Coal Center church to open education center
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Karen Galis, a volunteer music leader at Grace United Methodist Church in Coal Center, teaches a dance to children attending Vacation Bible School.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
One of the rooms inside Grace United Methodist Church that is being converted for use as a preschool room.
On July 18, the smell of bananas flooded a large room in the basement of Grace United Methodist Church as children attending Vacation Bible School chattered over snack. Nearby, another group danced with volunteers and sang along to a song about time travel.
Renee Heckler, the Coal Center church’s new Christian education director, smiled as she looked on over the hustle and bustle that filled the wide, open area.
“This is where they’ll have P.E.,” she said.
Starting Aug. 20, Grace UMC will offer preschool and childcare services five days a week for kids ages three to five. The church’s Christian education center also will provide before-school and after-school care for students as well as pick-up and drop-off services for children who live in California and Charleroi school districts.
Students will receive a faith-based education that is rooted in Christian values and designed to encourage their academic and spiritual growth. School board secretary Anthony Dury, a self-described “curriculum fanatic,” said elements of science, technology, engineering and math are also incorporated in the center’s syllabus.
“We found you can introduce STEM concepts as early as three years old,” he said.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Sanctuary
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Children attending Vacation Bible School at Grace United Methodist Church in Coal Center make their way to a class inside the church sanctuary.
Teachers will involve children in service projects throughout the school year to instill in them an appreciation for community engagement. In November, Heckler said students will make placemats and center-pieces for the Washington City Mission’s Thanksgiving feast.
In between periods of small-group and large-group instruction, students will have plenty of time for unstructured, creative play.
“Especially in early childhood, you have to have that balance,” Heckler said.
Plans for developing the center were cemented last year – the 50th anniversary of the church’s founding – when members gathered in a series of “visioning” meetings to discuss future goals. They decided that it was time for Grace UMC to make a full-time commitment to children’s ministry after hiring a part-time coordinator for the job a decade earlier.
When the church first opened, Dury said its founders were dedicated to educating children.
“It’s only fitting that 50 years later, we’re still talking about it,” he said.
The last year has been a whirlwind of activity in preparing the center, but Dury said the seven-member school board has never lacked volunteers or support from the congregation. Even a bump in the staffing process didn’t derail the operation. When the top candidate for the position of director accepted a job elsewhere, Heckler tossed her own hat in the ring and was quickly hired.
Before accepting the position at her “home church,” where she had worshipped as a teenager and married her husband, Heckler had been in the business of early childhood education for 25 years. She most recently worked at SmartKids, a childcare center in Washington, and previously served as assistant district manager at a KinderCare in another state. But Heckler has never been the director of a Christian education center.
“I’m going to grow from this experience,” she said. “The children are going to teach me. I’m ready. I’m excited.”
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
One of the rooms inside Grace United Methodist Church that is being converted for use as a preschool room.
As of July 18, 10 students were enrolled at the education center, and registration is still open to children of all denominations. Pastor Ken Custer anticipates that enrollment will eventually grow to around 60 children, since this has been the level of participation when the church previously provided daycare services.
Grace UMC hopes to eventually expand beyond early childhood education to construct a K-12 school on its land, which spans 83-acres. But for now, the church eagerly awaits the grand opening of its center.
“Now, we can teach children about Christianity pretty much seven days a week,” Heckler said.
To register, visit www.gracecoalcenter.org.