Second Church Steps

Parental confession:   my children did not grow up on Mr. Rogers.   They just didn’t fall into that group. They were more Barney and Sesame Street.   This bothered me for a VERY long time.   It bothered me like, how “we ought to be going to church, but we aren’t” bothers some other parents. Is watching Mr. Rogers the same as going to church?   No.   Words matter and Fred Rogers was carefully and fully inclusive; he never spoke of “God” or “sacraments,” but his neighborhood was a study in formation, children’s radical formation where all are welcome, feelings are named, and children are respected. I think it is Kingdom work to facilitate those same things being found at church.   No, not just at Sunday School – which is usually story telling focused and appropriation tasked.   I mean, at church: At coffee hour where there are tables for their size among the adult-sized tables.   At worship where there are “movement breaks” and welcoming words “just their size.” At fellow

Here's to Christmas Pageants!  Years ago, okay decades ago, I lived in Crawfordsville, and they had an epic one.      You see, the church let the YOUTH GROUP tell the Christmas story.   We all know that can be a little risky.  It was not told in King James English, or even NRSV.   I didn’t get to see it;  I was in Sunday School. Still, I treasure two memories from that event; yes, they are memories of an event I did not see and yet became part of our family Advent Lore. It changed the way I wait. First memory, the kings arrived down the center aisle on bicycles, and second the shepherds’ big line was, “’Biding’s a bore.”  Any time I have to wait, I repeat that line.  The shepherds are SO RIGHT!  “And in the same country there were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night” (Luke 2:8 KJV). They were waiting.  Shortly after that, Christmas Pageants disappeared from the churches I attended.   I don’t know if the contemporary interpretation was

My mother always had a Green thumb... My mother has lived with me for about a year and a half now.   I have tried several ways of easing her path and making her feel at home.   Family photos are on the walls.  Favorite foods are clustered at easy reach.   Treasured furniture passed down from my grandmother is scattered around the house.   Coffee in the morning, ice cream sandwiches at night are both  f avorite things.   Many of the things I remember from our homes growing up are there.  However, it was not until we had a window full of plants that it looked like “our home” instead of “mine.” You see, growing up it was never what we had; it was always what we did.   We ate family dinners. We attended church together. We sat up at night in pjs watching White Christmas (the movie) each December.   We always had some kind of sporting event on the tv. We argued about politics.   We fought about justice issues.   My mother smocked our dresses and sewed our raincoats. My mother

It doesn't matter if it is in a restaurant, at work, at home, or just about anywhere.  If you ask me, "Do you need anything?" I am probably going to respond, "World Peace." I figure the ONE time I don't ask will be the ONE time we could get it. Well, we could all use a little more peace these days. This past Spring, I was in a meeting and gave my usual respond, "World Peace." The person asking was taken aback and asked, "What do you mean by, 'World Peace'?" I have thought about this alot. Thanks to Eden Theological Seminary and Joretta Marshall in particular, I was prepared with an answer. My quick answer, "Peace is persistent relatedness in the face of a disconnect," raised more questions.  The easier answer would have been, "Shalom." At the risk of hearing from every academic library class participant I ever taught, I will use the Wikipedia definition of "Shalom." There are many, but I would

Five Minute Family Devotion Just as our children look for eggs at Easter, so we need to train them to look for Easter. Easter is a season; it is the 50 “great days” before Ascension, when Jesus goes to heaven. These are the “walking around and seeing Jesus near us” times. Sunday we heard from Pastor Chris Henry, “this is the beginning.” Perhaps you might want to begin your season of Easter Dinners, during the Great 50 Days, by having children select an egg and read the note inside and complete the sentence. There are two kinds of prompts in these eggs. There are prayer prompts and a God sighting prompt. OPTION: Your children can have fun filling their Great 50 Days eggs! I am thankful for…I am hoping for…I am praying for…I am asking for…I see God… I am thankful for… I am thankful for… I am thankful for… I am thankful for… I am thankful for… I am hoping for… I am hoping for… I am hoping for… I am hoping for… I am hoping for… I am praying for… I am praying for… I am p

The church often “side-steps” Good Friday with children.   I understand the impulse, but children are so acutely aware of the danger and violence of this world viscerally before verbally. School violence, images on screens, video games, flowers dying in winter… It is often unspoken but ultimately unavoidable.   The Erickson Institute states that “it is, in fact, highly damaging for a child to experience trauma before they have the language skills to create a narrative of their experience.” [i] Therefore, I feel it is important to give children language to talk about the things they see, hear, and notice around them… Especially faith moments like Holy Week and Good Friday. How would you do that with the story of Jesus’ crucifixion?   Taking my cue from Mr. Rogers, we can “look to the helpers.” [ii]   Jesus died, but he was not alone. His friends were there.   His mother was there.   God was there.   Jesus must have been so scared. His friends must have been so sad. Even then,

I rarely bought baby food for my children when they were young.   Maybe it is because I couldn’t really afford it, but mostly it is because I just gave them a child-sized bite of real food -- whatever I was eating. This bite would be smaller, a bit leaner, a little less salty but it was real food.   When I think of it, that is what I try to do with children and the church. Whether children are playing games, listening to Bible Stories, or participating in a mission/outreach project—I try to be sure that they are having a “child-sized bite” of the life of the church.   Are you gathering food for the Food Pantry?   Let your child select their favorite food to contribute. Are you delivering Christmas gifts to a family? Let your child help wrap them and deliver them. Are you praying for the victims of a natural disaster?   Let your child make a card, pack a bucket of supplies, or lead you in prayer. Children are present and full-members in the body of Christ.   We must gi