Good Shepherd in Maitland Now Houses Celandine Life Preparatory Academy

The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Maitland sits on a beautiful piece of property with green space, shade trees, a chapel (built in 1883), church, parish hall, and a campus with four other buildings.

Nearly seven years ago, during my interview with the vestry before I was called as rector, I commented that I believed that even if the church quadrupled in size, the Lord purposed something for the property that would benefit those outside the church community. I also said that the theme of education kept coming to the fore in my prayer time.

A couple of years later, I met Gale, who had flown in for her mother’s funeral. The day after the service, she came to find me and handed me a book written by her daughter and granddaughter. She said, “I just had to come and give you this.” The title of the book is I Am in Here: The Journey of a Child with Autism Who Cannot Speak but Finds Her Voice. It changed the focus of my prayers from education in general to Christian education for special-needs children. It is a powerful book that contains wonderful poetry written by a nonverbal autistic child. Here is one poem:

Me

I sometimes fear
That people cannot understand
That I hear
And I know
That they don’t believe I go
To every extreme
To try to express
My need to talk.
If only they could walk
In my shoes
They would share my news:
I am in here
And trying to speak every day
In some kind of way.
Elizabeth Bonker, age 9

When I spoke about the possibilities of a Christian school for special-needs children on our campus, many parishioners were supportive, but there was not enough interest to start a feasibility study on whether to open one ourselves. But I kept it in prayer. About a year later, someone visited the campus and asked about renting space for a special-needs school. We had a brief conversation, but she was not at all interested in a relationship between the church and the school nor in having a chapel service for the children, something for which I had been praying.

A few more years went by, and in March of this year, a woman drove onto the campus asking if we had space to rent to a Christian not-for-profit school for special-needs children. She was the mother of one of the students. When I asked why she had come to Good Shepherd, she replied, “I had been looking at a building that was not right for our needs, and I drove by on the way home and just felt compelled to come in and ask.” We set up a meeting for the following week, but then I received a call that the school wasn’t interested after all. Since this had seemed so right, that evening, I prayed, “Lord, if this is of you, then close every other door that they try and walk through and bring them here.”

A month later, I received another call asking if I would still be willing to meet. It seemed that nothing they had looked at seemed right. Meanwhile, a few months earlier, just before Christmas, since we were short-staffed, I asked if anyone in the congregation might be able to help out in the office. One of my parishioners volunteered her husband, Mark, who had taken early retirement as a school superintendent from New York state and had been pretty much sidelined because of knee surgery.  He was working on some projects for us when Kristen and Margarita (the owner and administrator) arrived for the meeting.  I asked if Mark would sit in on our time together.

I said up front: “Let me just say this—I am not interested in a straight rental situation. What I would love is a relationship between the school and the parish family.” It was a Holy-Spirit filled moment; we all felt this relationship was of the Lord. It also became very clear during the conversation that I didn’t speak “school,” especially not special-needs school. But Mark did, and I asked him to take the lead on the discussions as we moved forward.

I shared our conversation with the vestry, and they were 100 percent in agreement to move ahead. A memorandum of understanding was developed that provided the basis of the lease agreement. The vestry approved both, and then Kristen stepped out in faith. In order to lease the buildings, the school would need to request permission from the City of Maitland for a zoning change.

The date set for final approval was the first day of school. There were, of course, a huge number of hurdles ahead: an updated property boundary survey along with ADA compliance issues including a concrete walkway, a railing, and the installation of a fire alarm system.

This was an expensive project, and we again stepped out in faith. The congregation was extraordinarily generous, but we still needed a lot more money to cover everything required for zoning approval. One of our parishioners, Scott, asked how he could help. I asked if he knew how to write a grant application, and he said, “No, but I’ll give it a try.”

The deadline for the Congregation Development Commission Grant applications was close, but Scott made it.  We were able to make the down payment for the fire alarm installation, and work began, but we needed money to pay the balance when the work was finished. And God provided through the Congregation Development Commission Grant award of $25,000!

Meanwhile, we had to clear out the two buildings to be leased, which included moving our children’s nursery and Godly Play room into smaller rooms in a different building.  So many faithful parishioners helped make these moves possible. Sacrifices were made all around, not the least of which was letting go of cherished spaces; but by and large, people were willing to make those sacrifices in order to give these children the opportunity to thrive on our beautiful campus. Kristen also needed to remodel the two buildings. It was a very busy summer for many  people. We prayed through each review portion of the zoning process, and even though one zoning board member was quite vocally against the change of use, on August 8 the city council voted unanimously to grant it. Celandine Life Preparatory Academy opened its doors on our campus with 38 beautiful children, ages 7-21.

Because part of the program for the older children includes life-preparation skills, they are taught how to clean by cleaning rooms on the campus. They set the tables on Fridays for our Sunday-morning breakfast, and they have also cleared out and replanted our two community garden planters and have planted another two.

During our earlier conversations, the school representatives asked if I would be willing to have a weekly children’s chapel—another answer to prayer!  It is such a blessing to see children moving from one building to another during the day, to train them up as acolytes and ushers (especially when their parents never thought this was a possibility), to share the love of Christ with them, and to have parents say to us about the chapel service: “This is so wonderful for the kids—the presence of it. I don’t even have words to describe how good it is for them.”

Another parent wrote to thank us: “I have been meaning to send this to all of you and your staff.  My husband and I would like to thank you for giving Celandine Life Prep Academy the opportunity to have the school at your location.  It is a wonderful school with wonderful people.  My son, Ryan, loves this school and all the staff.  This is the first time he has ever said that he wants to go back to school.  He misses his friends and the teachers. This is a big deal.  Ryan feels so safe and welcomed with the staff at Celandine. They truly understand him and his needs. Before Celandine, it was very stressful, heartbreaking to see no clear path for our son, but at Celandine, I see great things and I am very happy and proud to be a part of this community. And thank you from the bottom of our hearts for having us be part of your community. I see wonderful changes now and for the future for these children and their families. Thank you so much.”

When God purposes and we wait on him in prayer and step out in faith, a two-way blessing always unfolds.

The Very Rev. Sarah Bronos is the rector of Church of the Good Shepherd in Maitland, dean of the Central Deanery and a member of the Diocesan Board. She was lay Director of Christian Formation at All Saints’ under the rectorate of Father Dave Wilson for eight years. In 2007 she received her Master of Divinity from Nashotah House Seminary and after ordination became the curate at Incarnation, the new mission plant in Oviedo. In 2009 she was called to be rector of Church of the Good Shepherd. She is former chair and present member of the Clergy Events Committee.