Seeking wonderful role models

August 2019

Dear Plymouth members,

When I was a child at Plymouth, every kindergartner knew they would have Ms. Ruth, with her creative projects and her long beautiful braid, and we couldn’t wait for 5th grade, when Mr. Bud would be our church school teacher—he was legendary for his great stories and silly jokes. People like Ruth and Bud taught church school for decades here, and they built relationships that lasted. A few years ago, I was lucky enough to chair the 50-year member brunch when Ms. Ruth joined the ranks, and it felt like such an honor to celebrate her legacy of giving to Plymouth.

In my role here now, I am fortunate to be able to spend lots of time with the youth of our church, and here is what I see—our young people at Plymouth are smart, fun, caring, jubilant, silly, and questioning—exactly like many of us were at their age. Think back to the Ms. Ruth and Mr. Bud’s from your childhood: They might have been a Sunday School teacher, a coach, a friend’s parent, but whoever they were, they were someone who cared about you and wanted to see you succeed. It is also possible you did not have one of those people in your life, and you are now looking for the opportunity to be the person you needed when you were a child.

We are currently in need of Church School teachers. As commitments change and jobs get more demanding, people are not always able to make the 20 year commitments that Ms. Ruth and Mr. Bud did to working with our young people, but for those that do work with them for any length of time, I guarantee the lives of teacher and children will be changed for the better. Ms. Ruth and Mr. Bud were not parents of any children in Church School at the time that I had them as teachers, nor were they “energetic 25-year-olds,” but it didn’t matter. Having a caring adult who showed up, knew our names, and took an interest in our lives is what mattered to us.

Our teachers always work in a team with another adult (with new teachers being paired up with a veteran), and the time commitment is 2 hours per month. Education happens during the 10 a.m. hour, so teachers can still attend the worship service of their choosing, as well as the Sundays @ 10 offerings on weeks they don’t teach. Curriculum is all written and created in-house and sent out a few days prior to the weekend to give the teachers time to look it over and prepare.

Sunday mornings, teachers pick up their supply box, stocked with all supplies and materials they will need and bring it to their classroom to share with their kids. Each week, the curriculum focuses on our “5 Ms”:

Message—what is the Bible verse, story or quote of the day

Meaning—what is lesson to be learned from this and how might it apply to the lives of the children

Movement—a song, game, project or dance related to the message, that gives the young people the opportunity to connect to the message with their bodies

Making—a take away that helps the children connect with the message through art

More—an opportunity to talk with their parents or guardians about how to bring the lesson of the week to life, and use it to improve the world.

We are looking for teachers (2 Sundays per month) and classroom friends (1 Sunday person month) for a variety of grades, and after a background check is completed, training will be provided to help boost your confidence!

We currently have volunteers ranging in age from 21 to 80, and our kids love them all! If you are interested in making a difference in the lives of the children and youth at Plymouth Church, please email me today!

In closing, I leave you with a quote from world-renowned cellist Pablo Casals:

“Each second we live in a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that never was before and will never be again. And what do we teach our children in school? We teach them that two and two makes four, and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them what they are? We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all of the world there is no other child exactly like you. In the millions of years that have passed there has never been another child like you. And look at your body—what a wonder it is! Your legs, your arms, your cunning fingers, the way you move! You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a marvel? You must cherish one another. You must work—we all must work—to make this world worthy of its children.

Sincerely,

Nina Jonson, Programs Manager