Jacquie Couch, long-time servant at Faith Lutheran, was honoured.

KITCHENER, Ont. – On October 4, 2020, Jacquie Couch, long-time Sunday School superintendent at Faith Lutheran Church, was honoured for more than fifty years of servanthood.

Jacquie has held several positions at Faith over the years. She became a youth group leader along with her husband John when Rev. Raymond Mantynen asked, and one youth in the group was former Central District President Tom Prachar.

“John and I joined the ‘Faith family’ in 1966,” Couch said. “I taught kindergarten at public school, but wanted to be a stay-at-home mom and be part of my children’s Christian education. I started teaching Sunday school. My favourite Bible verse is Joshua 24:15—“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” To this day, Jacquie’s family continues to join her and John at worship.

Jacquie explained how her mother, a registered nurse, had been involved at the Lutheran Church in New Hamburg, influencing Jacquie’s involvement. “She stored and packed relief goods in our family basement. We all helped. She kept important paperwork in a grey bag, a bag which she passed along to me. I used it all these years to keep my paperwork together for Sunday School. It will retire with me.”

Jacquie’s famous grey bag.

“Letting children know ‘Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world’ is a valuable lesson,” Couch says. Involving them teaches skills they will need to serve the Lord in their adult lives. “For our Sunday School opening, children eagerly passed out books and lit the altar candles. They recited the Apostles’ Creed and Ten Commandments with their meanings during openings. They sang during the openings and closings,” which trained them for confirmation and worship.

“I share this tribute with many dedicated individuals,” Couch says. “Pastor Warren Hamp guided us each month with a lesson study. I thank him, our pianist Connie Bender (long serving too!), and all our dedicated teachers over the years who went the extra mile to make lessons meaningful. Thanks also to parents who brought their children to Sunday school each week and supported mission projects.”

Jacquie Couch stresses she could not have done these things all by herself. But the evidence of her faithfulness is clear every time she sits down in church. Jacquie’s reward surrounds her with the very children of Faith who now bring their own children to worship.

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Jane Ford