During Sunday's Children's Story, Janet Mageles of the World of Wonders Nursery School introduces the children of our congregation to young ducklings that were hatched exactly one week ago.

Seeking God’s help

During her sermon on Sunday, June 6, Rev. Ruth Morrison addressed the plight of the oil-saturated birds and animals in the Gulf of Mexico, victims of the disasterous BP oil spill that began in early April.

As a means of emphasizing the fragility of the ducks, pelicans and other sea birds struggling to survive in the gulf, Ruth asked Janet Mageles of the World of Wonders Nursery School to deliver Sunday’s Children Story with a hands-on presentation of how precious an animal’s life can be.

It was just one week ago that Janet served as a surrogate mother during the hatching of 11 duck eggs in the World of Wonders School, located in a portion of our church. As each egg hatched, Janet meticulously cleaned each duckling and nurtured all 11 in the first hours of their lives. In the weeks beforehand, Janet instructed her young students in the importance of turning the duck eggs and maintaining just the right temperature in the incubator, giving the ducklings the best chance for survival.

In describing the incubation and hatching process to the children of our congregation during the Children’s Story, Janet quoted the Bible passage from Isaiah, describing that even with all of her assistance, the ducklings still needed God’s help — as do the ducks and other seabirds now struggling in the Gulf of Mexico.

During the Children’s story, all of the children and some of the adults had the opportunity to handle the ducklings and perhaps better understand the miracle of a young life.

Here are some of those images: