THE
PARABLE OF THE TALENTS IS ALIVE AND WELL AT FIRST CHURCH
Every
Monday morning from 9:30 until almost noon the basement of First
Church is alive and rocking with about 20 of the most beautiful
children you have ever seen. And their moms and dads too. They
indulge in creative crafts, learn to play together, have snacks,
have stories read to them, and have a large space in which to
run off some energy.
Southeast Play Group is an outgrowth of what used to be Way To
Grow. When WTG ceased to function at the end of 2002 they left
us with a lot of toys and a group of parents who were accustomed
to bringing their toddlers to First Church for what was then called
Play Zone. Those parents just kept coming so a WTG volunteer maintained
the program until she had to go back home to Indonesia. Now First
Church volunteers are there, and the kids are still coming. From
all over the world; Europe, Asia, Africa, and the U.S.
A year ago the numbers were between 5 and 15. Now we have around
20 each Monday. There is no charge for this, thanks to your support
through The Church Council. Many of the families are here to attend
the U for graduate work. One mom said how appreciative she is
of a program that is available for the gay and international families
we have in our neighborhood. She hopes we will maintain it with
a neighborhood emphasis.
First Congregational Community Services was the fiscal agent for
WTG and there were some funds left over (dedicated to child support)
which will be used to keep the toy inventory up to date. Eve Parker
and Sarah Forster received a grant to support school readiness
and some of those funds will be used to engage consultants in
child development in order to enhance the program we currently
have.
In a fashion similar to the parable a unique set of talents was
entrusted to us, a remodeled basement, the toys, and a group of
parents who knew where to find us. Hopefully the master would
be pleased at the way we have invested those talents in the lives
of these wonderful children.
Jerry Clark, Judy Engel, Sarah Forster, Cynthia Hobbie, Eve Parker
