A new program at St. John’s Episcopal Church has Sunday School children working on community gratitude projects the last Sunday of each month. On Nov. 23, the 35 Pre-K to high school students packaged homemade cookies to be distributed to seniors at Munger Cottage, as well as the church’s house bound parishioners.
The program was started, in September, by the quartet of Laura Dugan, Jacki Murray, Jeanne Flichta, and Laura Nicholls, under the supervision of Reverand Suzanne Toro.
“Our main mission is encouraging personal and group service projects exemplifying acts of generosity and compassion in our children,” said Dugan.
In September, the children made a banner which is hanging inside the room where the Sunday School classes are held. Then the children participated in a project based on the parable known as Long Spoon. The activity emphasized not just giving to ourselves, but seeing the benefits that can be reaped when helping and giving to others. A device was put over the children’s elbows to show how hard it can be to feed one’s self, but easier to feed another person.
October’s project entailed creating self-gratitude journals.
This months, dozens of homemade cookies were baked for seniors and house bound parishioners.
Following the 9 a.m. service, children gathered around long tables lined with empty boxes, waiting to be filled with a variety of cookies. The children formed a type of assembly line where each would take a tray or container of cookies and place one into each box as they walked around the table. The boxes were donated by DeCicco Family Markets. Ninety boxes were filled with about a dozen cookies, depending on size, per box.
Next month, the children will be selling Candy Canes for Christian, in memory of Christian Martinisi. The proceeds will go toward the playground addition at Willow Avenue Elementary School.
A long-term project being considered is a quilt, which could later be sold in a raffle.
Ideas for the monthly projects come from the four advisers, as well as the children themselves.
The meetings traditionally last about 45 minutes. Although 35 children are registered for the program, they’re not required to participate every month.
