After worship on March 28, our guest minister the Reverend Gina Campbell joined parishioners for an enjoyable sidewalk lunch and brainstorming session at La Frontiera Cantina on 17th Street. Rev. Campbell, an ordained Methodist minister, has considerable experience with and has served successfully as a consultant on children’s RE issues.
The luncheon party had a lengthy discussion, ranging widely from the “big picture” strategic RE issues to some specific tactical/practical suggestions Rev. Campbell offered. We noted UNMC’s obvious problems: the difficulty starting and maintaining a credible program with virtually no children and a lack of volunteers having stepped forward; the challenges of an aging building, particularly with an ever-strained and limited Church budget.
Reverend Campbell responded that the threshold question for churches generally and for UNMC is really whether we—as a community of faith—are committed to including families with children within our community. If we agree as a community we are, and that including children is key to the growth and diversity in our church life that we seek, then correspondingly we must acknowledge as a community that children’s RE is a Church issue and program—not just a problem and program strictly for the parents of children—and address children’s RE and childcare issues accordingly. Rev. Campbell noted that many churches have difficulty maintaining hospitality for children and integrating them into the life of their communities, but that the kinds of problems UNMC faces are difficult if not impossible to solve unless and until a church is able to view this issue in its broader, community context.
In acknowledging the financial difficulties faced by the Church, Rev. Campbell also suggested developing a phased strategy and creative plan for rebuilding and growth, based upon priorities for Children’s RE set by the community. She suggested starting with the nursery, and renovating it to ensure a light, comfortable, clean space that becomes a showplace for the Church and that exudes safety to parents, with a vetted-by-background-checks, regular, readily identifiable caregiver with whom visiting parents will feel comfortable. She suggested that the nursery is an especially good place for UNMC to start in trying to rebuild its program because the birth of a child is a point in life that often brings people back to church.
The “lunch bunch” also brainstormed regarding additional practical issues, including the idea of developing a cadre and rotation for volunteer teachers so that responsibility can be shared and there is enough backup so no Sunday school teacher has to miss the second half of worship for too many Sundays in a row. Another idea was the possibility of outfitting one space creatively so that it can work for toddlers as well as school-aged children, while UNMC’s program is small.
Participants very much appreciated Reverend Campbell’s willingness to share her time and talents with UNMC; UNMC thanks her for her help and hopes our community will continue this dialogue in the future, both within the community and with her.
If you have an interest in children’s RE issues and would like to know more, or are interested in volunteering to work on such issues for the church, please contact Vicki Pepper, either directly or through the church Office.