Nine-year-old Evie Chalwell likes learning about God at her new Scripture class because she "gets a chance to share ideas about Jesus'.
The Year Five student at Paddington Public School is attending Scripture for the first time at her school and loves hearing Bible stories such as when Jesus "fed heaps of people with just a few loaves and two fishes'.
"Some people in my Scripture group know different Bible verses that I don’t know and they teach me," she says. "Scripture gives us a chance to share ideas about Jesus and God."
Despite widespread biblical illiteracy in Australian society, children still have a "God-shaped' hole they want filled, according to the new children and family worker at the Eastern Suburbs' largest church.
"I'm constantly amazed at how God opens the eyes of little children," says Robyn Powell, a former TV and radio producer, long-term member of St Matthias', Centennial Park and the church's first paid family worker.
At the beginning of the year the mother of four began teaching Scripture to children at Paddington Public School, located in the middle of the busy Oxford Street shopping strip.
It is the first time in around 15 years that the parish has taught Scripture at the school.
Mrs Powell said filling the "God-shaped hole' would prevent "baggage' children may otherwise carry later in life.
"They all seem to want to belong to God," she said. "There's an innate desire to be a part of his family."
Mrs Powell cites the reaction of older students to the Easter story. "I asked the children what they would think if they were in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus' death," she explains. "They responded with "who will forgive our sins now'?"
As term one draws to a close, about 60 students from Kindergarten to Year Six are attending the classes, which are held once a week with the aid of resources from Anglican Youthworks.
"There seems to be good general knowledge of the Bible and how much the kids know," she explains. "I expected the children to have no biblical knowledge at all. But Paddington surprised me."
As the ministry grows, the encouraging signs are mixed with a dose of apprehension.
"I'm feeling very excited and daunted " the responsibility is very scary," Mrs Powell said. "But I probably enjoy teaching Scripture more than anything else in the world."
The burgeoning ministry is part of a renewed effort to grow the church and reach families following the separation of the parish's multiple university-based churches when former Rector Phillip Jensen became Dean of Sydney in 2003.
St Matthias' hopes to begin a holiday children's program and mid-week kids' club from next year.
