EXCHANGE: New ‘family’ found in special needs Sunday school

ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) - It’s a 45-minute drive from their Freeport home to Rockford First Church every Sunday, but for the Rhode family it’s well worth it.

Patti Rhode said she and her husband, Steve, love Pastor Jeremy DeWeerdt’s sermons, but she admits that if they ever feel like sleeping in, their son, Mark, keeps them accountable.

“Mark is all about structure, structure, structure,” Rhode said. “If we wake up on a Sunday morning and say, ’We’re too tired to go to church today,’ he’ll say, ’No. We’re going.’”

Mark, 22, is autistic and attends the church’s Illuminators class, a Sunday school for individuals with disabilities who are older than 12. Children with disabilities ages 4-12 are part of the church’s Champion’s Club ministry, which began in October 2012.

Illuminators is held in the Christian Life High School building and is taught by volunteer Yvonne Alexander, 51, a Rockford resident who has attended Rockford First since she was in eighth grade. Alexander started volunteering with the class shortly after it began more than 30 years ago and took over as its teacher about 20 years ago, she said. She has a degree in elementary education and has worked for 27 years at Milestone Inc., a nonprofit that offers social support services for adults and children with disabilities in Rockford.

Alexander said 25-50 students ranging in age from 13 to their mid-50s attend the hour-long Illuminators class, which consists of songs, crafts, games, snack time and Bible story with a lesson.

“When we sing ’This Little Light of Mine’ we use flashlights,” Alexander said, “and the church got us a big-screen TV so we can watch videos to go with Bible stories. (The students) like the Bible stories that are more concrete, stories about heaven because it’s a place or Noah’s ark because it has animals. Anything that they can relate to.”

Pastor Betsy Frost, director of Rockford First’s children’s ministry, said Alexander is the “glue” that holds the class together.

“Without Yvonne this doesn’t work,” she said.

The Rhodes began attending Rockford First three years ago after hearing about the Illuminators class from fellow Freeport resident Colleen Groves, an advertising representative who works at The Journal-Standard.

Groves’ son, Evan, has Down syndrome and has also been in the Illuminators class for three years. He is nonverbal, but Groves said he sings along with all of the songs in “his own jargon,” and when asked if he’s excited to go to Sunday school, he responds with an enthusiastic shout.

“I don’t want any church here (in Freeport) to think that I’ve snubbed them, but it’s just different because (those with disabilities) sometimes are more difficult to handle,” Groves said. “It’s easier when they’re little, but it gets harder and less inclusive as they get older.”

Rhode and her family are still members of Freeport’s Park Hills Evangelical Free Church and will attend now and then, but she said that their absence is noticed.

“People will ask us, ’Where have you been? We miss you guys,’” she said. “The services at Park Hills are a little more traditional. I offered to play the piano so that Mark could sing, and other kids would look at him like, what is he doing? … (Mark) can’t sit through a regular service, so (Steve and I) never attended a service together. … Nothing against (Park Hills), but now Steve and I can attend church together. And there’s a place for Mark where he can learn about Jesus.”

Rhode and Groves said they may have initially attended Rockford First for their children, but that they, too, have found spiritual fulfillment at the church, especially because they can relate to DeWeerdt and his wife, Jen, who have a son with Down syndrome, Rhode said.

“I feel very fed when I leave there - like, OK, Patti, you’re strong again for the week,” Rhode said. “And I feel like (the DeWeerdts) get it. Until it actually hits you, you don’t completely understand.”

Members Kyle Seaworth, 27, and Doug Kuborn, 39, led their peers in a resounding chorus of “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “This Little Light of Mine” on Sunday during the Illuminators class. Attendees and volunteers celebrated their annual fall festival with button crafts and a vast spread of food, including nachos, sandwiches and an elaborate candy corn-adorned chocolate cake.

Seaworth took a break from choral direction to give his friend, Evan Groves, a big hug. Evan was all smiles and gave Seaworth an affectionate pat on the head.

“I became a Christian as a kid and was baptized in 2007,” said Seaworth, who also volunteers as a greeter at Rockford First. “Meeting all new people is the best. … (Illuminators) is a blessing.”

Pastor Betsy Frost said she tries to make it over to Illuminators as often as she can.

“This is really a perfect picture of the adopted family in Christ,” she said. “It’s not about perfection, it’s about love.”

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Source: Rockford Register Star, https://bit.ly/2dagT8q

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Information from: Rockford Register Star, https://www.rrstar.com