St. Luke's Monthly Newsletter - January, 2009
Dear St. Luke’s family,
January, 2009! A new month, a new year, a new beginning and a new ministry for St. Luke’s. On January 27, St. Luke’s will the home of one of Durham’s newest English language programs. Some of you will know this program as ESL, English as a Second Language, but because many immigrants to the United States already speak several languages, the program is often now called English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). Whatever name you know it by, teaching English to adults in our community is going to be an exciting undertaking. We anticipate that our students will mainly be Spanish-speakers, although just last week I met a Korean lady who plans to attend. We are extending this ministry initially to the members of the congregation at el Buen Pastor, the Hispanic Episcopal mission in Durham, but others in the wider community are invited as well.
These classes will not only be a new experience for us at St. Luke’s, but they will offer new possibilities to those who have recently come to America. New job opportunities will open up for those who can become more fluent in English. Parents can have a new level of involvement in their children’s schools when they are better equipped to communicate with their children’s teachers. A new sense of belonging in this community will come from enhanced English skills.
Some may be asking where in the world did this idea of trying to teach English to non-English speaking newcomers to Durham come from? Why this ministry and not something else? As I was moving through the process toward ordination as a deacon in this diocese, I began searching for a ministry area where I could take the skills I already had and use them in new and different ways. Over the last three years, the pieces that now form the whole of this project have come together one by one. The first and most important was that I was given the amazing gift of being appointed the deacon to St. Luke’s. Here I could explore new opportunities for service in the world, ways to bring the needs of the world to you, and then to take you back into the world with me to help meet those needs. So from the beginning of my discernment about this, I knew that whatever God sent for us to do, you would embrace it.
Another piece is that I have taught English and reading to struggling and reluctant readers for over thirty years. There are other dedicated teachers and retired teachers in this parish who share these skills. Surely, I prayed, this knowledge and experience could be put to work. The answer came in the form of a message from el Buen Pastor -- members of their congregation were searching for a place to learn English. Many of them have visited St. Luke’s or know in other ways of our support of their mission and our desire to work in partnership with them. So now I had the place and the people. But how? Teaching reading, English grammar, spelling and composition to children who have heard and spoken English all their lives is one thing. What did I know about teaching adults, especially adults with whom I couldn’t communicate? So I visited several existing programs, researched methods being used to teach ESOL, and a huge piece fell into place when I participated in the Durham Literacy Council’s ESOL tutor training. This was the way for us to go!
And now, the final piece is about to fit itself into the whole. YOU are that final piece. There are many ways you can help make this exciting new ministry happen. I encourage you to find a way that would excite you. Our classes will begin January 27 and will be held each Tuesday and Thursday evening from 7:00 to 9:00 pm until mid-May. You can volunteer to teach one or both nights each week for the spring semester (please see the article in this newsletter for information on teacher training). We will also be offering homework supervision and childcare; volunteers high school age and older are needed for this aspect of the program. We are a fledgling ministry with limited resources. Your help could come in donating materials (a wish list is in this month's newsletter). But, above all, I ask you to hold up this ministry in your prayers – the volunteers and our students and their families. God has given us a new year, and new work to do. It’s new for us and for God’s children we haven’t even met yet.
Peace and blessings in this new year.
Jan Lamb
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