Early in Anchor Church’s history, the congregation in Buffalo, New York, began renting space from another local congregation with a thriving preschool. After a few years, that congregation decided to sell their building to Anchor. That sale came with a huge opportunity: the chance to continue the long success of North Park Community Preschool.
Reverend Steve Johnson, senior pastor at Anchor Church, reached out to Alicia Stradley, hoping she would serve as preschool director, and build on the momentum of the effective team already serving at North Park. After accepting, Alicia began shadowing the previous director, learning more about the culture and preparing to lead the team.
After Alicia had led the preschool for a time, she stumbled upon a social media post from her friend, Sue Baker, who serves as the Community Integration Manager of Without Walls (WOW), a day habilitation program for developmentally disabled adults.
WOW was seeking opportunities to get their clients into the community to serve and build relationships. Sue shared this on Facebook, wondering if any of her friends might know of chances to serve.
“When I saw she was looking for opportunities within the exact same hours the preschool was open, I reached out saying, ‘Could we explore doing something with you?’” Alicia shared. “And Sue said, ‘What if I bring over a few people to clean toys, and see how it goes?’”
Because safety is a primary concern, Alicia reached out to inform parents of the collaboration, offering them the chance to opt their children out of the program if they preferred. Not a single child was opted out.
“We planned for a toy-cleaning visit twice per month at the start,” recalled Alicia. “But our staff quickly embraced those who came, and that paved the way for our kids to embrace them too. So, we branched out and added one time per month for a shared activity between our WOW friends and the kids.”
Their first project in January was a winter mural, followed by a bingo game in February, a St. Patrick’s Day activity in March, planting seeds together in April, and other outdoor games and meals throughout.
At preschool graduation in June, several WOW friends were present, and Alicia’s team invited them up, recognized them by name, presented them with a medal and thanked them for all the ways they had served throughout the year. During those times, the relationships between the staff, students and WOW friends felt like a tremendous gift from God — as Alicia said, “these relationships have the love of Jesus written all over them,” and that unexpected gift has enriched the lives of everyone involved.
“Alicia included individuals from WOW in a recognition ceremony during their preschool graduation. My guys were so proud of themselves, they wore their medals all day, smiling and showing everyone,” reflected Sue Baker. “I cannot thank Anchor Church and North Park Community Preschool enough for making my individuals feel important and included.”
As Alicia thinks of how this has affected North Park, she stresses how this has felt like a divine gift – something truly beyond her own ability to engineer. The relationships that have grown from this, and the kindness shown, feel like true gifts. “I see our WOW friends out when I’m in the grocery store or just generally out and about — and knowing that I know them and that we’ve built real relationships together matters a lot,” reflected Alicia.
“As Anchor builds a community that is for everyone, we recognize the importance of creating spaces where every individual, regardless of their background or ability, feels valued and included,” said Rev. Johnson. “Our collaboration with programs like Without Walls is a testament to how intentional partnerships can enrich the lives of both our church and our broader community, reflecting the love of Jesus in tangible ways.”
For congregations considering how they might serve adults with developmental disabilities, Alicia stresses the importance of curiosity: asking local experts or service providers questions like, “Is there something you might need in order to fulfill your program that we can partner with?” or “How might we develop space for your clients to find connection?” can go a long way toward creating an environment that includes our neighbors with developmental disabilities who may benefit from a supportive community and a way to give back.
For more stories of how churches and Wesleyans are finding fresh ways of loving God and neighbor, visit wesleyan.org/news.
Rev. Ethan Linder is the pastor of discipleship at College Wesleyan Church in Marion, Indiana, and contributing editor at The Wesleyan Church’s Education and Clergy Development Division.
