A Sunday School lesson: how to put faith into action

Sparta - Anyone who thinks teens and preteens are selfish, iPod-obsessed and cell phone-centric, needs to stop by the Sparta United Methodist Church on a Sunday morning and watch the fifth through eighth grade Sunday School class in action. After lighting candles and discussing what the kids are thankful for, and after a lesson, they may be seen putting their lesson into practice. On a recent Sunday, they were sitting on the floor, filling donated backpacks with necessities for the area’s homeless. Many of the children didn’t know an affluent community like Sparta could hide the homeless until they volunteered for Interfaith Hospitality, a shelter for the homeless provided by various churches on a rotating basis. Elise Meyer, 12, of Sparta, knew. “My mom saw a homeless man walking behind the Stop and Shop,” she said, as the Sunday schoolers gathered around a big table in their classroom. What was even more surprising, even to Pat Shutz, one of their teachers, was the fact that a person could be working full time and not be able to afford a place to live. “They never did the math,” she said, adding, “I never did the math.” Erica Sidoli, 13, of Byram, said, “We tried to figure out how much a person needs to live around here. We chiseled it way down, but still came up with $20,000 a year. Minimum wage is about $14,000.” That sounded like a lot of money to the kids until they learned the cost of rent and utilities, co-teacher Victoria Bell said. She also explained to them how landlords want the first and last months’ rent up front, meaning a person who had to leave his or her home would need a large chunk of money to find a new one. Staying overnight during Interfaith taught the kids how hard-working some of the homeless could be. One homeless woman arrived very late at night and left early in the morning. Her teenage daughter said the only thing she wanted for Christmas was a home. Veterans of trick-or-treat for UNICEF, the students knew they could help, Tara Breedan, 10, of Sparta, said. Her sister, Madison, 12, said the first thing they did was make up flyers and pass them out at Stop and Shop to educate the pubic about the problem. Shutz said their goal is to put Micah 6:8 into practice, to do justice, give love, be kind and walk humbly with God. Educating the public with flyers was part of doing justice, she added. Jackie Rizzuto of Andover explained the children have created lawn signs they will sell for $4 or $5 dollars each, advocating the creation of a shelter for homeless men in Sussex County. There is a shelter for women and children, but none for men. Their pastor is working with other Interfaith ministers and social service agencies to put something in place for this winter. They all agree the problem was brought home when a man died of hypothermia right up the street from the church. Kevin Byrne, 13, of Sparta, said he wasn’t surprised that someone forced to live outside died. “It’s harsh living conditions; hard to stay alive.” Erica noted sometimes the police are called when someone sees a homeless person, but, with no local shelter, they just take him or her to another town. “Why not help them here?” she asked. “And not make them someone else’s problem.” Pastor Charles McNeil’s sermon later that morning addressed the idea of “disturbing the apathy” that causes people to “make them (the homeless) someone else’s problem.” He spoke of moving people out of their comfort zone and reminding them of things they would rather ignore. The pastor is in the process of bringing together a number of agencies in the county to jointly address ways to help the homeless, said Bell, including the Sparta Ecumenical Council, the Comprehensive Emergency Assistance System, Interfaith Hospitality and the Sussex County Freeholders, and is inviting representatives of other agencies as well. Meanwhile, the children are collecting food for the Interfaith food pantry at the Presbyterian Church, dsif Derek Tappen, 13, of Sparta, as they have in the past. Their additional outreach involves the backpacks. The children were filling them with items the homeless might need: toothbrushes, toothpaste, washcloths, socks, things the kids take for granted. “We should be helping,” Kevin noted, “instead of whining or complaining.” Madison added, “We’re kind of self-centered; I feel kind of guilty.” Kyle Springsteen, 12, of Sparta, noted, “I saw on the news an 8-year-old asked for gift cards for Christmas and gave them out to the homeless. That’s pretty good for an 8-year-old.” Shutz and Bell feel what their Sunday School students are doing is pretty good as well.