christ. We supply the teaching guides that give you the ideas and plans. You can use them as much as you need. As you get comfortable, you can let your creativity flow. We use games, song, stories and crafts to reinforce ideas throughout the year.

But I don’t know all the rules and other stuff of the Episcopal Faith. Our focus in Sunday School is on God’s love and how we can love others through our words and deeds. Most of our lessons are about Jesus and His teachings. We do a lot of teaching about helping others. Each month next year, we will do a service project to emphasize this idea. We want the youth to understand that God loves them no matter what and that He is always there for them; we can spread this message by helping the world around us.

But I won’t be able to attend services if I’m teaching. There are plenty of opportunities to attend services. Some of our teachers attend other services, such as 5:15 and 10:30. By having three teachers per grade, teachers are able to rotate and attend services as the other teachers teach that day. We also have certain Sundays throughout the year that are Community worship Sundays. There is no Sunday School on these days, and families are encouraged to attend services together. Also, teachers do attend the first part of the service with their families, then go over to the Parish House for classes. We are very involved with the Parish community.

Someone once asked me why I teach. Years ago when my children were little I started teaching because I felt this was something that I was called to do. I had always taught something, whether it was swimming lessons or at work as a pediatric nurse. I enjoyed helping children learn. I felt I could help out the church by being a teacher. Now 11 years later, I’m still teaching Sunday School. Yes, I still feel called to do so, but the main reason I teach is much simpler. I love it. Every Sunday I have fun teaching these kids. They make me laugh and they make me think. Sometimes it’s a challenge, but it has always been rewarding. It helps me grow as a person and as a Christian. Frequently, we have adults who help out in the classrooms. Almost all of these helpers tell me the same thing, “I learned so much today, it was great”. When you teach children, you gain an understanding about the lessons you might not receive elsewhere because you need to help them to understand. Surprisingly, I have learned so much from my students over the years. The children of St Paul’s are wonderfully loving and caring students. Their enthusiasm for life and their compassion for others is the most wonderful lesson that I have gained from them, and I’m so thankful for the time I have spent in their presence.

If you are interested in teaching next year, feel free to contact me at home over the next few weeks. I would love to answer any questions you might have about our program. We’ll be starting up again in September; it would be great to have a complete group of teachers on board for the next year. Take care and enjoy the summer.