When the Church Street Preschool closed last March at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in East Tennessee, Director Beth Cooper-Libby and the Preschool Board members expected a closure of two weeks.
“It felt like I was standing on frozen water and the ice broke under me,” Libby says when it became unclear when the Preschool would open its doors again. “I had no idea of what we were going to do.”
And while the Preschool’s closure did surpass two weeks, children returned to the classroom just 39 days after shutting down while most Knox County schools remained closed for the remainder of the spring semester.
During the shutdown, it became evident to Libby the importance of the Preschool to the Knoxville community. Many of the school’s parents work in fields on the frontlines of the pandemic including as nurses, police officers and city and TVA employees.
“I really had to look at what we do in a whole different way,” Libby says. “I always thought we were a mission of the church, but when we became the reason parents were able to go to work during a crisis, I was just like, ‘This is way more mission than I had really thought about.’”
As Libby explored options to help parents by reopening the Preschool, many obstacles created a tense couple weeks filled with uncertainty. The Preschool board, church members and church administrators all helped plan for a safe reopening.
“We kept our sense of humor. We realized that we were all working toward the same goal,” Libby says. “And when we opened, it was nothing but good.”
Libby says the excitement from the students once the Preschool reopened its doors was infectious, as kids played with joy in their classrooms and with their friends.
In addition to wearing masks, student temperatures are checked at the front door before the entry for each day. The two younger classrooms and two older classrooms often participated in activities together like playing on the playground, Easter Egg hunts and Santa visits, but now each classroom operates on its own so there is minimized risk to the larger Preschool population if someone were to contract Covid-19 .
Parents are also not allowed in the building, which Libby says has been a downside to reopening during the pandemic.
“I always felt the students benefited from the teachers and the parents being able to communicate with each other face to face,” Libby says. “…Like Church Street had to learn how to go online [for worship and small groups], Preschool had to figure out what to do when we weren’t having that face to face interaction.”
Now Libby communicates with parents using Remind, a communication platform for teachers and parents, and the Church Street Preschool Facebook page. Also, teachers will often meet and greet with parents in the outdoor breezeway to mitigate risk.
In addition to limited contact between teachers and parents, parents were also asked to pack lunches for students when the Preschool reopened to limit the amount of surfaces touched by outside sources like caterers. The catering staff returned a few months later, and has been serving boxed lunches for students.
Libby says there will be nothing sweeter than returning to the lunchroom. Each classroom now eats in their own room at 12 pm instead of all the students, teachers and staff eating at the same time in the lunchroom.
“The acoustics in the lunchroom are fantastic. I don’t know what Tim’s got up there in the choir room, but trust me, the acoustics in the lunchroom must be 100 times better,” Libby jokes. “I never thought I’d say I miss the lunchroom being so noisy, but I miss the lunchroom being so noisy.”
In addition to following CDC guidelines, extra safety measures have been taken to keep students and staff safe. The lunchroom tables and playground are cleaned in between each use using a Department of Health and Human Services solution, and toys are cleaned and rotated in each classroom during nap time.
An additional door greeter staff position was added to help move children between their classroom and parents as needed throughout the day. Libby also ensured there were two staff members to help give breaks, one for the younger classrooms and one for the older classrooms.
Over the course of the pandemic, Libby wrote and was awarded $20,122.94 in grants for the preschool, which has helped the preschool stay open and pay teachers during any unforeseen shutdowns. The grants were funded through the Tennessee Department of Human Services and The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
Some grant money was awarded specifically for equipment and supplies, which was used for items such as touchless trash cans.
The preschool has only had to shut down two times since it reopened, and each time the parents didn’t have to pay and teachers continued to receive compensation.
“We provided a safe place for parents – especially our essential workers – to leave their children,” Senior Pastor Catherine Nance says. “Children are resilient when they trust the adults around them and feel they are cared for and cared about.”
“I love watching them on the playground and look forward to the day when I can visit in the classroom and share a story.”
Preschool to celebrate 50th anniversary of the Week of the Young Child
Each year, the National Association of the Education for Young Children encourages early learning facilities to participate in Week of the Young Child. This week, the Preschool is celebrating students, teachers, families and the Knoxville community.
Keep your eyes on the Preschool Facebook page to see the children participate in a spirit week with dress-up days like Favorite Color Day and Pajama Day. Each class will end the week with ice cream and cake at snack time to celebrate the end of Week of the Young Child and the Preschool’s 52nd birthday.
