Sunday School

Sunday School 2023

Here are my observations and great memories about our awesome Sunday School:

Faithfulness: God’s love and Word ever-present, in good times and in difficult ones
Wonderful children attending week after week, telling us about their joys and concerns
Children helping set out breakfast; pouring milk or juice or filling plates for others
Adults, including Elaine, Joanie, Bunny & David, Tammy, Marsha L., Brenda & Charlie,
Karis & Quincy, Cecelia & Jeff, Maura & Jeff, and more (some I’ve forgotten at the moment), cooking and/or dropping off breakfast items.
Joanie driving the van every week; Nancy riding along and helping
Students making sure we pray for their family, friends, and teachers
Students learning songs and teaching songs they know to the others
Unique talents shown at our craft time
Fun games in which Bible verses or concepts are reinforced
Children not just knowing Bible verses; also learning why they are important
Time to be themselves … going to a playground…. Bowling ….. Showing normal “kid” emotions
Singing in church, putting on costumes, performing skits
Classes led by Joanie, Nancy, and me. Norah as a student teacher/helper
Jesus and our relationship with him as the reason for our time at TBC Sunday School
Visits during Sunday mornings from a parent, grandparent, and even some Sun. School “graduates”

My time as a Sunday School volunteer ended on December 24th. I will miss everyone very much!

I’ll conclude with the chorus of a song that we all “grabbed onto” and which the children shared with the congregation:

The river of God sets our feet a-dancing

The river of God fills our hearts with cheer

The river of God fills our mouths with laughter

And we rejoice, for the river is here!

With love,

Meg Sawyer

Ps: If anyone says, “I don’t see God showing up anywhere!”, ask them to come to Sunday School and see otherwise!

Sunday School 2022

Sunday School is small in attendance but “big” in love and enthusiasm. We do many things during our time on Sunday mornings: breakfast, music, prayer, checking-in with students about their joys and concerns, memorizing scripture, discovering the Bible and how it applies to us, plus usually a fun activity or a craft. The students donate money to Heal Africa, for the Sunday School there and the ministry to homeless children.

Occasionally the students attend morning worship service; this past year they led the congregation in song during special Sundays. They also performed (in church) a skit of the Good Samaritan during the annual service in which we celebrate Sunday School.

We continue to use The International Children’s Bible, The Bible Made Easy for Kids, and Top 50 Memory Verse Lessons in our classes. We do an after-church activity a couple times per year; in 2022 we went to the local playground and to Camden Hills State Park.’Recently we asked teachers and students for comments about Sunday School. Here are some of the responses:

“I like all the fun things like singing”

“I love Sunday School kids. I love seeing them look up things in the Bible & memorizing verses”

“I have been here for years. Fun!”

“I love that we still have Sunday School”

“I have been coming to this church since I was itty bitty. I love everyone here. They teach you about God in a fun way. We have food and we do crafts. They give all of their heart and soul into this church. I just love it here.”

We give thanks for the blessing of Sunday School & are especially appreciative of:

Teachers Joanie, Nancy, and Meg,
Van driver Joanie, and riders Tony, Marie, and Nancy
Helpers Andrea, Angela, Brenda, Jacqui, Trinity and Wayne
Many breakfast providers from the congregation, and
Members of the congregation who donate Christmas gifts for the students

Submitted by Meg Sawyer, volunteer

Sunday School 2021

Compared to pre-COVID days, Sunday School was quite different during the first part of the year. We only met once in person between January and September, but we resumed classes at TBC (wearing masks) in the fall. Joanie McDonald is our much-appreciated van driver and teaches the teens/pre-teen class, Nancy Upham is in charge of the younger students, and I teach the middle class. Tony and Maria D’Amato are essential to our program as van riders, and parent Andrea Small helps on numerous Sundays.

Highlights for 2021:

We had great participation from the congregation providing breakfast for the students and volunteers. Special thanks go to Bunny Stanley for cooking marvelous breakfasts on several Sundays.
We mailed lesson packets to the students once a month during the first part of the year.
We had a mini-“Vacation Bible School” just before Easter, emphasizing key points about Jesus, Lamb of God and Savior. Thankfully, we had lots of volunteers helping with crafts, games, lessons, and food.
During our fall/winter classes, the teenagers often shared what they learned with the other students by way of skits and readings. They also enjoyed the advent candles we lit in Dec.
The younger students led the congregation during worship one Sunday, singing “Thy Word” by Amy Grant.
Although Sunday School was cancelled one week before Christmas, Joanie quickly organized a mid-week Christmas party. We sang Christmas carols, read the nativity story and, as you might expect, the students were excited to open the wonderful gifts provided by the congregation.
We celebrate birthdays once a month (if a student’s birthday falls in that month).
We raised $80 for a Sunday School which, in addition to Bible lessons, provides food, clothes, shoes, and hygiene-care for children in Africa (one of the missions with which Ann Clemmer is affiliated). The TBC mission fund sent additional money to supplement our Sunday School collection.
Our lessons are taken primarily from three different sources: the International Children’s Bible, the Bible Made Easy for Kids, and “Top 50 Memory Verse Lessons”.
We’re grateful to our TBC family for participating with us in sharing God’s love with young people within our community, plus (through missions) with children in other parts of the world.

