Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.1 Peter 5:2–3

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.Romans 8:28

These verses speak to me as we are about to re-enter the classroom with our precious little ones. Yes, I say “our” precious little ones! For those of you new to Open Arms Christian Preschool, you will find that our staff forms a relationship with you as well as your children and we care for them as if they were our own. We also pride ourselves on fostering new relationships among the parents as well as the children. I love watching parents who have never met prior to entering our doors making new close friends and even best friends here in the hallways of our program. This is what we are about … relationship and connection.

Like many of you, I have found myself all over the place emotionally these last few months. As I’ve struggled to figure out what I’m supposed to be doing or learning through all of this, the same thing keeps coming back to me … we must find a way to stay connected as adults, nurture our children and teach them about life, making friends, fostering relationships and making connections. We were created by God to need connection. It is imperative to our mental health and well-being, and even the strongest introverts among us need human connection and relationship, even if it is not on the same level as extroverts! Once, while doing some research for an article he was writing, my husband found a study that stated the number one common denominator among people who lived long and happy lives was social connection and relationship. It wasn’t going to the gym every day or eating your vegetables … it was relationship.

Amid the overwhelming circumstances of these devastating times, we strongly believe Open Arms has a purpose in our community, a calling to “shepherd this flock” of children and families who make up our school. We are blessed to focus on the specific opportunity that we have been given: to safely provide the young children in our care a place to learn and grow within a unique, small, private facility, being led and taught by nurturing, experienced educators. We are committed to the concept of early childhood learning and the benefit it brings to the overall development and well-being of each child, even in these trying times. We strongly believe in the classroom environment, the connection of the human spirit it brings and the opportunity to grow together through shared experiences and support.

We hope that this path forward will be a collaborative effort of the whole Open Arms family with shared responsibilities between our staff, parents and students to ensure the safest possible conditions.

It is this belief and commitment that leads us to move forward as we begin again for another school year. We are challenged and excited about our nine months of learning ahead! We intend to learn and grow together as we open for the first day of school on Tuesday, September 8, 2020.

We look forward to working in partnership with our families to make this a year even better than the one before.

Kandy Wise is the Director of Open Arms Preschool, a ministry of Saint John’s Lutheran Church. You may reach her at 482-1357 or OpenArms@StJohnsFC.org with any questions about the Preschool.