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BY PATRICK BUTLER
Religion Editor

When it came to forming a Sunday school class at her church for special needs adults, Judi Staton said "no." It was "no" to her pastor and "no" to her friends. And, she said, it was "no" to God almost every Sunday.

"I wrestled with this question just about every weekend since 2004," said Mrs. Staton at the Agape class for special needs adults on Sunday. "The whole time I said 'no' God kept saying 'yes, we need to do this.' So God was talking to me and I'd present the idea to the church. People would say 'That's wonderful. Would you be the leader?' and my answer would be "no."

The problem was not a hesitancy to get involved with special needs adults. A career public school instructor with experience in early childhood education and the mother of a special needs adult daughter, Mrs. Staton was unquestionably equipped. The obstacle, she said, was at home.

"I told them 'Windie needs someone teaching her who is not her mother,'" said Mrs. Staton. "That was my answer for two, three years, maybe."

But Windie was getting tired of going to a church where she didn't fit in.

"One Sunday Windie told me she didn't want to go to church," said Mrs. Staton. "She said going to church made her sad 'because it's one more time I find out there's not a place for me.'"

That did it.

"God finally got my attention," said Mrs. Staton. "I went the next day and told my pastor, 'I don't know how to do this. I'm fearful of it; I don't know what to do.' But we just had to step out, do this, have a Sunday school class and see what happened."

What happened was shown off Palm Sunday with 18 happy participants at the Agape Sunday school class. Lay song leader Billy Black led the class in a boisterous singing session. Each broadly smiling student, sitting around a cube-formation of tables, was equipped with a tambourine and sang away at "As The Saints Go Marching In." When the verse "I want to be in that number" came by, it was sung with loud conviction.

The Agape class - which loosely translated from the Greek means "Divine Love" - is made up of black, white, male and female. The youngest is 38, the oldest, 72; James, John, Johnnie, Jim and Michael; Debbie, Tammy, Windie, Wanda, Pearly, Lila and Jeanette; Gary, Larry, Philip, and Georgeanne.

Reflecting on her past doubts, Mrs. Staton said, "It was as if once I said 'OK, God, whatever, I'll do it,' God said, 'OK now, listen to me. You trusted me and I'm going to show you, I've got it all lined out here.' Billy came by and said he wanted to lead the songs. Cynthia came to teach the class. People stepped out to help."

And make no mistake, said class instructor Cynthia Sample, the class is listening. When the Palm Sunday lesson is given, there are plenty of answers to her questions.

"God is really helping them hang onto some of this stuff," smiled Mrs. Sample who is a public school instructor. She is the teacher Mrs. Staton was so-wanting to see for the class.

That the students learn and can do it well may surprise some church-goers. But one of the surprised isn't Windie Staton.

"We can do anything anyone else can," she said. "We can do it maybe slower or maybe with one hand or see with one eye to do it. But if you put down a shoe and say 'tie it' we'll figure out how to tie it one way or another, if someone teaches us or we have to do it ourselves. We can do just about anything as good, if not better."

That kind of 'can-do' spirit does not appear to belong alone to Windie. Johnnie, 58, likes to preach and wants to be "a missionary for Jesus." Jeanette whips out a pen and notebook, taking notes throughout the lesson. Wanda laughs her way through the lesson, often answering questions first. If she's wrong, she simply persists until she gets it right.

SERVING GOD

Mrs. Sample said, "One of the most beautiful parts of this Sunday school class is that we're not just Methodists," she said. "We're just Christians loving Christians, serving God. There's no agenda, politics or judgment. People are just coming and laughing and singing and talking to each other, and we're having a good time."

There is a lost opportunity to respond to special needs spiritual seekers, said Mrs. Staton.

"Society is starting to include special needs people in schools and athletic events," she said. "But we're missing that inclusion in our church life. It's a lost population. The larger churches, like (Tyler's) Green Acres Baptist Church, have been able to do this and a couple of others but not many. Whatever we're doing here is working. We need to get the word out to other churches and maybe we can help them get it to work too."

Mrs. Sample said, "I think there's a huge population of the parents and siblings of these people who often feel they are not welcome in churches because they cannot conform to the stereotypical idea of 'you sit still and be reverent in church.' It's not just individuals with special needs that are lost to the church. It' s the parents and siblings, the care-givers at home, that are missing out on Sunday because they're busy at home being care-givers."

She paused and looked at Mrs. Staton and Windie. The class had dismissed and piled into vans, returning to their group homes until next Sunday. Mrs. Sample finally said, "You're going to have to be willing to be in the trenches and be open-minded, truly accepting of all of God's children. Not just the ones who fit."