Saturday, July 28, 2007
Cleaned Up Art Room
I just have to mention this because I'm so gratified. If you're a Gethsemane person & you've seen the mess the art room we use in Sunday School has been...take a peak now. It's not "done"...the floor isn't swept, there are a couple other things...but what a breath of fresh air. I spent hours today sorting through markers & paper & paint & glitter mixed with feathers & sequins & face paint... It looks so much better now. I can just feel the potential of the organized & opened up space. This will be better for all involved. Now both of the Sunday School rooms have some transformation and the start of Sunday School will be here before I know it.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Something They Like
In spite of all the boredom sometimes associated with church, preferences to be in the play room, occassional requests not to go, and the impression that the most compelling part of the experience might be cookies after the service, I've also noted the following.
When my family was doing a little exercise that involved each of us saying something we like about each of the rest of us, one of my kids listed about me, the fact that I take them to church.
When things came together on a recent Sunday such that we didn't go to church, one of my kids was clearly disappointed.
My kids want to be able to have communion. They will say so, and if behavior issues have caused us to make an exit from the service, they want to get back in in time to receive communion.
To the best of my knowledege none of this comes from any negative motivation such as fear. I don't think things have been presented to them that way and I certainly hope that's not how they've heard things.
I think there are things that genuinely interest them and draw them to church. I don't know exactly what they are. I'd like to imagine deep positive spiritual impulses. It could easily be things much more mundane. Then again, we draw too much distinction between the the spiritual and the mundane. They're intricately intertwined.
I'd like to know what goes through my kids' heads. I'm probably better off not knowing for sure (as if I could). If I could put my finger on it, I'd be likely to go in and muck it up. This way I might keep a more open mind & heart: observing, experimenting, learning as we go, watching for the wind & the flame of the Spirit as it moves.
When my family was doing a little exercise that involved each of us saying something we like about each of the rest of us, one of my kids listed about me, the fact that I take them to church.
When things came together on a recent Sunday such that we didn't go to church, one of my kids was clearly disappointed.
My kids want to be able to have communion. They will say so, and if behavior issues have caused us to make an exit from the service, they want to get back in in time to receive communion.
To the best of my knowledege none of this comes from any negative motivation such as fear. I don't think things have been presented to them that way and I certainly hope that's not how they've heard things.
I think there are things that genuinely interest them and draw them to church. I don't know exactly what they are. I'd like to imagine deep positive spiritual impulses. It could easily be things much more mundane. Then again, we draw too much distinction between the the spiritual and the mundane. They're intricately intertwined.
I'd like to know what goes through my kids' heads. I'm probably better off not knowing for sure (as if I could). If I could put my finger on it, I'd be likely to go in and muck it up. This way I might keep a more open mind & heart: observing, experimenting, learning as we go, watching for the wind & the flame of the Spirit as it moves.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Crowded Altar
The kids' rug was crowded yesterday. Sometimes so was the altar. Not really crowded, there was plenty of room, it was just that Aron's kids made their way up to him a couple times during the service, adding an extra person or two at the altar.
It was wonderful. I don't know if I can find the words to explain it...but I felt it. There was something good about it. Something moving about it.
I can very much appreciate the benefits of formality, adherence to rules of ritual, silence and solemnity, etc. But there is also something good and right about the freedom and presence of the kids Sunday.
What is that good and right thing? My (hopefully not too rambling) thoughts and theories to explain my sense of it follow.
Jesus' words, "suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not." This makes sense. How could Aron, as a priest or as a father forbid the presence of his children with him as he ministers in a service? He couldn't. They belong there. "For of such is the kingdom of heaven." The kids help us realize that this service isn't just about something that we as adults access through our abilities to think and believe and act in a formalized manner. It's about real life and it has to touch us and apply where the rubber meets the road in day to day life and relationships - otherwise what does it mean?
It reminds us that church (at least ideally) is an egalitarian thing. The meanings of church and the Christian community apply to everyone, not just those who can sit still and quiet long enough, or who can understand enough, etc. The way we conduct church should reflect that.
It reminds us that the gospel talks about the importance of us all being as little children. It's not just the priest's kids who belong there on the altar. We all do. The kids' presence just helps us see that. On the one hand I understand the importance of designated roles in which people serve as bearers of religious symbols and the meanings they convey. Yet on the other hand, sometimes those roles separate us too much from each other and from some aspects of our spiritual lives. All of us - laity and clergy alike, children and adults alike, healthy and sick alike, women and men alike...and those fitting many other dichotomies in which we think - all of us, like the kids on the altar, are wandering around in holy places, both profoundly aware and profoundly naive of that which surrounds us; holy places of both religion and life in general that speak of the ultimacies of life & death, that are filled with the presence of the divine, that are infused with struggle as well as grace and love. We are all moving about in this holy place of life with things to receive and things to give.
