When I was asked to teach the kindergarten Sunday School class at my branch Church of Christ, Scientist, I was reluctant. I had been a public high school teacher for many years and felt that teaching young children was not one of my strengths. But since it was difficult to find teachers, I agreed.
In the beginning, I had challenges with engagement. While reading the Bible Lesson from the Christian Science Quarterly every morning, I started to practice listening to what God was communicating regarding the plan for the class. Often new insights and methods would come to thought which brought progress.
The two boys who have regularly attended are now in the second grade. Three other students attend occasionally. Although they are all energetic (and sometimes a bit rowdy!), I have found them to be great thinkers and I love my students. To support our classroom, I post a list of positive expectations, praise students’ valuable contributions, and strive to see them as God’s children. We have also taken several field trips to fun places, outside of Sunday School time.
I have found my students to be great thinkers.
The following statement from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, has been very helpful: “The intercommunication is always from God to His idea, man” (p. 284). Before each class, I affirm that divine Mind, God, will provide all the right ideas and that these ideas will unfold in just the right way.
In our class, we often write things we’re grateful for on paper leaves which we add to our “gratitude tree.” We also write down words and sentences we are learning, act out situations, discuss challenging questions, and share healings we’ve had. Something that has also been extremely helpful is teaching the Ten Commandments with finger signs. There are many versions of this on the internet, and several of us in the Sunday School have adjusted them to express concepts that are in line with Christian Science.
Here are a few of the original and inspiring things I’ve heard from the students in my class:
On Moses . . .
Me: “After God told Moses that he was going to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt, why was Moses afraid?”
Rey: “Moses was used to gathering sheep, and now he was going to have to gather people. He wasn’t sure if he could do that.”
On believing in God . . .
Me: “Some people don’t believe in God because they can’t see God. What would you say to them?”
Cassidy: “God is Love and you can’t see Love.”
Arda: “They are thinking about what the material senses can see. To see God, you need to use your spiritual senses.”
On oneness . . .
Me: “What did Jesus mean when he said, ‘I and my Father are one’ (John 10:30)?”
Rey: “It means that both Jesus and God are one year old.” After a little more thought he quickly said, “That can’t be right, because God has been here for thousands of years!”
Me: “Yes, even forever.”
Arda: “I know! It means that Jesus and God have the same
qualities.”
Rey: “I don’t even know what qualities are!”
Arda explained to Rey what qualities are and then Rey stood up and recited the Scout Law: “A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.”
Me: “You already really know what qualities are!”
At that point, we drew a picture of a sun with its rays, with the word God in the middle and people’s names on the rays, to support the concept of oneness. We discussed how we can never be separated from our Father-Mother God and how divine Love shines its qualities through us, causing us to be loving, truthful, etc. This is one way we talked about all the synonyms for God.
The children have helped me to “receive the kingdom of God as a little child.”
Recently, we needed to combine our class to include three pre-kindergarten girls, and one of the older boys helped out so much. He was inspired to explain the Ten Commandments with the finger signs we’d learned, show where the Commandments are in the Bible, incorporate the synonyms for God from Science and Health, and ask the other students thoughtful questions. The Bible’s book of Isaiah literally came true: “A little child shall lead them” (11:6). I felt privileged to witness this!
The children have helped me to “receive the kingdom of God as a little child” (Mark 10:15), with their purity, innocence, love, joy, vitality, and intelligence. Christ Jesus also said, “Whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me” (Matthew 18:5).
As we welcome children into our Sunday Schools, we see that Christ, “the spirit of God, of Truth, Life, and Love, which heals mentally” (Science and Health, p. 137), is present and is expressed by the children and also by the adults.
I am truly blessed to be able to share time with my students as we explore the truths of the Bible and Christian Science together. Perhaps teaching Sunday School is a blessing you would like to consider, too.