Submitted by

Meg Sawyer

Sunday School 2020

We had an unusual year in 2020 because of the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic. From January through mid-March, we met at the church on Sunday mornings as usual with about 17 students. Volunteers took turns making breakfast each Sunday, with student Trinity P. as a primary breakfast preparer and server. Judy Hastings made an elegant “wait-service-provided” breakfast, which was especially memorable.

Joanie drove the church van and Nancy Upham, Tony D’Amato, & Maria D’Amato rode as van helpers; one of the parents often attended as well. Joanie, Nancy, and Meg taught classes, and Carol helped with music. In addition to lessons, memory verses, music and crafts, the students helped with a mission/service project, assembling packages of baby supplies for White Cross.

We had an online/Youtube year-end program in June, which included music, a lesson, and recognition of the students who attended. Many thanks go to Nancy for providing tributes to her students to be read “on camera” and to Wayne, Bunny, Joanie, Karis, Meg, and David for participating and/or helping to record and upload the video.

From April through the end of 2020 (other than during summer vacation), we mailed cards, lessons, and activities to the Sunday School students, and on two occasions Joanie and Meg used the church van to deliver back-to-school and/or care packages. Many in the congregation participated in the Sunday School outreach by donating supplies or gift cards. Special thanks to the Women’s Group ladies for assembling some of the mailings or delivery packages.

We had a marvelous outdoor picnic and baptism in July. The following is a portion of an email from me (Meg) to several TBC volunteers on July 20, 2020:

“As Joanie and Wayne can attest, we had one of the most wonderful Sunday School events ever on Sunday. God works in mysterious ways even in COVID times! 11 followers of Christ were baptized (yes, 11!) and one toddler was dedicated. Many family members came and we had enough space to spread out (somewhat, at least until the baptisms, when a group of us formed a circle in the water). The park wasn’t too crowded, and the weather was great. The menu and food donations worked out great . . . I could go on and on. We had enough certificates on hand for all except the adults and the toddler, and almost all who were baptized received a Bible, too! Wayne gave a good talk before the baptism; family members listened, as well as those being baptized.”

(ps: We mailed or delivered Bibles and certificates to the few who didn’t receive theirs at the picnic.)

In conclusion, we continued throughout the year to reach out with the truth of God’s love and redemption for the world, to prioritize Biblical knowledge and understanding, to promote faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we worked to maintain a connection between caring adults and curious, creative young people in the Midcoast area. We had to adapt and make some changes, but as I mentioned above, God works in mysterious ways!

Submitted by

Meg Sawyer

Sunday School 2018

Fifteen students attended Sunday School regularly during 2018 (about 10 more attended at least once). We met together for breakfast, sharing & prayer time, crafts, and special occasions, and divided into three classes for lessons taught by Nancy Upham, Meg Sawyer, and Joanie McDonald. Joanie faithfully drove the van almost every Sunday, to enable most of our students to get there.

We’re extremely grateful for our many volunteers in addition to those mentioned above:

Carol Shook (music)
Christine Knutson-Ward, Jacqui Metcalf, Angela Thibodeau, and Becky Lord (substitutes & help as needed)
Andrea Louder & her mom Christine (extra supervision & help with activities)
Tony and Maria D’Amato (van riders)
Don Ross and Rudy Shook (substitute van drivers)
Leticia vanVuuren (occasional help with music)
Wayne Sawyer (opening prayer & help with special events)

Some of the highlights for 2018 were:

Mission Sunday with speaker Patti Long from Mexico

“Bible Bucks” days, in which the students selected either a small gift for themselves or holiday gifts for family members

Christmas celebration, with something special for each student provided by members of the congregation

Our final Sunday in June, in which the students participated in the worship service with songs, Bible verses, and a skit about the life and death of Jesus

A trip to the Children’s Museum in Rockland, with a pizza lunch

Monthly birthday celebrations for students and volunteers

Joanie organized several youth group outings for the pre-teen/teen group.

We had a fun, slightly cold, time in December at “Lights Aglow” at the Boothbay Botanical Gardens, followed by supper at Subway in Damariscotta.

Adult Sunday School

Many thanks to Jeff Morse for leading the adult Sunday School class. We encourage all adults who’d like a deeper understanding of the Bible and its application to life to attend the class.

Summary

To sum up Sunday School in one paragraph: Biblical truths and our relationship to God through Jesus Christ are our #1 priority in Sunday School, but connecting with the students and showing God’s love are a huge priority as well. One of our students asked Joanie, “Do you get paid for this?” (he was assuming that she did). Joanie answered “No, I do this because I love you and it’s so important that you respond to God’s message and walk with Jesus throughout your life.”

Thanks again to all who participate or support us in other ways.

Submitted by Meg Sawyer