Jeff Land has always been a fan of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, the children’s TV show hosted by the late Fred Rogers for more than 30 years. “The way that he spoke to children about difficult subjects was important to me,” says children’s pastor Land, who serves at Sugar Creek Baptist Church just outside of Houston.
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As the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, Pastor Land decided to offer a video series, based on a Mister Rogers approach, to help children comprehend and cope with all the changes taking place.
“So far, our messages have been about wearing masks and the importance of masks and why you shouldn’t be afraid to wear the mask…and you can protect yourself from getting it.”
Land did another show about understanding illness. “We have a staff member who has cancer and so when the kids come back, I wanted them not to be afraid of her because she’s lost her hair. Another show touched on wild weather. “We are in the Houston area, so we do have the threat of hurricanes [in 2017, Hurricane Harvey brought catastrophic flooding and damage to Houston]. And we’ve done another one about manners – honestly we’re just talking to kids about, you know, right now is a good time to hone in on their manners. And when you use good manners, you’re not just showing respect, you’re also showing love and respect for God.”
As for lessons learned from experiencing the pandemic? “I think what we’re really learning is ‘slow down.’ My family, I’ve got four sons, a wife of 19 years – we’re just busy people and this has just sent us to a slowdown phase. We’ve been able to focus on each other more. I would say our marriage has improved through the pandemic. Our relationship with our kids has improved. We’ve had more time together. We’re sitting at the table together more often.”
Pastor Jeff believes we will eventually come out on the other side of this pandemic, “and we’re just keeping our faith. We’re trusting God to do what He says He will. He’s got a plan and we’re going to trust His plan!”
