A semicircle of bright-eyed kindergartners sat amazingly still as their teacher spoke about God’s love for them, for all the creatures of the earth and even for folks who have made some mistakes in their lives.

Across the courtyard, pre-schoolers used sign language to say “I love you” after listening to a Bible story about caring for one another.

And a group of four-year-olds flapped imaginary wings and swung imaginary elephant trunks while singing joyful choruses of “If I Were a Butterfly.”

All are participants in Good Shepherd Parish’s Kinderchurch religious education program for children ages 18 months to five years.

Teen volunteer Kim Torres reads a Bible story to a two-year-old in the nursery. Nancy Westlund/Herald photo

Focused on a mission of enriching the faith lives of both the youngest members of their church community and their parents, the Elk Grove parish’s religious education program has received an immediate and enthusiastic thumbs up from the church community. Every Sunday, during the 10 a.m. Mass, 70 nursery, pre-school, pre-kindergarten and kindergarten age children come together in classrooms at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School for circle time, Bible stories, songs and prayers. A teaching staff of 29 aided by teacher assistants allows the program to maintain an adult/child ratio ranging from one to three to one to eight.

The resource text is “Sharing God’s Stories,” published by Brown-Roa Catholic educational resources based in Dubuque, Iowa.

Providing a Sunday school for tots says Debby Meng, Kinderchurch coordinator and mother of a four and five-year-old, strengthens the entire family’s connections to church.

“Coming to Mass was frustrating for me, frustrating for the kids and for people around us,” Meng said. “Providing a place children can go where they can have the same spiritual experience at their level that I have as a parent is what I wanted for my kids.”

The religious education program began when Meng and fellow parishioner Nancy Milton met at a church play group and started talking about what they discovered was a shared vision of ministry to young children. They observed religious education programs at St. James Parish in Davis and First Baptist Church in Elk Grove which would serve as models for Kinderchurch.

Meng brought to the enterprise professional experience working as an elementary school teacher in the Elk Grove Unified School District and as regional coordinator for the Pre-K Reading Results state literacy program.

And Milton, who has two children and is expecting a third in October, is an attorney well equipped to address legal issues associated with educational programming. Having done their homework, the two women presented the Kinderchurch idea to Father Philip Wells, pastor, who supported the program from day one.

“Kinderchurch is an opportunity for parents to worship fully and to really, truly give children a religious education experience hearing stories about Jesus’ love for them,” he said.

Carol Kinser, a volunteer teacher for the children’s education program, said her daughters Stephanie, 6, and Nicole, 4, are putting Kinderchurch lessons learned on Sunday to work at home the rest of the week.

“They are singing Catholic Christian songs, telling me Bible stories and praying prayers learned at Kinderchurch during evening grace,” she said. “It’s wonderful faith building for them.”

Pat Carvalho says since he and his wife Anne have enrolled their children Gabrielle, 2, and Anthony, 5, in Kinderchurch, everyone is getting more out of the liturgy of the word.

“This is not day care,” he said. “The children are learning their faith at their level and we aren’t constantly grabbing a bottle, settling the kids and missing half the homily.”

The program has also activated the church’s teen population. Currently 14 young people preparing for confirmation are earning service hours as Kinderchurch assistants.

One of the youth volunteers is 13-year-old Kim Torres, who began working with Kinderchurch kids last year.

“I like working with kids a lot, seeing them get to know each other and work together,” Torres said. “When they come on Sunday, they know their friends are here.”

Kinderchurch organizers have taken to heart parent surveys and evaluations and added family and parent social events to the Kinderchurch experience.

“Opportunities to meet outside Mass is the glue that will not only keep the program going but also fuels more families to become involved,” Meng said.

A Kinderchurch family picnic has been planned for Oct. 1 at 12:30 p.m. at Lichtenberger Park, across the street from Good Shepherd Church.

Good Shepherd Parish’s Kinderchurch manual, including program overview, registration guidelines, forms, job descriptions and recruiting information, will be available for other parishes in mid-December.

A Kinderchurch workshop is being planned for Jan. 21, 2001.

For more information on Kinderchurch, call Debby Meng or Nancy Milton at (916) 684-5722.

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