On the establishment of Christ the King in southern New Providence in the early 1960s, members of St Barnabas parish in central New Providence sought to provide Sunday school classes for the children in the new parish. Sunday school, first met on Sunday afternoons and now on Sunday mornings and has been a continuing ministry within the parish throughout its life, peaking with numbers well into the low hundreds in the 1980s.
Today, with the motto growing in Christ, the Sunday school (sometimes referred to as Junior Church) attracts approximately 60 boys and girls, ages 3 to 15, on a given Sunday. The Sunday school also operates on the envelope system, where children are being taught how to tithe from an early age. We are blessed with the services of 12 active teachers, most of whom display a high level of commitment to this ministry. The Rector, Canon Curtis Robinson and Assistant Curate Father Bradley Miller, does a weekly rotation, whereby a priest is present each Sunday. Every fourth Sunday is youth Sunday and the children are part of the corporate church communion.
The Sunday school operates on a cycle similar to that of public schools in The Bahamas, beginning its new year in September and operating until June of the following year, with breaks for Christmas and Easter. Each year begins with an annual teachers retreat and planning session for the year. The year climaxes with prize giving for students who have been consistent in attendance and outstanding in their participation, and a token form of encouragement for those who have not been as diligent. (Students would also get Christmas gifts according to the way their tithes are paid.) We also use this opportunity to recognize one of our teachers for the efforts during the year and to enjoy fellowship over a Sunday brunch. The final event for the year is a week long Summer Vacation Bible School which starts in the second week in July, for which we charge a nominal cost for ten exciting half-days of fun, Bible knowledge, and hearty home-made lunches. The children of one of the local orphanages are invited to be our guests during the week of Vacation Bible School, and it is also open to the children of the surrounding neighbourhood, who may not be members of the parish.
During the course of the year, teachers and students visit the confined members of the parish twice per year during Christmas and Eastertide; (visitation is done on a regular basic by the Visiting Committee) the children pay tribute to their parents on Mother’s and Father’s Day; and join other Anglican boys and girls in the Diocese of The Bahamas and The Turks and Caicos Islands in mid-Lent Christian Education Week activities, including a Saturday Circle Time, and a procession of witness through downtown Nassau, followed by a short service at Christ Church Cathedral on Mothering Sunday.
This year we have launched a weekly scripture memory verse programme and a monthly Sunday school newsletter called The Trumpet, are making preparations to produce a book of hymns and prayers for the children, and resume the annual Christmas pageant in December of 2011. In this latter effort, as with all Sunday school music, we are ably assisted by parish musicians Mrs. Mary Jane Moxey, Miss Vernita Munroe and Mrs Pam Woods.
In January 2004, we witnessed the transition of Mrs. Emeline Lockhart who served as Sunday school superintendent for 11 years, providing unselfish and enthusiastic service to God through the Sunday school. We also recognize Ms Helen Rolle, former People’s Warden of the parish, who served as a consultant to the Sunday school. Miss Christine Green, a teacher of long standing, who encourages the boys and girls to pray without ceasing so that they might have the mind of Christ, succeeded Mrs. Lockhart as superintendent. Miss Odia Richardson followed Miss Green as superintendent and Mrs Garnell Gregory succeeded Ms Odia Richardson as superintendent in 2010.