Dear Parents,

Several months ago a TV commercial caught my attention. It showed a father and son walking together with their fishing poles in hand.  The message was:  As a parent, we must make the time to talk with our son or daughter about drugs, sex and smoking. We understand the dangers that these things present. Today’s toddlers are being taught about strangers and what is “good” touching” verses “bad touching”. We have a tremendous sense of urgency to get our children to understand that any one of these things could be life altering or worse life threatening. As obvious as these dangers are it still takes strong intervention from the family, the school and the government to hopefully get these messages across to our children.  Parents, schools and government stand together when it comes to keeping our children physically safe in this world. So as Orthodox parents how do we come together to keep our children spiritually safe? Who do we enlist to help us in the protection of our children’s spiritual health?

We, as Orthodox Christian parents, have taught our children to live their faith thus making them different. We made our children special from the day they were born. We presented them to God at 40 days. He in turn gave them back to us to raise in His name. We baptized them, gave them the name of a saint and gave them the first visible symbol of their faith – their cross. We taught them to light their first candle, venerate their first icon and take Communion while still in our arms. They will always stand out in the secular world because they are Orthodox. And by being different they sometimes have to make hard choices.

Yet - we may not take the same time to talk to our kids about our faith – something that their soul depends on. Am I saying that as parents we don’t teach our children about the faith? Absolutely not! But in reality, our homes tend to become busy, complicated, sometimes stressful and we, as parents, compete with jobs, homework, outside activities and friends.

Think about it! If we asked one of our teenagers to sit down and read the Bible, and it wasn’t a homework assignment, what are the odds that it would happen?  Or what if we had to create a weekly Orthodox lesson including a craft and circle time?  Or tackle the difficult contemporary subjects and tie the answers to Scripture and Holy Tradition. From the Toddler Room to the Twelfth Grade, the Church School staff takes the time, 32 Sundays of time, to have these important talks with our St. Nicholas youth.

This is why the Church school matters. From September through May the Church School presents lessons on the Bible, Prayers, Sacraments, Orthopraxia, Divine Liturgy, Saints and Church History, Canons and Holy Tradition. They learn about Patristic thinking handed down to us from our Holy Fathers that substantiates so much of our faith. All of these lessons are taught on a level that our children can understand and in a loving and supportive environment. By bringing your children and encouraging our young adults to attend Church School you give them this opportunity that perhaps doesn’t happen regularly in our homes and not at all in the outside schools.

You may be surprised to learn that these things are actually important to the students, even if they don’t always show it!  Our children are being raised in a knowledge-based world. They ask a lot of questions, expect the right answers and love to debate. As they grow, our children begin to develop their own sense of identity. They begin this journey by questioning everything including who they are, who God is and what God means to them. As they become young adults they have a desire to connect their love of God with specific Orthodox knowledge. To a young adult this translates out to proven facts. They need to connect their hearts and their minds. If they make enough connections they can begin to accept that at some point the information stops and the mystery of faith begins.

Complicating our job is the fact that our children are bombarded with thousands of secular messages everyday via My Space, television, music, movies, malls, and school. Peer pressure is at an all time high. Our children and in particular our young adults, need the other message – the Orthodox message to balance them out. If we as parents and Church School cannot guide and teach our children through this difficult period we will loose them. If one generation is lost to the Church often times the whole family leaves only returning for a wedding, baptism or the annual Pascha Light. If we, as parents, don’t commit our time and energy to our Church and Church School, our children won’t either. If our children don’t, their children won’t. The family will have wandered off the True path and away from the Grace of God. They have lost their relationship with their Orthodox faith and their St. Nicholas community.

Our children need the time to have that talk. They need to learn about our faith to be able to make the right decisions and form their Orthodox identity within their Church, their families and their community. They need to make the Orthodox connection to what is in their hearts and what is in their minds. By coming together, parents and Church School can foster the alignment of heart and mind. Together we can protect the spiritual health of our children and build the next generation of strong Orthodox adults. That’s why Church School matters!

No matter if you are new to our school or attended it as a youth, faith, fun and friendship won’t happen unless your child comes to class on a regular basis. Faith and friendship must be seeded and then nourished over time. Regular attendance gives us a chance to do just that.

Church school starts on Sunday, September 10th! We are excited about this new school year and look forward to your continued support. Remember, it is important to start your child’s Sunday off by attending the 10:00 AM Liturgy. If your child is a toddler, preschooler or kindergartner he/she will be dismissed after the reading of the Gospel. If your child is older he/she will be dismissed at Communion time. Everyone is in class until 12:15 PM. Of course, toddlers can be picked up any time, The 12:15 dismissal gives you time to get your coffee and enjoy some fun and friendship yourself!

If you have any questions please feel free to come to the Church School office on Sunday mornings.

The Church School of Saint Nicholas strives to teach our children the Orthodox faith: understanding of our history, basic beliefs, active participation in liturgy, and Christian living.

The largest Church School in the San Francisco Diocese, our staff of 55 teachers, aides, council and support people serves 450+ young people, toddlers of 18 months through high school seniors. Using the curriculum of the Department of Religious Education of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Church School staff strives to improve its knowledge and skills through workshops, retreats, and conferences.

The success of the Church School depends on us all, and through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, we have been blessed with the loyal support of our priest, our parents, and the congregation at large.