Letter: Don't Close Black Rock Nursery School

[Editor’s Note: Black Rock Congregational Church is undergoing what its members have termed The Lighthouse Project, a plan to expand the church in order to accommodate an increased number of parishioners, services, and programs, according to the church’s website.

Expansion construction is scheduled to begin this summer. Neither the church nor the preschool will be able to operate out of the building during this time. The church will operate out of Notre Dame Catholic High School of Fairfield and First Presbyterian Church until construction is complete in the fall of 2013.

According to a letter sent to Black Rock Congregational Church’s parishioners, the search to find both a temporary or permanent home for the nursery school proved fruitless. The school will “cease operations” upon the end of this school year in June, according to the letter.]

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I started to go to Black Rock Congregational Church with my girlfriend about a year and a half ago. My initial visit was very enjoyable. I looked forward to going back there week after week. The people were extremely friendly, the sermons were good and the music was uplifting.

My girlfriend has been a nursery school teacher there for 10 years. Her children went through the nursery school program as well as the children of many of the teachers and pastors. There are approved plans to triple the size of the church with no plans for the nursery school.

Why is the nursery school not included? No one knows why! There are 17 wonderful, caring, well loved teachers that will be faced in this economy without a job, which is very unsettling. The parents of about 70 children already signed up for the coming year are also faced with trying to find a nursery school for their children. I could only see the nursery school as an asset to the funding and the future of this new church. Black Rock Nursery School has a five-star rating.

The reason for the increased size is to reach out to the community and bring in more families and their children. I could only hope that who ever made this unjust decision please rethink this great mistake and announce the real reason for this poor business decision, which has still not been made public. Please let the people of the church vote and not make this decision alone.

There were plans for a new location for the nursery school which Black Rock was backing until just recently, they backed out on their support. Why are they not backing this nursery school? Millions of dollars go out to missions programs all over the world. What's wrong with supporting an already flourishing ministry like the nursery school? No one knows why! Why are there so many questions with no answers?

Please don’t let this wonderful opportunity be taken away for the children in the years to come and keep these wonderful teachers on staff for many more children and families to enjoy .