Shelly Gabel: PACT Teacher
I have been a member of Peace Lutheran Church for many years. My family moved to Sioux Falls in 1972, and we joined the church shortly after. Back then, the church was just getting started. I remember the building being very small, unlike what it is today. It had one big room where we had both church and Sunday School. My family and I would attend the church service first, and then we would have Sunday School. After the service, everyone would fold up their folding chairs and pull out the accordion walls to make small classrooms for Sunday School. I can honestly say the church has come a long way since then.
During the summers, my brother and I also participated in Bible School. As I got older, I attended confirmation classes and became actively involved in the youth group program. I enjoyed making new friends and participating in activities that youth group had to offer. My fondest memory was traveling to the East Coast in the church bus for two weeks with 23 other kids and chaperones. Looking back, I feel the youth group program truly set a tone for my involvement at church.
After high school, I moved away to attend college and then later to New Mexico for my first job. Even though I was not living in Sioux Falls for many years, I always came home and attended church at Peace with my family. Peace Lutheran is and will always be “my church”!
In 2002, I moved back to Sioux Falls and was later blessed with my son, Dakota, in 2003. Ever since he was a baby, we attended church weekly as a family with my mom and dad. As he got a little older, I wanted him to love Peace Lutheran as much as I do. I wanted him to know God and Jesus and all of the amazing things they have done for us. I wanted him to hear and learn the wonderful stories of the Bible, so I got him involved in activities as soon as he was able.
When Dakota was about one and a half years old, I heard about a new program starting at Peace called PACT—Parent and Child Together. I figured this would be a great way for him to start learning about the stories of the Bible and hang out with other children his age. Plus, I got to be with him through his first step in his faith journey! Together we had a lot of fun singing and listening to stories. Through PACT, I was also able to connect and meet other parents in the class,which was a bonus!
After two years of attending PACT with Dakota, I was asked to volunteer and teach the class. Originally, I started by team teaching with Ms. Sara, who actually was the person who brought the idea of this program to Peace. We alternated teaching the class every other week. After a couple years, I took over the PACT Program…and the rest is history!
I have now been teaching PACT at Peace for 18 years, with the exception of one year due to the pandemic. We started with just one class time on Sundays, growing to now three classes—two on Sunday and one on Wednesday nights.
I feel blessed to have been given this opportunity. PACT has given me the chance to use my education degree to teach little ones about God’s love for them and share his stories. It has been exciting to watch these children come into class as 1, 2, and 3 year olds and seeing them as young adults now. Some of my former students even come back to visit. The last 18 years have been very memorable!
If you have little ones, I want to invite you to check out our class. For those of you who are on the fence about joining a program or volunteering…take the leap!