Inch by inch, row by row, I am going to watch my garden grow. As spring’s bounty pops out, I find myself thinking about our NoVES garden – the Sunday School. In the back halls of Green Hedges School, our teaching gardeners tend and nurture a most precious crop – our children.
These Sunday School teachers create a warm and welcoming atmosphere that lays the foundation for our future Society members. Unlike many other religious groups, our children are not automatically members of the Society when they are born or named in a ceremony. Instead, after years of Sunday School attendance and Youth Group membership, our young people make their choice to join the Society. Some do immediately; some do after several years. Some never do. Nevertheless, our teachers help students prepare the groundwork for well thought out decisions during those Sunday School years.
Our Leader, Jone Johnson Lewis, states, “Ethics begins with choice.” On a recent visit to the primary class, I saw choice in action. As with the adults, the entire Sunday School meets for a candle lighting. Instead of reciting Adler’s words, “The place where people meet to seek the highest is holy ground,” our Sunday School begins by saying the following words: “This is the place where we talk about important things.”
During the class, led by Lynn Konnerth, the group has many opportunities to make choices. They have choices in materials, activities, songs, and stories. They also experience the happy and sad consequences of those choices.
The older group, led by Dave Roberts, discusses various religions and their beliefs. When an individual makes a choice, it is important to be informed. This class helps our young people inform themselves about other religious beliefs, and it creates an atmosphere of respect for those who hold beliefs that are different from ours.
Our mentor program for young teens provides an opportunity for them to form a bond with an adult Society member, just at the time when they need to move away from their parents. They may need a supportive and caring adult friend help them make the difficult choices teens face. The friendships formed during the mentor program may last a lifetime.
I urge you all to do a little gardening in the NoVES garden. While not everyone has the time or energy to teach a weekly class, there are many opportunities to enrich the garden. Read a story, help cut and paste, teach a song, share a childhood tradition, or supervise the playground. Lynn Konnerth has other ideas that will enhance your life and help develop our children. John F Kennedy said, “Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.” I hope you will consider tending NoVES’ greatest resource.
