“The kids run straight into the pastors’ arms on Sunday. They know them–they played basketball with them. It’s community. It’s Jesus. It’s wonderful.” -Mrs. Valerie Gaede, director of preschool
Following Jesus’ Matthew 18 example, the community at St. John, Wheaton draws children near, welcomes them, and teaches them that the Church is just as much so theirs as it is their parents and grandparents saying, “they’re not the future of the Church, children are the Church now. They have a place in the Church just as much as everyone else does.”
St. John, Wheaton is a place where people say, “the children were so loud in church today… it was wonderful.” In their joyful noise, children are loudly singing and praying as they participate in the service. For the children of St. John, the nave is a place they feel very comfortable. In addition to Sunday School, a midweek program called Pastor Chats has played a great role in teaching them the nave is the Lord’s house, and it is a place for them.
This year marks the seventh year of St. John’s Pastor Chats. Children who are in fifth grade and younger gather together for games, snacks, music, and teaching every Wednesday after school. Throughout the six year program which prepares children for confirmation, children learn about saints, the nave, the stained glass they see every time they are in the nave, and much more. With joy, the children march around the baptismal font, dipping their fingers in while remembering their baptisms.
Mrs. Valerie Gaede, the director of St. John’s preschool says Pastor Chats has a wonderful impact, because “children are growing up in the Church and learning what Church life is like. It’s so lovely, because they get Jesus and they get the pastors in a less formal way.”
How They Got Started
In 2011, the pastors and parishioners of St. John, Wheaton created Pastor Chats with a common goal. They had a great desire to provide an environment where children love the Church and see pastors in a pastoral/shepherd role rather than in an authoritative or distant one. After creating their own curriculum, they began the six year rotational program. Throughout the years, the program has grown and fluctuated as they continue to learn new things, utilize different gifts of people on their team, and serve a growing group of students.
What It Looks Like
Outside of Advent and Lent, every Wednesday during the school year from 4 p.m. to approximately 5:30 p.m., infants through fifth graders and, if they’re available, one or both of their parents, gather at St. John. The pastors know each child and greet them by name, ask about their lives, and play alongside them before moving into a time of teaching.
While awaiting the arrival of the majority of the group, the children play various impromptu games in the gym–the pastors join the fun. From there, the group, which typically includes 30 or more children, moves to another room for a light snack provided by volunteers. As the tables fill, there are no “kids’ tables” and “adult tables;” they are one community; everyone sits together.
After games and snack, the group moves to the sanctuary to worship the Lord through music. They sing Taizé worship and/or hymns which are also sung in church on Sundays. As they worship in a variety of languages, including American Sign Language and Latin, together they learn that even though they may not know every word which they are saying, God speaks all languages; He is everywhere and knows their worship no matter how it is voiced.
After worship, the first through fifth graders spend more time gleefully playing while the children in Kindergarten and younger gather for teaching time. Then, they switch, and the younger children and their families can go home, if they wish. The younger students and older students are taught the same lesson at age appropriate levels. Each year, Pastor Chats has a different theme following a six year rotation in which the first two years and the last two years are the same theme. With this pattern, students hear the same lessons in both their youngest years and oldest years.
How They Are In This Together
As they welcome children in Jesus’ name, not as the future of the Church but as the “greatest in the kingdom of heaven,” St. John’s’ staff and congregation reveal their commitment to the health of every person in every stage. As they encourage one another and learn from one another, they develop relationships which lead to trust and the opportunity to share in the highs and lows of life. In this, together they can spur one another onward in faith. In their deep care for one another and in their recognition of each person’s valuable gifts, the community at St. John, Wheaton is the body of Christ, all baptized by one Spirit.
This is #OurNID