All are welcome at Church Street! We believe every person is of sacred worth and created in God’s image. We welcome and celebrate the gifts God has given to all persons without regard to race, color, national origin, ethnicity, age, gender, disability, status, economic condition, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religious affiliation. We respect diversity of opinion and expressions of Christian faith. We believe God loves everyone unconditionally! As God loves us, so let us love and serve in the name of Christ.
Church Street Preschool helps Knoxville parents save lives during pandemic
connectors, FeaturedWhen the Church Street Preschool closed last March at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in East Tennessee, Director Beth Cooper-Libby and the Preschool Board members expected a closure of two weeks.
“It felt like I was standing on frozen water and the ice broke under me,” Libby says when it became unclear when the Preschool would open its doors again. “I had no idea of what we were going to do.”
And while the Preschool’s closure did surpass two weeks, children returned to the classroom just 39 days after shutting down while most Knox County schools remained closed for the remainder of the spring semester.
During the shutdown, it became evident to Libby the importance of the Preschool to the Knoxville community. Many of the school’s parents work in fields on the frontlines of the pandemic including as nurses, police officers and city and TVA employees.
“I really had to look at what we do in a whole different way,” Libby says. “I always thought we were a mission of the church, but when we became the reason parents were able to go to work during a crisis, I was just like, ‘This is way more mission than I had really thought about.’”
As Libby explored options to help parents by reopening the Preschool, many obstacles created a tense couple weeks filled with uncertainty. The Preschool board, church members and church administrators all helped plan for a safe reopening.
“We kept our sense of humor. We realized that we were all working toward the same goal,” Libby says. “And when we opened, it was nothing but good.”
Libby says the excitement from the students once the Preschool reopened its doors was infectious, as kids played with joy in their classrooms and with their friends.
In addition to wearing masks, student temperatures are checked at the front door before the entry for each day. The two younger classrooms and two older classrooms often participated in activities together like playing on the playground, Easter Egg hunts and Santa visits, but now each classroom operates on its own so there is minimized risk to the larger Preschool population if someone were to contract Covid-19 .
Parents are also not allowed in the building, which Libby says has been a downside to reopening during the pandemic.
“I always felt the students benefited from the teachers and the parents being able to communicate with each other face to face,” Libby says. “…Like Church Street had to learn how to go online [for worship and small groups], Preschool had to figure out what to do when we weren’t having that face to face interaction.”
Now Libby communicates with parents using Remind, a communication platform for teachers and parents, and the Church Street Preschool Facebook page. Also, teachers will often meet and greet with parents in the outdoor breezeway to mitigate risk.
In addition to limited contact between teachers and parents, parents were also asked to pack lunches for students when the Preschool reopened to limit the amount of surfaces touched by outside sources like caterers. The catering staff returned a few months later, and has been serving boxed lunches for students.
Libby says there will be nothing sweeter than returning to the lunchroom. Each classroom now eats in their own room at 12 pm instead of all the students, teachers and staff eating at the same time in the lunchroom.
“The acoustics in the lunchroom are fantastic. I don’t know what Tim’s got up there in the choir room, but trust me, the acoustics in the lunchroom must be 100 times better,” Libby jokes. “I never thought I’d say I miss the lunchroom being so noisy, but I miss the lunchroom being so noisy.”
In addition to following CDC guidelines, extra safety measures have been taken to keep students and staff safe. The lunchroom tables and playground are cleaned in between each use using a Department of Health and Human Services solution, and toys are cleaned and rotated in each classroom during nap time.
An additional door greeter staff position was added to help move children between their classroom and parents as needed throughout the day. Libby also ensured there were two staff members to help give breaks, one for the younger classrooms and one for the older classrooms.
Over the course of the pandemic, Libby wrote and was awarded $20,122.94 in grants for the preschool, which has helped the preschool stay open and pay teachers during any unforeseen shutdowns. The grants were funded through the Tennessee Department of Human Services and The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
Some grant money was awarded specifically for equipment and supplies, which was used for items such as touchless trash cans.
The preschool has only had to shut down two times since it reopened, and each time the parents didn’t have to pay and teachers continued to receive compensation.
“We provided a safe place for parents – especially our essential workers – to leave their children,” Senior Pastor Catherine Nance says. “Children are resilient when they trust the adults around them and feel they are cared for and cared about.”
