Everyday Hero #12

 September 24, 2022

With the exception of my wife and mother, I’ve noticed that all my Everyday Heroes are men. I didn’t plan it that way; it’s just how things turned out. I’ve been influenced more by men than women. I would expect that if a woman were listing her everyday heroes, most of them would be female.

One non-family member who stands out in my mind is Helen Beach. She wasn’t a leader in the church (back then, that was men-only), but she was a Sunday School teacher…MY Sunday School teacher. Westside Baptist in the early 60’s was a fairly recent church plant in Greece, on the northwest side of Rochester. There were few frills to be had, and our class was no exception. We sat in old theater chairs strung together, folding seats and all. The seats and the kids in them were crammed into a small room in the basement of the church, off the fellowship hall. 

Mrs. Beach stood in front, chalkboard to her back, lesson book and Bible in hand, and did her best to keep the attention of 12 year-old boys and girls, while said boys jockeyed for the back row, so it would be easier to fool around without getting caught. Remember that word “easier.” Catching us might be more of a challenge as she had to look through three rows of kids before getting to us, but it apparently wasn’t impossible, as I learned one Sunday morning.

Did I mention that if nothing else, Mrs. Beach was made of tough stock? I don’t think an entire room full of 12 year old boys would have intimidated her, every as diminutive as she was. So it happened that one Sunday morning as she concluded the  lesson to which I hadn’t been paying attention, I heard my name being called. “Jim Bailey, will you pray for us as we leave the room?”

I was in instant shock. I knew that the concluding prayer was expected to wrap up the main theme of the lesson; and I hadn’t the foggiest idea what that theme might have been. Mrs. Beach was soft-spoken, but relentless; she wasn’t about to let me off the hook. I mumbled and stumbled through the prayer and said “Amen.” 

“In Jesus’ name, Amen!” she thundered. Well, knowing her, I don’t imagine her words were very thunderous, but they shook me to the core. She thanked me, dismissed the class, and never mentioned the matter again. She didn’t need to. I had learned my lesson, and never fooled around in her class again. For her courage and determination to love and teach us 12 year old kids more than a lesson, but also about respect, I nominate Mrs. Helen Beach for my 12th Everyday Hero.