Special Angels
When my cousin and his wife moved to Tulsa, they met with the education department at Faith and described to us all the ways that they and their children had been received in churches. With two young boys who are the autism spectrum, they did not always act like typical children. The stories that they told us brought us to tears and we said simple “We can do better.” Christi then educated us on what churches were doing in some of the large cities. We flew in a woman from Dallas who led a training for us and helped us develop what is our Special Angels program here at Faith. It is important for you to realize that the Special Angels are adults who volunteer to help our children navigate being successful. Over the years this program has ebbed and flowed with the number of kids needing an angel. You have met Miguel who is one of our greeters and is taller than I am. He was six years old when we started the program and was one of the children who had an angel.
I don’t think that I need to quote Jesus who said “let the children come to me” for you to realize how important this program is or what it means for families who worry if their child will be treated well while at church. I do need to share with you some of the training that the entire church received to help us be more loving in our treatment of others.
1) Do not turn around, stare or interrupt when a child or vulnerable adult might act in a way that is not typical
2) Allow those who are trained to intervene and simply walk by a situation that might be happening. Much like you would any child having a melt down while their parents try to manage.
3) Never, ever say things to a family about how their child or vulnerable adult behaved in church or worship.
4) Take your lead from me. If I keep going in worship as if nothing is happeningl, then you should to.
We are blessed to have families who trust us with their children. We currently have a need for more adults to be trained to serve in this ministry one Sunday a month. I hope that you will prayerfully consider helping us welcome and love families who have been taught by other churches that their children are not welcome or worthy to be in the community. We will have background checks and training for any adult or youth who would be willing to serve in this way. Thank you for being better!
Much love,