“I love watching them on the playground and look forward to the day when I can visit in the classroom and share a story.”
Preschool to celebrate 50th anniversary of the Week of the Young Child
Each year, the National Association of the Education for Young Children encourages early learning facilities to participate in Week of the Young Child. This week, the Preschool is celebrating students, teachers, families and the Knoxville community.
Keep your eyes on the Preschool Facebook page to see the children participate in a spirit week with dress-up days like Favorite Color Day and Pajama Day. Each class will end the week with ice cream and cake at snack time to celebrate the end of Week of the Young Child and the Preschool’s 52nd birthday.
Weekly Prayers of the Church Street Family – April 8
prayer for todayWeekly Prayers for the Church Street Family
Week of April 4, 2021
Written by Rev. Tim Best
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Senior Spotlight: Isabella Johnson
Featured, YouthOne of our favorite things about the spring semester each year is celebrating our graduating seniors. And this year, we have a special Senior Spotlight series on our blog. Our seniors answered interview questions earlier this spring and it has been so much fun learning their answers! Check back in each week to get to know our seniors better and help to cheer them on as they wrap up high school and prepare for their next steps!
Meet Isabella Johnson!
Doubt to Dedication
Featured, lentDaily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Sunday, April 4, Evening
By Johnie Elliott, March 18, 1979
Doubt to Dedication
Read John 20:24-28
The world sometimes has a way of remembering the bad that we do and forgetting the good. Thomas is an example, as a usual thing, when people think of the doubting Thomas. Thomas was the real skeptic. When they received news that Lazarus was dead, it was Thomas that said, “We’d better not go. They will kill us.” When Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you.” Thomas said “Lord, we don’t even know where you are going, how can we know the way?”
When Christ appeared to His disciples Thomas was not present. When he heard the news that Christ appeared earlier Thomas said, “I will not believe except I see.” How often we miss a wonderful experience when we neglect to be in the congregation of those who are worshipping.
Let’s not condemn Thomas too harshly. The world has moved forward because people have dared to doubt. The Wright brothers doubted the axiom that only something as light as a bird could fly. Many doubted that we would ever be able to place a man on the moon. Our age is an age of doubting. Some doubt that religion is the answer to Peace. Others doubt the ability and integrity of our leaders.
There is a difference in honest and dishonest doubt. Thomas wanted to believe but he still had his doubts. Jesus saw in Thomas a valuable quality needed in the Kingdom. He saw in Thomas that quality which was eternally grasping for new truths. Thomas was not gullible to every fad that came along. He could not believe that his Lord was alive when he had seen him crucified on Friday. Yet when Christ revealed himself to Thomas, Thomas cried “My Lord and my God.”
Doubt had given way to dedication. So should it be with our honest doubt. We must work through our honest doubts to dedication to Christ and his church.
Prayer
Lord I Believe, but help me through my unbelief. Amen.
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From Death to Life
Featured, lentDaily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Sunday, April 4, Morning
By Rev. Dr. Tooms H. Kay, Jr., March 26, 1978
From Death to Life
Read John 19:41-42 (J.B. Phillips)
“In the place where he was crucified, there was a garden containing a new tomb in which nobody had yet been laid. Because it was the preparation day and because the tomb was conveniently near, they laid Jesus in this tomb.”
One of the most moving experiences of a visit to the Holy Land will be found at Gordon’s Calvary and the Garden Tomb. This is a traditional site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, and is about three blocks northeast of Herod’s Gate. This place of crucifixion is named for Charles George Gordon, a British general. As he walked atop the wall of Jerusalem, he pointed to a hill and said, “That looks just like Calvary.” What he saw resembled a skull, with two eyes, a crooked nose, and a distorted mouth.
Later excavations conducted at the base of the rocky cliff uncovered a garden in which there was an empty tomb. Could this have been the private garden of Joseph of Arimathea? The tomb was shaped like a bathtub and had been lengthened about a foot to accommodate a larger person. Was not Jesus buried in a tomb not his own? In January of 1977, as a group of us studied that rocky hill, pointing out to each other the form of the skull, we were caught up in the immensity of Christ’s sacrificial love. We sang one verse of “There Is A Green Hill Far Away.”
From that vision which recalled agony and death we walked down a lovely garden path to a limestone wall in which there was an opening. One by one we entered, “stooping down” as did that “other disciple” (John 20:5). Here was the place where Jesus might have been laid. We spoke in quiet whispers. Outside again we stood around our guide, a gentleman with a marked British accent. He reminded us that these were merely traditional sites, and the important thing was to remember that our Lord had risen.
