St. John’s Catholic Preschool students pose with Father Stephen Macedo and teacher Amytes Quiason. (Photo couresy of Sister Malia Dominica wong, OP)
Commentary
By Father Stephen Macedo
Special to the Herald
I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more than I’ll ever know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
(“What a Wonderful World,” lyrics by Bob Thiele and George Weiss)
To walk out of the church office when the children are on recess is a fabulous time. You can see the kids running around the yard laughing and having such a good time. This is life. To hear and see the children grow is not the future of the church; it is the church.
St. John’s Catholic Preschool in Mililani is small in number right now with only 25 children due to COVID-19 restrictions. Along with the construction of the parish center, the space the preschool occupied needed to undergo remodeling. This included adding children’s bathrooms and a small kitchenette. With our limited space now, we are not able to accept the previous enrollment of 70 students.
During construction, the parish was very fortunate to have been able to rent space for our preschoolers from the Presbyterian church down the road. Even though the Presbyterian church had its own preschool, they still shared their space with us. Preschools are a ministry to the community.
Some people have asked me, “Why do you have a preschool?” “How many of the children go to your church?” As Jesus said, “Let the children come to me,” our ministry is open to everyone whether they are Catholic or not. And it has been paying for itself. There is definitely a need for childcare in our community. Through our reaching out to our neighbors and letting them know we are here, we are also evangelizing. Let’s take care of the kids!
In my previous assignment at Annunciation Parish in Kamuela on the Big Island, our parish did not have a school. Twenty-nine years ago, I was assigned here at St. John Apostle and Evangelist Parish in Mililani so I did have a brief taste of being in a school environment. As a deacon, and a couple of months as a priest, I met Miss Amy (Amytes Quiason), who was the director of the preschool. I used to help out in her class with religious education. She taught the children little songs. Amazingly, I still remember some of those songs that we sang.
Fast forward, with the newly remodeled classrooms and the children back on campus since last December, after 30 years of service, Miss Amy will be retiring. I am really grateful for her presence, as each time I walk by the preschool and the kids chime in or call out, “Hi, Father Steve!” “Father Steve! Father Steve!” their voices remind me of the early songs and her carrying out her vision of creating a wonderful world with our preschoolers.
Kids are a gift from God. My response to them? “Hi kids! Are you learning a lot today?”
How can one not be touched by the children? I am so excited the kids are back.
Father Stephen Macedo is a diocesan priest and parochial vicar at St. John Apostle and Evangelist Parish, Mililani.
