I have called you friends. –Janie Stevens (1947-2014)

Brendan Murphy on October 2, 2014

W0116044-1_20140924I have called you friends. Janie Stevens (1947-2014) So begins John 15:14-17, the foundational scripture that forms that basis for the Charter for Lifelong Christian Formation Charter that was adopted at the 2009 General Convention. And it captures the life of an Episcopal Christian educator, Janie Stevens, who lost her long battle with cancer on September 22, 2014 surrounded by her loving family. Many Forma members may never have met Janie, although she was always present–if not in person, certainly in thought, prayer, and doing all the behind-the-scenes work. I met Janie in 1998 at a pivotal conference held at Camp Allen in the Diocese of Texas entitled, “Charting a Course for Children and the Church: Leading the Way Into the 21st Century.” It was at that conference that the Authority of Generations (found in Awake My Soul: A Liturgical Resource for use with Children and Adults) made its debut and the Children’s Charter of the Church was lifted up as a model for ministry with, for, and to children in the Episcopal Church. And Janie was in the midst of it all, making sure all were welcome, all logistics were in place, and “the child” was the focus of our time together.
ECCE2003 From left to right, Front row: Janie Stevens, Robyn Szoke, Phil Purser, Margarita Santana, Vicki Garvey, Helen Barron, Bobbie Williamson Back row: Greg Larkin, Joanne Skidmore, Barbara Ross, Chris Jambor, Moises Quezada, Caroline Black, Ruthann Collins, Thom Chu, Jeffri Harre, Sharon Pearson, Lou Taylor
Janie was the ultimate Christian educator, starting off like many of us, as a teen volunteer Sunday School teacher in her home congregation. She served as Director of Religious Education at Holy Comforter in Angleton, Texas and then St. Timothy’s in Lake Jackson for over twenty years. In 2000 she became the Missioner for Christian Formation for the Diocese of Texas, a position she held for ten years. She was a founding member of Forma (then NAECED – National Association of Episcopal Christian Education Directors) and member of NOERC (National Organization of Episcopal Resource Centers). She built three resource libraries in Texas–Houston, Austin, and Tyler. She was an advocate for multi-cultural resources before many in the Church considered their importance. I grew to know Janie well when we worked together on the Episcopal Council for Christian Education (ECCE), the provincial network of Christian educators that supported the ministry of the Office of Children’s Ministries & Christian Education for the Episcopal Church. She was one of the reps from Province 7 and I from Province 1. Meeting two times a year, our band of Christian educators designed, planned, and implemented a number of conferences, including Will Our Faith Have Children? Faith Formation Generation to Generation (Chicago, 2003) and Wrestling with the Big Questions (Indianapolis, 2006). Out of these conferences came new ideas, new processes, and renewed energy in the Episcopal Church for ministry with children and the idea of lifelong learning in our congregations. Perhaps many of you took a workshop with Janie at Forma or Kanuga over the years; on how to use children’s literature in the classroom or how to choose curriculum. And many of us have used the variety of curricula she has had a hand in creating: Safe Guarding God’s Children (with Praesidium) and was the Diocese of Texas “safe church” person for a number of years; Growing Together: Secular Celebrations for Spring and Summer, Vol. 4 (Morehouse Education Resources); The Discovery Series: A Christian Journey (Diocese of Texas)and Across the Miles (a resource for families with members in the armed services written with the Office of Lifelong Christian Formation of the Episcopal Church). Fast forward a few years to the budget issues that led to instability for staffing on the church-wide level–and a cry from Christian educators across the Church. Janie was one of those advocates, working behind the scenes making sure we didn’t forget the children. She was instrumental in the creation of the Standing Commission on Lifelong Christian Education and Formation (of which she was the current Chair upon her death). And she was the thread that is woven throughout the Charter for Lifelong Christian Formation; having participated in the team that initially met to create the document as well as the writing team that saw it to its final edition. Lots of sweat and blood went into that document. But more than anything, Janie was passionate about Christian formation and the friends she made on her lifelong journey. Many longtime Forma members can share many personal stories of laughter and tears as we traveled the Episcopal Church proclaiming the Good News of Jesus, being called by the Good Shepherd to cool streams of water, growth, and even those dark places. Ask some of us “old timers” to share some stories. Invite us to share the legacy that Janie Stevens has left us. I’m sure we’ll be happy to share. At Janie’s memorial service, she left us with this; her voice being heard as the Gospel was proclaimed:

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. John 10:11-16

  SharonPearsonSharon Ely Pearson is a long-time Forma member, Christian educator of “too many years to count”, and an editor with Church Publishing Incorporated.