Primary
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JoeUser Forums
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Sigh. This week was bad. Let me start by posting an email from the primary president, and my response to her.
Hi Sister Herndon,
I wanted to check and see if you and your husband were doing alright.
We missed you on Sunday and haven't heard anything from you guys, so we
want to see if everything is ok. Please let me know if you will not be
there on Sunday so your class can be covered. Thanks! Angela Burke
Hi Angela,
Thanks for following up with us. We're really sorry about missing Primary last week; John has been working nights & I've somehow adopted his sleeping schedule; I've been pretty much braindead every day until 4pm, and by then I'm so ashamed of everything I've missed that I just want to hide my head in shame.
We love teaching Primary. Nothing could be sweeter, and we just float on a cloud for days afterwards. I'm pretty sure the adversary is working against us to keep us from having that joy in our lives. But until we whip ourselves into shape, perhaps an alternate teacher could be lined up, for the benefit of the children. They deserve to have a dependable person there for them.
Sorry I've waited until Saturday evening to address this. It's a hard pill to swallow.
Sincerely, Angela Herndon
Dear Angela,
Thanks for getting back to me. I appreciate your honesty and candor.
The bishop has felt very strongly about giving everyone a chance in
their calling and not releasing them easily or quickly. So, I recommend
that you pray and decide what you are ready and willing to do in your
calling. Every person in the ward has a calling, so it is difficult to
line up subs at the last minute. Sister VanWalraven subbed today, and
Sister Webb took both classes last week. If you truly feel you cannot
fulfill your calling, then you need to go directly to the Bishop and tell
him. I have no power or authority to release people. I appreciate that
you have the children's interest at heart, and if you are willing to
fulfill your calling, we support you 100% and will try to help you in any
way possible. If you are unable or unwilling to continue in your roll
as teacher, PLEASE talk to the Bishop as soon as possible. Thank you,
Angela Burke
HAPPY UPDATE! Jan 25 2005
Hi Sister Burke,
John & I were happy teaching primary on Sunday. Thank you for your compassionate response to my last message I sent you, regarding my agony over our obstacles to being great primary teachers.
I liked what you said: "The bishop has felt very strongly about giving everyone a chance in their calling and not releasing them easily or quickly. So, I recommend that you pray and decide what you are ready and willing to do in your calling."
While the idea of being "released" was not something I was really fishing for, I guess I was just wondering what on earth to do when we're not at our best 100% of the time. But you answered my question by saying that "the bishop has felt very strongly about giving everyone a chance in their calling." I love that. Being imperfect, we love being given a chance to grow. I love that so much. And I love exercising my spiritual muscles by being a part of primary. The children are the greatest thing in the world, we love them a ton. John & I know without a doubt that our calling is inspired.
Thank you! You're the best!
posted by Angela Marie at 1:58 AM
Sigh. This week was bad. Let me start by posting an email from the primary president, and my response to her.
Hi Sister Herndon,
I wanted to check and see if you and your husband were doing alright.
We missed you on Sunday and haven't heard anything from you guys, so we
want to see if everything is ok. Please let me know if you will not be
there on Sunday so your class can be covered. Thanks! Angela Burke
Hi Angela,
Thanks for following up with us. We're really sorry about missing Primary last week; John has been working nights & I've somehow adopted his sleeping schedule; I've been pretty much braindead every day until 4pm, and by then I'm so ashamed of everything I've missed that I just want to hide my head in shame.
We love teaching Primary. Nothing could be sweeter, and we just float on a cloud for days afterwards. I'm pretty sure the adversary is working against us to keep us from having that joy in our lives. But until we whip ourselves into shape, perhaps an alternate teacher could be lined up, for the benefit of the children. They deserve to have a dependable person there for them.
Sorry I've waited until Saturday evening to address this. It's a hard pill to swallow.
Sincerely, Angela Herndon
Dear Angela,
Thanks for getting back to me. I appreciate your honesty and candor.
The bishop has felt very strongly about giving everyone a chance in
their calling and not releasing them easily or quickly. So, I recommend
that you pray and decide what you are ready and willing to do in your
calling. Every person in the ward has a calling, so it is difficult to
line up subs at the last minute. Sister VanWalraven subbed today, and
Sister Webb took both classes last week. If you truly feel you cannot
fulfill your calling, then you need to go directly to the Bishop and tell
him. I have no power or authority to release people. I appreciate that
you have the children's interest at heart, and if you are willing to
fulfill your calling, we support you 100% and will try to help you in any
way possible. If you are unable or unwilling to continue in your roll
as teacher, PLEASE talk to the Bishop as soon as possible. Thank you,
Angela Burke
HAPPY UPDATE! Jan 25 2005
Hi Sister Burke,
John & I were happy teaching primary on Sunday. Thank you for your compassionate response to my last message I sent you, regarding my agony over our obstacles to being great primary teachers.
I liked what you said: "The bishop has felt very strongly about giving everyone a chance in their calling and not releasing them easily or quickly. So, I recommend that you pray and decide what you are ready and willing to do in your calling."
While the idea of being "released" was not something I was really fishing for, I guess I was just wondering what on earth to do when we're not at our best 100% of the time. But you answered my question by saying that "the bishop has felt very strongly about giving everyone a chance in their calling." I love that. Being imperfect, we love being given a chance to grow. I love that so much. And I love exercising my spiritual muscles by being a part of primary. The children are the greatest thing in the world, we love them a ton. John & I know without a doubt that our calling is inspired.
Thank you! You're the best!
posted by Angela Marie at 1:58 AM