The kids at St. Marks Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee had a "carpet sit" discussion with their teacher at the beginning of "Season For Nonviolence" this year, and it became a beautiful teaching moment for all.
Brooke Hopkins is Kingdom Zone teacher at St. Marks Church on the weekend and librarian at Calvin Donaldson Elementary during the week. The art projects she had been working with students on during Kingdom Zone tied in perfectly with the theme of "nonviolence" and a discussion about how that connects with real life at church and at school.
Leading the discussion with the kids, Ms. Hopkins opened, "Let's talk about nonviolence."
"Huh?" was the kids' immediate reaction, but as Ms. Hopkins told the kids that nonviolence is similar to the rule at school to "Control your body and your mouth" and not to hurt anyone, the kids quickly responded, "Oh, you mean like what would Jesus do at school?"
Their discussion then turned to bullying. "Tell me about your school," Ms. Hopkins said to the kids. "Tell me about acceptable behavior." The kids quickly started sharing about the things they do for each other at church and at school. They shared about how they have stood up for each other, and how they help each other and share with one another.
"You really see that with our kids, they are raised by amazingly open-minded parents and I know how they treat each other is a major priority in what the parents want their children to learn," Ms. Hopkins shares.
St. Marks Church: "Making the Ancient Real for Today"
St. Marks Church Pastor Carl Greene has spent the last three years revitalizing a 100-year-old church with the mission of applying Jesus Christ's teachings to modern-day society and what that might look like as it plays out in the community.
"We feel our mission here is to connect people, and connect people to God," Mr. Greene shares. "Churches can become really silo-oriented, but we feel if we're going to be a vibrant church we need to be connected to our community and looking at what are the needs and the areas of brokenness. When we look at the teachings of Christ that relate to social justice, love, and care of the oppressed, these teachings are often pushed to the side, but we believe it is our mission to bring those teachings to the forefront."
St. Marks Church partnered with Gandhi's Be Magazine and Gandhi Global Center for Peace on the local efforts supporting the history-making People's Climate March in September. Screening the documentary film "Disruption" and hosting a discussion on environment, the church worked with Gandhi's Be Magazine Editor-in-Chief and Gandhi Global Center for Peace CEO Missy Crutchfield to lead local conversations for the national movement.
"What we're trying to do is keep conversations going or start conversations like we have with Missy Crutchfield and Gandhi's Be Magazine and Gandhi Global Center for Peace so that we better understand our community as it relates to environment, nonviolence, and social justice," Mr. Greene shares. "My belief is that if Jesus came today that he would be involved in these messy, difficult issues of society that we don't want to face."
Mr. Greene believes what the children experienced from their discussion on nonviolence and making it real for their lives is exactly what the church's mission and purpose is all about. He shares, "In drawing and writing simple sentences at their elementary thinking level about peace and nonviolence and how they act and respond to others, the children are making the teachings of Christ real for today, and it is making something that is very ancient real for today."
"Season for Nonviolence" artwork
The following artwork was submitted by the kids at St. Marks Church for "Season for Nonviolence." From ages three to 10, their art is a reflection of how they opened their hearts to what it means to "Be the change you wish to see in the world," as Gandhi put it.
CLICK HERE to view the "Season for Nonviolence" artwork.