FCA Chapter Begins at Stanton Elementary

HAMMONDSVILLE-Stanton Elementary School has established a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) chapter and fifth- and sixth-grade students are getting involved.

Members meet each Tuesday with adviser Mary Ann Hoobler during their lunch period for a brief Bible study and prayer, and Hoobler, a sixth-grade teacher at Stanton, said she was asked to participate after school officials were approached establish an elementary-level program at the school.

"FCA has been in the high school and middle school and Renee Decker and [Sycamore Youth Center Founder and Executive Director] Bobbyjon Bauman contacted the Edison Local school board. It was approved by the board and I was contacted over the summer," Hoobler explained. "I have been in the ministry for many years and had a mission ministry with my husband, Mark, before he passed away. This is very exciting to be able to do this in school."

She thanked school leaders for allowing her to start the program and said the students received adults' permission to participate.

"We decided to do it during lunch so we can eat lunch and talk," she commented. "I'm excited to see where it goes."

One recent session included about 15 students and the subject was the power of God's love. She accepted prayer requests and continued with her lesson on the 91st Psalm, which reads: "He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

Hoobler shared a tale where an artist was commissioned to paint a portrait depicting God's love, and the result was a storm-ravaged seascape amid dark clouds and a bird perched atop a cliff shielding her babies from the torrent. She said the bird symbolized God's protection amid turbulent times and also likened it to a mother's love.

"His love is that protection in a storm," she added. "It protects us and comforts us and shelters us in the storms of life."

She also referred to Isaiah 66:13, which states, "As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you." The session then closed with a video presentation of the song, "Praise You in this Storm," by the band Casting Crowns.

Meanwhile, Hoobler said there may be plans to invite guest speakers while students could take part in some community events.

"Right now, we are just meeting, but the FCA has outreach events to get involved with as well," she continued, noting one such gathering with local chapters which was set at Harding Middle School.