As we departed, I thought, “The place of crucifixion and the place of resurrection are not very far apart. How quickly we may go from death to life!” May that message become real to each of us this Easter Day.
Prayer
O God, we accept the promise of Jesus that “I am the resurrection and the life.” Let our experience confirm the truth of that proclamation, not only at Easter, but every day of our lives. Amen.
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Our Church
Featured, lentDaily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Saturday, April 3, Evening
By Dr. Don Rhodes, February 29, 1980
Our Church
Read James 2:26 (Living Bible)
“Just as the body is dead when there is no spirit in it, so faith is dead if it is not the kind that results in good deeds.”
Article X of John Wesley’s “Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church” reads as follows:
“Although good works, which are the fruits of faith, and follow after justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God’s judgment; yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and spring out of a true and lively faith, insomuch that by them a lively faith may be as evidently known as a tree discerned by its fruit.”
We believe that our United Methodist Church is a part of the church universal and that the church itself is a community of true believers under the Lordship of Christ. Our church is the total body of faithful individuals who transcend more than buildings, properties, ministers, staff, commissions, councils, and boards. We are the church, you and I, mutually supporting each other both individually and collectively, and witnessing our faith in God through the works we do.
When we became members of the United Methodist Church we promised to be loyal to it and uphold it with our “ … prayers, our presence, our gifts, and our service.” This our final vow of membership into this community of the faithful was to work for and in our church toward the ultimate glory of God. Our work, however, is far more than regular attendance at worship, attending church school, Bible study, prayer, or passive participation. We must be an active, witnessing, serving community that typifies Jesus the Christ whose name we claim. We must be involved, serve on committees, teach, visit, telephone, cook, clean, decorate, usher … give of ourselves, of our love, our faith, and our material goods. We must feed the hungry, clothe the poor, comfort the infirm and support the afflicted. Ministers may come and ministers may go, programs may prosper and programs may perish but we the church, the community of faithful, must continue … continue evidencing our faith by doing our Father’s work.
Prayer
Father, grant us strength and courage to face the challenge of doing your work. We live in a complex world where much suffering exists. Help us to express our love and faith through our work both in the church and out of it. Teach us to see the needs and give the best that we can.
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Between Calvary & the Resurrection
Featured, lentDaily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Saturday, April 3, Morning
By Helen Smithson, April 14, 1979
Between Calvary and the Resurrection
Read Matthew 27:57-60
“And when it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man came to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given over to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled in a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.”
Yesterday we thought of the darkness of Calvary – the jeering crowds, the taunts. Mary’s broken heart as she stood with John at the foot of the cross looking at the suffering of her Son, the desolate cry “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” The Lord’s triumphant “It is finished,” and then His last words, “Father, into Thy hands I commit my Spirit.” Now there is silence and a feeling of hopelessness. Yesterday was Calvary – tomorrow is glorious resurrection, but in between these two days there is gloom and despair. Many times this is where we find ourselves in life. We have experienced a great disappointment, a personal rejection, financial reverses, the sudden loss of a loved one, and we all become numb with unbelief at what has transpired. Here is where the Scriptures can hold us steady while our Lord puts together the broken pieces of our lives. He tells us that “… those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary” (Isaiah 40: 31). As we wait on Him the glory of His resurrection breaks through, our hearts are comforted, and we move forward with greater strength than before. Truly, we serve a risen Saviour who comes into our lives when we allow Him to do so with the light we need for any darkness that comes to us.
Prayer
Eternal God, our Heavenly Father, as we travel the road of life, many times we find ourselves numb with grief or disappointment. Although we know that in You there is grace sufficient for every circumstance in life, sometimes there is a period of darkness and near despair, as there must have been the day after Calvary and the day before Easter, when we need You in a special way to calm our troubled hearts and to assure us that You are the Lord of our circumstances. Thank You at these times You are near and faithful, and thank you for the blessed way You take the pieces of our broken hearts, as we give them to You, and put them back together in such a way that they are even stronger than before. Thank You that You are the Risen Lord and to those who receive You, a personal Saviour. Amen.
