I’ve heard of the Easter Egg Hunt at St. Luke in the Fields, Manhattan, which brings more than a thousand adults and children to the church for a day of fun and subliminal learning. So that was a natural starting point for a conversation about youth and Sunday School with St. Luke’s Associate for Christian Formation, the Rev. Mary Foulke.

With fall here again, Foulke, who in addition to being a priest earned a Doctorate in Religion and Education 15 years ago from Columbia Teachers College, is burning the midnight oil checking up on curricula and personnel for six groupings of Sunday classes for ages ranging from pre-school to post-confirmation to high school.

      

Left, volunteer youth ministry leaders Ana Pineda (left) and Maricarmen Canales of Mediator, Bronx, beam as they show their historic Church Register with names of many children baptized by the Rev. Diego Delgado-Miller in the last year. A student enjoys his activities at the Sunday School at St. Luke in the Fields, Manhattan.

Photos by TACHUS MEDIA

St. Luke in the Fields, Manhattan
It wasn’t always that busy, even though St. Luke’s has a notable history with its co-ed Episcopal Day School and had customarily assigned Sunday School leadership to a curate. Foulke said, “A decade ago there were less than five in Sunday School. Five years later about 30. A year ago 50 registered for Sunday School.” This fall that number may double. At last year’s Sunday School Christmas Pageant there were 300 in attendance.

It was two years ago that St. Luke’s, convinced youth ministry was important enough to make a commitment to add a full-time specialist, invited Foulke to join the pastoral staff. Besides the obvious potential for numerical growth, what difference has it made? According to Foulke, it allows the ministry to be better planned, to have more organization and to give it a higher profile in the parish and in the community — helping to interpret the value of Christian Formation in the lives of children and their families. She added, “It’s kind of a countercultural movement,” to emphasize intentional Christian education carefully tailored to maturation levels.

They’ve tried several published curricula, including Godly Play, which incorporates parable, sacred story, silence and liturgy in helping children become aware of God’s presence: Living the Good Life, Seasons of the Spirit and the Episcopal Church Curriculum. “We’ve decided to take selections from each and synthesize them so they will also be lectionary based, which, surprisingly, the published materials aren’t.”

The teachers shared in the creative brainstorming and planning of course offerings. Foulke said the “artistic influence of our community and the arts background of many teachers” make for an exciting collaboration. “First and foremost you need to have creative Sunday School teachers.”

Visitors are surprised to discover that this church in the heart of Greenwich Village has a growing Sunday School, thinking there are few children in the community. But, Foulke explained, “That’s a misperception. Actually, the census demographics show an increased number of families with younger children, including gay and lesbian families with children.”

One of the creative approaches to start this season will extend the age range and the scheduling of some classes so that more parents who attend either the early or later Sunday Eucharists can take advantage of Sunday School for their children.
But there’s a long standing tradition that remains ever crucial and attractive. Starting with third grade, Sunday Schoolers serve as acolytes and youth readers, and high school age youth are on the service rota every month.

When Foulke of St. Luke’s was asked what parishes without resources for professional staff might do, she said, “It’s very important to convey that it is a privilege and honor to work with children. And to recognize the dedicated work and commitment of volunteer Sunday School teachers. To see this as a ministry of the teachers and a ministry of the children, too.”

She has also consulted, for example, with an urban congregation like St. Mary’s in Mahanttanville, even when it was not always able to pay the consultation fees.
Based on what she’s observed many times, Foulke emphasized, “Clergy should faithfully visit their Sunday School classes. It is an affirmation to the teachers and students that the church sees them as valued and important.”

Church of the Mediator, Bronx
While Easter Egg hunting epitomizes the burgeoning Christian Formation ministry at St. Luke’s, the summer program with hundreds of neighborhood youth characterizes the renewed vigor of an extended Sunday School in a very different part of the Diocese — at the Church of the Mediator near the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx.

Mediator has an impressive Gothic church building with some Tiffany windows, but it is in serious disrepair after years of urban transition and dwindling membership. The successful summer program may be a sign that better times are around the corner.

A recent visit to the Mediator community on a hot summer afternoon with the Rev. Diego Delgado-Miller was a whirlwind of stops in and outside the church. First, a fast hello to three members who were doing volunteer work in the church office — two remember when the congregation was large — then a quick chat with three children playing on the church doorsteps, then a wave to a family walking by with their children in tow, then a walk to a some of the stores where Delgado-Miller has clearly become a conspicuous neighborhood presence.

Delgado-Miller has been in part-time ministry at the church for a couple of years and was installed by Bishop Mark Sisk on October 2 as Priest-in-Charge. As he put it, “That’s the way, the only way. You’ve got to go out to the people. Sometimes I wear my cassock and walk through the neighborhood. Now a lot of people say, ‘Hi Father,’ and I immediately invite them to church. I know them, and they know me.

“That’s also the way we have identified our Sunday School teachers. We have no paid staff, no budget, but lots of faith. We are also providing a safe place for the kids.” Enthusiasm, energy and sincerity emanate from the gregarious priest and people are responding.

One of those teachers at Mediator is Ana Pineda, a new volunteer leader who coordinates Sunday School as well as a weekday after-school program. And a high school Spanish teacher just volunteered to direct a Saturday Youth Program, with activities that range from “Reading and Math” to “Etiquette and Protocol” to “Spanish for the English Speaking Generation” and “Juegos Bajo Techo (Indoor Games).” Pineda said, “It’s important to show God is interested in the whole person.”

The Sunday masses at Mediator are as exuberant as the classes. There’s the unmistakable beat of salsa, replete with drums and other instruments and songs that make the youngsters animated participants, singing and clapping, almost dancing in the aisles. And in between, they are more ready to be good listeners to the readings and lessons, according to Delgado-Miller, “because at these services they feel this really is ‘their’ church. We are definitely bringing people to the temple and we are building a new reality here.”

He added, “Some who migrated to the Bronx have great backgrounds but aren’t easily accepted for jobs here. After I got to know one of our newest members, I learned he was a science teacher in Ghana and I immediately recruited him to work with us.”

Maricarmen Canales uses Bible history with older youth in her classes. She explained that she teaches “the spiritual empowerment the Gospel gives people, especially our younger immigrants, to take charge of their own daily lives, with God’s help.”

There is a sure sign, said Delgado-Miller, that the Holy Spirit is helping move Mediator Church toward a “new reality.” And with that he reached to a special table next to his desk, which displays a large leather bound historic church book, the official parish registry. He pointed to fresh ink. “Look at this,” as his finger ran rapidly down the page. “These are baptisms we’ve had in the last year.” And with that, one sees his signature next to name after name after name — three pages of new Christians in the Bronx, whose families have come not only from New York City but Chile, Argentina, Ghana, Ecuador, Santa Domingo, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Venezuela and Haiti. The family from Haiti has lived across the street from the church for 20 years but no one had ever invited them before.