During my first year as a pastor, there were certain milestones I knew to look forward to. I looked forward to the first time I stood at the Communion table and invited my congregation to share in the feast, and the first time I marked an infant with water and proclaimed how much God loved her in baptism. I looked forward to my first Christmas and first sunrise Easter service. But there were other firsts that I didn’t know about that caught me off guard with their beauty.
Just about the first thing that “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast” hosts the Rev. Lee Catoe and Simon Doong wanted to know from their guest, second-grade teacher Jamie Woods, as part of a recent podcast was: How have educators managed to remain resilient two years into the enormous educational challenges brought on by a global pandemic?
“We plan and God laughs” is identified as a Yiddish proverb, the title of a book or two and the headline of multiple online articles meant to help people navigate periods in life when personal plans seem to disintegrate in front of their eyes. When we hear or read the proverb, it can be difficult not to nod along, especially when the phrase encapsulates something most of us have experienced: a perfect resume or proposal sent, but no word back; a flawless itinerary dissolved by the smallest delay; an event set to begin, upended by a storm; a setback or an entirely “new normal.”
Teaching has always been in Valerie Neubauer’s genes.
The retired high school Spanish and English teacher — who has also taught Sunday school for more than 50 years at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa — took a mere few years off from teaching at church only when her own children were high schoolers.
During my first year as a pastor, there were certain milestones I knew to look forward to. I looked forward to the first time I stood at the communion table and invited my congregation to share in the feast, and the first time I marked an infant with water and proclaimed how much God loved her in baptism. I looked forward to my first Christmas and first sunrise Easter service. But there were other firsts that I didn’t know about that caught me off guard with their beauty.
When a 12-year-old Jesus escaped his parents’ watchful eye during the family’s annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the anxious couple returned to find him at long last in the temple, “sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.”
Presbyterians have always supported public education. Jesus calls us to love God with “heart, soul and mind.” Our Reformed tradition affirms education as one way we develop our mind and one way we love God. The PC(USA)’s most recent policy statement on public education stands in that tradition and recognizes “that quality public schools are essential to our society’s efforts to overcome poverty and address social inequality.” The policy statement states that “quality public schools offer a holistic education, one that equips our children to live both meaningful and productive lives. A quality public school … is a place where they learn to think critically and become effective citizens, where they gain an appreciation for the sweep of human history and for the arts. Public schools are one place where children and young people can learn about their own bodies, how to be healthy and stay fit.” The study acknowledges the role of private and charter schools while affirming that quality public schools impact most of our children. Loving our neighbor means loving our neighbors’ children and supporting the public schools, even if we do not have children attending those schools.
The Educate a Child, Transform the World initiative is encouraging congregations to find ways to support public education as school districts wrestle with how to best serve students during the global pandemic.
October 20-22 marks the 26th annual National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths, a time for people of all faiths to devote to, and unite in, their concern for children, commit to improving children’s lives, and advocate for justice on their behalf. The 2017 Children’s Sabbaths theme is “Moving Forward with Hope: Love and Justice for Every Child.”
