Let The Children Come To Me
How grateful we should be for the faithful volunteers who have taught the Good News of Jesus and His love to our Sunday School children for the past 50 years! They worked under particularly difficult circumstances during our pastoral vacancies. Our ladies and young women -- beginning with Rosalind Lenz, our first teacher -- have always done the lion's share of teaching. But there was a time when 40% of our teachers were male.
Among our dedicated teachers were those who taught special classes. Calvary had a class for retarded children in 1957 and again in 1963 and 1970. Six of these special children were confirmed. Classes for the deaf began in 1966.
Sunday School children and their teachers participated in the East Meadow Memorial Day parade from 1963 to 1968. At times Calvary had a float of its own. Since many of our people, who had hailed from Brooklyn and Queens, were used to a Sunday School parade, our participation in the East Meadow parade seemed a normal way to witness.
In Calvary's first 15 years Sunday School enrollment was phenomenally high. Then because of the population change, enrollment declined steadily. Happily, the last few years have seen an upturn in spirit as well as in numbers.
In addition to a conscientious staff our present leadership is aggressive and innovative. Word has gotten around about our fine programs for children and youth, and therefore young families are coming to Calvary. As a result our Sunday School is growing, particularly in the lower grades.
Since 1997 the Sunday School has again continued during the summer months. The pupils are divided into two classes for lessons and activities. For the 50th anniversary the teachers constructed a Bible village, prepared a mural for the nursery, and set up a Bible Walk Through with participation on the part of every class.