It's never too early to talk to kids about God

Rev. Gary Gelfenbien is not God. But a few four-year-olds at St. James parish in Chatham thought he was, when they visited "God's house" each Sunday and saw their pastor at the altar.

Correcting such misconceptions is one reason about ten parishes in the Albany Diocese now have religious education programs for children as young as three.

Several organizers of preschool religious ed told The Evangelist that it's never too early to start teaching kids about God.

Support system

"If we keep reinforcing that God loves them and they can always come to their Church family for support, they're not alone," stated Connie Parente, who directs the program at St. John the Baptist parish in Greenville.

That support, she hopes, "will help them deal with some tough questions as teenagers."

When St. James parish collected groceries for its food pantry, explained elementary religious ed director Annette Dennis, "the kids thought the food was for Father Gary: They had to feed God. I'm sure that's where the teachers [here] begin -- that Father Gary is not God!"

Resources

While some preschoolers come to religious education having attended Mass with their families since infancy, said Mrs. Dennis, others know little about God or their faith. St. James' parish uses a religious ed program published by Silver Burdett Ginn that teaches basic concepts through stories and songs.

The organizers believe that approach is only natural. Today's children start learning about the secular world in day care and nursery school, noted Sister Rose Marie Cardillo, CSJ, of St. Helen's parish in Niskayuna.

"It makes sense for them to learn about God" as well, she said, and "parents appreciate the partnership. They're trying to teach about God at home, and the parish will help with this."

Four-somes

At St. Helen's, a small group of four-year-olds gets together during 10 a.m. Mass each Sunday. Their class lasts an hour, with a break after the first 20 minutes to accommodate the young students' attention span.

St. Helen's uses a book by Benziger Publishing Co. titled, "Come Follow Me." According to Sister Rose Marie, even the youngest children can benefit from learning such concepts as "God made everything," "God's gifts" and "I belong to a family."

Brightly colored pages, craft projects and songs keep the students' interest as they progress to learning about their parish family and, finally, about Jesus -- whom Sister Rose Marie calls the focus of all catechesis.

"Children have an innate love of God, an openness to learning about God and Jesus -- and they love it," she said. "They come skipping in, holding their book to their chest. They're really happy to be there, which says a lot about my catechists."

God's children

Our Lady of the Annunciation parish in Queensbury starts its program even younger, with three-year-olds. A set of books for three-, four- and five-year-olds by Our Sunday Visitor Publishing called "I am Special" introduces students to topics like "listen to my name," "I have two hands" and "see me smile."

"We're teaching that we're all special; we're all God's children," said organizer Chris Gadzik, who has a three-year-old daughter herself.

Since a lot of parents volunteer as catechists, she noted, the books give them ideas on how to explain God to their children.

After her daughter participated in the program, Mrs. Gadzik was "shocked" to see how much she came to understand about her faith.

"We went to church on Christmas, and she said, `God is born,'" the director recalled. "It kind of gives me goosebumps talking about it! It's a foundation, and that's what we're striving for."

Old and New lessons

At St. John the Baptist parish, Mrs. Parente is trying something new with this year's small class of four-year-olds: a "very visual" program on the Old and New Testaments.

"If we can catch them very young, and teach about the Old and New Testament, it becomes a part of them," she explained.

Mrs. Parente plans to use children's Bible stories, songs and activities, and to teach the children simple Bible verses.

Her basic goal, she said, is to make sure children learn that God loves them. Since four-year-olds are developmentally at a selfish stage, she noted, "they're not likely to love anyone unconditionally! If we can get across that God loves them and God loves them completely -- no ifs, ands or buts -- and they can always trust in God, that's a lot for a four-year-old to understand!"

Family-style

The preschool class at St. John's is held just before the 10:45 a.m. Mass on Sunday, and Mrs. Parente encourages families to attend Mass together afterward so students realize that religious education is just an extension of the liturgy.

All the organizers agreed that it's important for parents to understand that children can indeed learn from religious education, even as preschoolers.

Sister Rose Marie believes that message has already been received: "Once parents see there's a book, a curriculum, we have goals -- they take it seriously."

(Call Silver Burdett Ginn's religion division at 973-739-8150. Call Our Sunday Visitor Publishing at 1-800-348-2440. Call Benziger Publishing Co. at 818-615-2600.)

(9/18/03) [[In-content Ad]]