Terrapin Station

Kids in Church

I visited a new church this weekend. It's one I've been to before, for special services and on Saturday night, but this was the first time on a Sunday morning.

I liked it very much. It reminds me of the church I grew up in, architecturally and personality-wise, despite the "high church" flourishes that prevail up here in The North Country. 

This parish had switched from Rite II to Rite I for Lent, so Eucharist was words that were deeply familiar and also new-ish to me, through recent non-use.

During the Gospel I realized that there weren't very many children in the nave and wondered about it.

And then during the Eucharist, I saw children and adults outside, coming past the windows on my right, obviously joining the congregation for Communion. I was so enchanted with looking at them as they passed the narrow windows that I almost missed my opportunity to go up for Communion. 

The kids came, and came, and kept coming. They had clearly been doing a craft that involved making foam visors with foam stickers on them, and most were wearing their creations. And they were all smiling broadly. 

And so was I.

Have you seen this piece going around Facebook called, "Your Screaming Kids are Distracting Me"? I was finding it very distracting to be in a church without children. So grateful that so many came to surprise me! 

 

 (image from Michaels.com)

Weasel Children

Over at RevGals, we feature a single mom preacher who wonders about having children in church, and how parents get any time to worship that way? 

I've not dealt with this; I'm not a pastor and I met my younger stepson when he was 8.  (By which time he was already sure he hated church.  But that's a whole 'nother story.) 

BUT.  I still love today's post!  I wrote recently about how I fell in love with Children's Church, and while I don't think my particular church does everything right (far from it!), I do think that our solution on this one is pretty good.  Children leave at the beginning of service after a blessing from the rector, and go to a separate chapel service that's modeled after what's happening in the main church - or, in the case of the later service, they do a Godly Play story.  Then they return at the passing of the peace, before communion (which we have every week) so that the families are together for that part of the service.  Sunday School for all ages is held in between the two later services. 

With this plan, everyone gets to worship at a level that works for them (and I must say that Children's Church is currently seeming entirely age-appropriate for me, personally). 

The other way of doing it, which I love, is a separate service.  I am crazy about my friend Julia's church's practice of having a special service twice a month.  They call it Heavenly Sunshine...read about it here.    I also have friends in the Church of England who have what they call Messy Church, and I'm deeply intrigued by this also. (ooooo.....Messy!)

I am in church today because I was taken to church as a child.  In my post referenced above, I mention that I was REQUIRED to sit still, etc.  Fortunately for everyone, I am the type of personality & physical human being who was able to do that.  This was years before recognition of ADHD, bipolar, or other chemical brain disorders; if a kid misbehaved, he must just be a bad kid!  Or have bad parents!  

Guess what: my parents had other children who were NOT able to do the sitting still thing.  And there are plenty of kids and parents in that boat.  So recognizing where people are, and meeting them there as you are able, seems to me like the only Christian way to handle it.   

What do you think?