Every day between lunch and wellness class, second-graders at Holy Family School in Lacey spent most of Lent writing to 200 seniors, many of them cooped up because of the pandemic.

Their efforts provided lessons in prayer, gratitude and the importance of reaching out to those in need.

“Sometimes nobody gets letters, and they’re happy to get one,” said Grace, one of 10 students in Ann Saunders’ socially distanced class at Holy Family, which is affiliated with Sacred Heart Parish.

“It makes them happy because maybe they’re having a hard time,” said her classmate John.

“It’s a kind thing to do,” added Molly.

In each note, students wrote that they were praying for the seniors from Sacred Heart, wished them a blessed day and included an original drawing — on one day, the artwork included a rainbow with hearts, an image of Mary, spring flowers and a Resurrection Easter egg.

A student draws a Resurrection Easter egg for a senior. Photo: Stephen Brashear

“The students are learning the power of prayer,” Saunders said, “because we pray a decade of the rosary every day, and the intentions during Lent are for the senior citizens. Now they really are thinking of the person they wrote to that day. It just melts my heart.”

Christina Alton, Holy Family’s principal, said Saunders’ “spirit of prayer and writing has inspired a generation of learners of all ages.”

Gratitude in the mail

Saunders, a Sacred Heart parishioner, said she began writing notes to hundreds of senior members of the parish during in a “Thinking of you” campaign during last year’s lockdown. When Lent rolled around and her students needed to select an act of kindness for the season, she thought they could adopt the project.

Saunders and her students weren’t expecting the seniors to write back.

“Thank you very much for the kind wishes — and I appreciate the prayers during Lent,” wrote one woman. “We are grandparents and haven’t been able to spend time with our grandchildren.”

Ann Saunders loves teaching second grade at Holy Family School in Lacey. Photo: Stephen Brashear

Another letter came from a 94-year-old woman living in a nursing home. “It is a delight to receive your good wishes,” she wrote. “Before the virus got so bad, I liked going to Sunday church at Sacred Heart. Last month I got vaccinated. … It will be nice, won’t it, when we all get vaccinated and won’t have to worry about the virus.”

“It just blows my mind,” Saunders said of the responses the class has received, now posted on a “grateful wall” in the classroom. “It’s been so fun to read them.”

One woman brought smiley face balloons for everyone in the class. “She wanted to thank us for the fact that we were remembering her and her husband in our prayers, and they are now praying for us,” Saunders said.

Smiley face balloons were a gift from a senior to thank the class for their kindness and prayers.

When those 7- and 8-year-olds hear that the seniors are praying for them, too, “their eyes just get so big,” Saunders said.

“These letters from the children of Ms. Saunders’ class have touched the hearts of many people that are suffering from the isolation" of the pandemic, said Father Tim Ilgen, Sacred Heart’s pastor. “The love and joy of God has spread far and wide because of this simple gesture of kindness.”

Growing in faith

Deacon Terry Barber, who is assigned to Sacred Heart and does a monthly prayer service at Holy Family School, was among those who received a letter. “It was a real thrill and a surprise to get a note from them,” said Deacon Barber, a retired educator. “I had no idea this was one of their Lenten projects.” 

After his regular prayer service (streamed from a room elsewhere on the school campus), Deacon Barber paid a surprise visit to the class to thank them. He also wrote them a note: “I really appreciate knowing you are praying for me during Lent. I am doing the same for you! I love you and so does our kind and loving God.” 

Second-graders pray the Stations of the Cross with their teacher, Ann Saunders, in the grotto at Holy Family School. Photo: Stephen Brashear

It has been a busy, faith-filled year for the second-graders. 

At school, they’ve memorized the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be, the Apostles’ Creed and the Fatima Prayer, and learned about the Stations of the Cross and the Mass, Saunders said. And each week, a student is identified as the prayer leader for the class. The students also have prepared at Sacred Heart Parish for first reconciliation and first Communion. For two weeks at school, Saunders helped reinforce what her students learned about reconciliation and examining your conscience. 

“I just want them to realize they are loved by Jesus,” she said. 

So what do the second-graders think Jesus would say about them writing letters to seniors? 

Only a couple of hands were raised as students pondered that tough question, but one student, Marco, summed it up: “He would like it.” 

With the Lenten letters behind them and the pandemic seeming to wane, the goal is for her students to stay in touch with Sacred Heart’s seniors — after all, Saunders says, everyone needs to know someone is thinking about them and Jesus loves them.

Northwest Catholic – May 2021