The image of a little girl at the altar next to her parent celebrating the Eucharist and the deacon standing behind, can be a powerful image.
It was wonderful. I don't know if I can find the words to explain it...but I felt it. There was something good about it. Something moving about it.
I can very much appreciate the benefits of formality, adherence to rules of ritual, silence and solemnity, etc. But there is also something good and right about the freedom and presence of the kids Sunday.
What is that good and right thing? My (hopefully not too rambling) thoughts and theories to explain my sense of it follow.
Jesus' words, "suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not." This makes sense. How could Aron, as a priest or as a father forbid the presence of his children with him as he ministers in a service? He couldn't. They belong there. "For of such is the kingdom of heaven." The kids help us realize that this service isn't just about something that we as adults access through our abilities to think and believe and act in a formalized manner. It's about real life and it has to touch us and apply where the rubber meets the road in day to day life and relationships - otherwise what does it mean?
It reminds us that church (at least ideally) is an egalitarian thing. The meanings of church and the Christian community apply to everyone, not just those who can sit still and quiet long enough, or who can understand enough, etc. The way we conduct church should reflect that.
It reminds us that the gospel talks about the importance of us all being as little children. It's not just the priest's kids who belong there on the altar. We all do. The kids' presence just helps us see that. On the one hand I understand the importance of designated roles in which people serve as bearers of religious symbols and the meanings they convey. Yet on the other hand, sometimes those roles separate us too much from each other and from some aspects of our spiritual lives. All of us - laity and clergy alike, children and adults alike, healthy and sick alike, women and men alike...and those fitting many other dichotomies in which we think - all of us, like the kids on the altar, are wandering around in holy places, both profoundly aware and profoundly naive of that which surrounds us; holy places of both religion and life in general that speak of the ultimacies of life & death, that are filled with the presence of the divine, that are infused with struggle as well as grace and love. We are all moving about in this holy place of life with things to receive and things to give.
The image of a little girl at the altar next to her parent celebrating the Eucharist and the deacon standing behind, can be a powerful image.
Crowded Carpet
There was a crowd of kids in church yesterday. It was wonderful.
The carpet in the kids' area was full of small kids and parents.
It was so much easier to manage the behavior of my youngest because there were so many other kids around to keep things from getting too adult oriented and boring.
It was so much easier to manage the behavior of my oldest because sitting with me in a pew today made more sense than sprawling on the rug fighting over things with a younger sibling.
And I could start to imagine and feel what it might be like to have this kind of group of kids as a regular part of our Sunday morning worship and the Gethsemane community.
Welcome. Welcome back. And thank you.
The carpet in the kids' area was full of small kids and parents.
It was so much easier to manage the behavior of my youngest because there were so many other kids around to keep things from getting too adult oriented and boring.
It was so much easier to manage the behavior of my oldest because sitting with me in a pew today made more sense than sprawling on the rug fighting over things with a younger sibling.
And I could start to imagine and feel what it might be like to have this kind of group of kids as a regular part of our Sunday morning worship and the Gethsemane community.
Welcome. Welcome back. And thank you.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Somebody Has Been Painting in My Room
I was like the 3 bears coming back to their house to find that somebody had been doing things there.
I peeked into my Sunday School art room and found that somebody had been in the art room and messed it all up. (Well it's always a mess. Now it's worse).
I went to the next room and found that someone had been there and re-arranged things rather nicely. Did somebody run some kind of program while I'd been away? Were they planning for something I don't know about yet?
Then it clicked.....somebody has been in this room and they've painted it all up! The ugly paint under the awful chalkboard that was taken down months ago has been replaced by a warm blue color all over the walls. Wonderful!
Unlike the bears, I have yet to find the person who did all these things. If they have run off, I'm sure someone knows where to find them. They should be sought out and thanked.
I peeked into my Sunday School art room and found that somebody had been in the art room and messed it all up. (Well it's always a mess. Now it's worse).
I went to the next room and found that someone had been there and re-arranged things rather nicely. Did somebody run some kind of program while I'd been away? Were they planning for something I don't know about yet?
Then it clicked.....somebody has been in this room and they've painted it all up! The ugly paint under the awful chalkboard that was taken down months ago has been replaced by a warm blue color all over the walls. Wonderful!
Unlike the bears, I have yet to find the person who did all these things. If they have run off, I'm sure someone knows where to find them. They should be sought out and thanked.
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