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When We Don’t Understand
Featured, lentDaily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Friday, April 1, Evening
By Esther W. Bare, March 12, 1976
When We Don’t Understand
Read Hebrews 4:14-15; 1 Corinthians 13:8-9
We Americans are a people who want to know. Indeed, the genius of Western man, some say, has been that he was determined to push the limits of his knowledge as far as he could and then put that knowledge into action. As individuals, we follow a somewhat similar path as we grow up: we try to understand ourselves, our families, other people, and the world beyond, and as Christians we try to relate our knowledge and understanding to God and his plan for us and for the world. Surely it is good to attempt this, for we remember that Jesus expanded the Great Commandment of the Old Testament – “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength” – to include loving God with all our minds.
But there is a point at which understanding ends. No matter how wonderfully satisfying our relationship with God may seem at times, sooner or later most of us are brought face to face with realities we cannot reconcile with our faith, situations that jar the foundations of our beliefs. And it is here that we may turn away and abandon our faith. Or we may look at Jesus on the cross.
Our hearts shrink from His suffering, yet we must hear the words: “My God, my God why has Thou forsaken me?” For his agony was not only of the body, it was the pain of despair, of non-understanding, of alienation from the Father to whom he had dedicated his life.
Christ on the cross gives us the answer, too; not so much an answer, though, as the way in which we may follow: “Into Thy hands I commend my spirit.”
Prayer
Help us to place our spirits into Thy hands, in times of joy and in times of despair. Save us from relying too much on knowledge and from making progress our god. Help us to realize our weaknesses, that we may seek Thy guidance always, in the name of Jesus who showed us the Way. Amen.
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O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
prayer for todayDaily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Friday, April 1, Morning
By Mrs. Laura White, March 17, 1978
O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
“O Sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, thine only crown;
How pale thou art with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!
How does that visage languish which once was bright as morn!
What thou, My Lord, hast suffered was all for sinners’ gain:
Mine, mine was the transgression, but thine the deadly pain;
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! ‘Tis I deserve thy place;
Look on me with thy favor, vouchsafe to me thy grace.
What language shall I borrow to thank thee, dearest Friend,
For this thy dying sorrow, thy pity without end?
O make me thine forever, and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to thee.”
UMC Hymnal #286
One of the most beloved of all the Lenten hymns is “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded.” The language of the hymn is intensely personal, as each believer is invited to consider the suffering of Christ for mankind’s salvation. The pictorial details of the first stanza are very graphic, almost as if the viewing of a picture of Christ on the cross prompted the poet’s words. He sadly views the grieving figure and notices the crown of thorns, the pale countenance, and the mournful expression. In the second stanza the speaker addresses this dying Christ with the realization that the pain suffered by his Savior was patiently endured even though the transgression and sin belonged to another. The third stanza turns to a note of thanksgiving and dedication, as the poet purposes his own life and love to be directed to this One whose life was freely given that man might have an access to God each day and a hope of life with Him forever.
Prayer
O God, in this Lenten Season, may we also “see” our suffering Savior. May we realize that His victory over suffering has made it possible for us to experience His resurrection power in our lives today. As we receive greater insight into His suffering, may we see our sin and His provisions for salvation in the Cross.
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Lent is a Time for Preparing for Living
Featured, lentDaily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Thursday, April 1, Evening
By Dorothy & Asa Bishop, February 21, 1980
Lent is a Time for Preparing for Living
Read Mark 14:32-42
“And they went to a place which was called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here, while I pray…Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak’…”.
Lent is that period of time set aside on the Christian calendar when we direct our thoughts toward the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. This is the high point of the Christian year, and a special emphasis is required to make the proper preparation for this rapturous occasion. Although we should make an emphasis each day of the year to use our daily devotional period to help us in deepening our personal commitment to the living Lord, we may sometimes neglect to carry out this daily time of preparation throughout the year.
Through the use of the Lenten booklets prepared by fellow Church Streeters, we began a daily family devotional period which now prevails in our home throughout the year. The special emphasis on preparation during Lent stimulated us to continue our family devotionals. In this time of sharing, praying, and Bible reading, we are made more aware of how God lives and speaks through each person in our family circle. As we prepare for Easter this year, we will be looking for some additional emphasis to assist us in our daily celebration that Jesus Christ lives within us and in the world which surrounds us.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, as we prepare our hearts and minds for the death and resurrection of Your son, Jesus Christ, help us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Forgive us for the many times we deny Thee daily and give us courage and strength to live in accordance with Thy will. Amen.
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