Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it" (Mark 10:14-15, NRSV).
We just completed five days of Vacation Bible School (VBS) last night. What I appreciated most about these evening sessions was getting better acquainted with some of the children of St. Peter's United Church of Christ and the children of the other churches who came to participate. Sadly, a new pastor often meets the children last. Children do not appear on search committees or church councils or in the adult fellowship groups. They are visible--we want little children to be present--but in some ways they are also invisible, left in the background. It was a joy to finally meet our children in the context of Vacation Bible School.
This week I went back in memory to the first time I was able to attend VBS. Just across the back fence from my childhood home was Zion United Church of Christ (Zion-St. Paul UCC) in Bay, Missouri. In the summer, in the years before I was old enough to go to VBS, I would hear the happy sounds of little children at play. I would catch glimpses of them darting around the church yard at recess. I could see them touching the old cistern pump as a base, a safe place, while playing tag. When I was finally old enough to attend VBS myself, I was delighted to be there. I had grown up! It was all very good.
I remember VBS. I remember Miss Ricka Leimkueller telling us a story about the danger of guns. I remember Mrs. Lillian Schneider, the pastor's wife, teaching us to sing "We Shall Overcome" in addition to the songs with motions that little children loved to sing. While I was unaware at the time, I now see that it took some courage to teach us to resist violence and work for the liberation of others. We learned those songs during the civil rights movement and Vietnam. At VBS, we received resources to be compassionate and understanding, to begin to find our way faithfully in the world. Even as little children, we began to imagine a "Just World for All." I remember the Bible stories about God creating the world, Moses parting the Red Sea, the Ten Commandments, and Jesus calling his disciples and calming the stormy sea. I remember the parables of the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan. I remember the Good Shepherd, who lays his life down for the sake of the sheep. I remember craft projects that took some time to complete and are still among the treasured artifacts in my study. Later, when I was a youth in that church, the adults trusted me to help teach at VBS. This was a formative influence in who I am today. I am grateful.
So, I wonder what VBS might mean to the children I got to know a bit better this week. I wonder whether we have provided them with resources that might guide and steady them throughout their lives. Did we teach them to trust Jesus through life's storms? Did we teach them to sing the songs of freedom and hope? Did we teach them to be compassionate and loving with all people? Did we give them songs and stories to anchor their faith in God now and in the times yet to come? Did we teach them to resist evil and violence, to choose another path in life? That is certainly the prayer of my heart as I remember the week we shared. It is my prayer for our children.
I also wonder about the way we are doing Christian education/Christian faith formation now. It seems churches have such a compressed schedule. Everything overlaps--especially on Sunday mornings. We are in such a hurry, controlled by the clock and our overloaded lives. The children come to worship, but they do not stay there for long. When are they present for a whole service? We trust the curriculum and the videos to do the teaching for us, rather than sharing the scripture stories and our own experience of God. A lot appears to have changed in the time between my first experience with VBS and what we do now. Perhaps I am just getting old and overly anxious. I wonder, however, whether we are providing the depth, the foundation for faith that will last for a lifetime. What are the texts and stories that our children will take to heart--resources to sustain them when sickness and sorrow, conflicts and troubles come into their lives? Will there be depth of soul, resilience of hope, and reality of love? Will they know that they are always accepted and accompanied by a God who knows them by name and loves them forever? So, I am wondering if we can go deeper, rethinking and adapting, revising our ways of doing Christian faith formation, so that we incorporate what was good from the past into today's ways of teaching our children.
O God, grant us faith that endures and sees us through. Bless all the little children . . . those near and dear to us and those who are distant and unfamiliar to us. Bless them with your love. Bless them, Lord Jesus, with your life. Amen.
We just completed five days of Vacation Bible School (VBS) last night. What I appreciated most about these evening sessions was getting better acquainted with some of the children of St. Peter's United Church of Christ and the children of the other churches who came to participate. Sadly, a new pastor often meets the children last. Children do not appear on search committees or church councils or in the adult fellowship groups. They are visible--we want little children to be present--but in some ways they are also invisible, left in the background. It was a joy to finally meet our children in the context of Vacation Bible School.
This week I went back in memory to the first time I was able to attend VBS. Just across the back fence from my childhood home was Zion United Church of Christ (Zion-St. Paul UCC) in Bay, Missouri. In the summer, in the years before I was old enough to go to VBS, I would hear the happy sounds of little children at play. I would catch glimpses of them darting around the church yard at recess. I could see them touching the old cistern pump as a base, a safe place, while playing tag. When I was finally old enough to attend VBS myself, I was delighted to be there. I had grown up! It was all very good.
I remember VBS. I remember Miss Ricka Leimkueller telling us a story about the danger of guns. I remember Mrs. Lillian Schneider, the pastor's wife, teaching us to sing "We Shall Overcome" in addition to the songs with motions that little children loved to sing. While I was unaware at the time, I now see that it took some courage to teach us to resist violence and work for the liberation of others. We learned those songs during the civil rights movement and Vietnam. At VBS, we received resources to be compassionate and understanding, to begin to find our way faithfully in the world. Even as little children, we began to imagine a "Just World for All." I remember the Bible stories about God creating the world, Moses parting the Red Sea, the Ten Commandments, and Jesus calling his disciples and calming the stormy sea. I remember the parables of the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan. I remember the Good Shepherd, who lays his life down for the sake of the sheep. I remember craft projects that took some time to complete and are still among the treasured artifacts in my study. Later, when I was a youth in that church, the adults trusted me to help teach at VBS. This was a formative influence in who I am today. I am grateful.
So, I wonder what VBS might mean to the children I got to know a bit better this week. I wonder whether we have provided them with resources that might guide and steady them throughout their lives. Did we teach them to trust Jesus through life's storms? Did we teach them to sing the songs of freedom and hope? Did we teach them to be compassionate and loving with all people? Did we give them songs and stories to anchor their faith in God now and in the times yet to come? Did we teach them to resist evil and violence, to choose another path in life? That is certainly the prayer of my heart as I remember the week we shared. It is my prayer for our children.
I also wonder about the way we are doing Christian education/Christian faith formation now. It seems churches have such a compressed schedule. Everything overlaps--especially on Sunday mornings. We are in such a hurry, controlled by the clock and our overloaded lives. The children come to worship, but they do not stay there for long. When are they present for a whole service? We trust the curriculum and the videos to do the teaching for us, rather than sharing the scripture stories and our own experience of God. A lot appears to have changed in the time between my first experience with VBS and what we do now. Perhaps I am just getting old and overly anxious. I wonder, however, whether we are providing the depth, the foundation for faith that will last for a lifetime. What are the texts and stories that our children will take to heart--resources to sustain them when sickness and sorrow, conflicts and troubles come into their lives? Will there be depth of soul, resilience of hope, and reality of love? Will they know that they are always accepted and accompanied by a God who knows them by name and loves them forever? So, I am wondering if we can go deeper, rethinking and adapting, revising our ways of doing Christian faith formation, so that we incorporate what was good from the past into today's ways of teaching our children.
O God, grant us faith that endures and sees us through. Bless all the little children . . . those near and dear to us and those who are distant and unfamiliar to us. Bless them with your love. Bless them, Lord Jesus, with your life. Amen.
