Merle Kyles, age 93, has been teaching Sunday School and Vacation Bible School to children for 48 years at New Salem Baptist Church outside of Reform on County Road 3. Her church and her family have spoken of the immense impact she has had on their lives.
Kyles has taught three generations of her family while she has been teaching Sunday School. She taught her children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren in Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, as well as many others who have come through the doors of her classroom at New Salem.
Kyles began teaching Sunday School in 1985. She and her husband, George, joined New Salem in 1978. Her Sunday School class was once called the Lighthouse and is made up of small preschool children who enjoy Kyles’ Bible Stories and crafts. Kyles says she asks the children questions and makes sure they understand what she has taught.
Over her 48 years, she has taught children young and old. Kyles taught in Vacation Bible School this year, and she had perfect attendance. She attended from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. every night throughout the week of Bible School and even attended on her birthday, which was July 10th.
Family commitment
Kyles’ two daughters and her son, their children and grandchildren attend church at New Salem, and they are all committed to service both in their church and community. She and her husband have been an example to their children and church family, creating a legacy of faith. All the members of her family carry out the duties of serving the Lord in their church, their community and their family.
Kyles has a large family. She and her husband were married for 66 years. They have 3 children, 7 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.
Kyles worked at Bryce Hospital for a while in her younger years as a stenographer and later at Druid City Hospital in the x-ray department. Kyles graduated from Gordo High School. She moved to Tuscaloosa for a while and then she moved back to Pickens County in the 70s.
Kyles began teaching because there was a need for volunteers in the Sunday School department, and she felt led to serve. She had always wanted to go to school to become a second grade elementary school teacher but instead had to work to help her parents. She believes God had plans for her to teach His Word to children at church.
“I think it was something I just wanted to do, and the church needed volunteers,” Kyles said.
Love for children
When asked what her favorite thing about teaching Sunday School is, Kyles said, “I just love it. I love children. I have always loved children. I did have a desire to teach the second grade. I think this is something that helps me and fills me since I didn’t have the opportunity to teach second grade. I think teaching the Word is very important especially now a days. We try to stress different things in the lesson. We ask the children questions, and they tell us the answers.”
When Kyles begins to read the Bible story in Sunday School, the children always come around enthusiastically, sit down and listen to her attentively.
Her family spoke of children who had been in her class that had terrible home lives. They spoke of one student who died as a teenager, but they were so comforted to know that he had been taught the lifesaving Word of Jesus Christ by Kyles.
Kyles once taught a class on becoming a Christian and nearly all the children in the class came to know the Lord during that time. She continues to have an impact on lives even in her 90s.
Influencing next generation
Kyles says she reads her Bible every morning and prays. She prays for the children in her class, her family and the needs of others. Her grandchildren have seen Kyles and her husband praying and calling out all the names of the people in their family. Kyles’ granddaughter has started praying for the members of her family by name and says she got the idea from watching her grandmother. This is just one example of the lasting impact Kyles has made on her family.
When asked what keeps her getting up and going to church every Sunday and teaching, Kyles said, “It is very important to me. It is a habit for one thing. I have always gone to church and Sunday School. I just want to come and be a part of it. It helps me. Now a days life is more difficult with the times we are living in. It encourages me to come and listen. … I love coming to church. I look forward to it.”
Legacy of faith
One of her granddaughters, Rylee Clark, shared a journal with me where Kyles had written pages upon pages of Bible stories and given to her. They are the stories she was teaching in Sunday School at that time. It was done in beautiful handwriting and is a keepsake for the family.
“I remember growing up with Granny,” said her granddaughter, Carmen Adams. “Me and my brother, Quinten, spent a lot of time with Granny at her house. She truly is the same person at home that you see on Sunday morning.”
Kyles loves when children come up to her in the community and remember that she taught them.
“It thrills me that they would remember that I did do something to encourage them and help them,” said Kyles.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This article was written by Donna Bain and originally appeared in the Pickens County Herald. It is reprinted with permission.
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