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Sunday September 24, 2006 - Proper 20, Year B

Sometimes
the readings set for the day
hit you between the eyes.
I don't choose what we read each week.
The readings come from the lectionary, a list of readings devised by one of the committees of General Convention in consultation with other denominations
that tells us what to read each week from the Old Testament, the psalm, the New Testament letters and the Gospels.
Most of the time
the readings are interesting enough,
but sometimes,
unexpectedly
it's as if someone was sitting in the corner of the church
listening to everything that's going on
and specifically chose a reading
to speak to that.

It was that way this week.
I have been off all week sick, and so missed the vestry meeting on Monday.
Apparently
a member of vestry had received a number of complaints
about children's behavior in church.
At the same time,
I had an email from our Sunday School coordinator
saying that she couldn't find anyone
to teach this week.

We have a problem, in fact, we have two problems.
One is how we deal with different expectations of children in worship.
The other
is how we educate our kids.

We are incredibly blessed here at Trinity
with the children we have here. Many churches in our diocese
are struggling because they have an aging congregation;
they have no children.
We're just about bursting at the seams with them. Last week we had 16 kids at our 8am service, and another half dozen at 10. We had 15
in our Sunday School and youth program, and a bunch of families were away.
We're known in the community
as a place that welcomes children.
But at the same time
we have complaints
about kids in church
and a shortage
of people volunteering
to teach them in Sunday School.

Our gospel reading today ends like this:
"And Jesus took a little child and put it among the twelve; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."

Scripture puts it plainly.
When we welcome children in the name of Christ,
we welcome Christ.
And when we welcome Christ,
we welcome God.

And what that suggests
is that when we turn away children
we turn away Christ.
When we turn away Christ
we turn away God.

That means
that we have a challenge here at Trinity.
We have children here.
If we turn them away,
if we say,
don't come to church
until you can behave,
if we say,
don't come to Sunday School
because we don't want to teach you,
Jesus' words in the gospel
suggest
that we are turning away
Christ himself.

I know these are strong words. But it's what Jesus says, whether we like it
or not.
And it's also what we say.
When we baptize children,
the prayer book lays out the question like this:
"Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support these persons in their life in Christ?"

In other words,
"Will you, the congregation, do all in your power to support these children in their life in Christ?"
And you answer, as far as I know, all of you answer, "We will."

We will do all in our power
to support these children,
mostly babies,
but babies soon grow to be toddlers and then school children,
we will do all in our power to support these children
in their life in Christ.

It's a promise. And I take it seriously.
For me it means
that I put up with noisy kids when I'm preaching.
It means that I often spend the precious hour between services
teaching in Sunday School,
even though I'd prefer to be drinking coffee
or getting ready for the next service.

It's a promise
that I take seriously.
I expect you to as well.

And that means
that we have some work to do
as individuals
and as a community.

First, on the issue of kids in church.
There has been a huge change in the church over the last 50 or so years.
It used to be
that kids were not expected to be present in church. Adults went to church;
kids went to nursery or Sunday School.
When kids became too old for Sunday School,
they were confirmed and were expected to come to church. But they had never been there. They didn't know what to do. It was boring. And so they left.
We have a whole generation of kids
who never knew what it was
to worship God.
And most of them
never bothered to come back.

One of the changes
since the 1980s or so,
is that in most places, kids are expected to be in church. They may leave for the sermon, but they participate in the rest of the service, the readings and sometimes the prayers and always the Eucharist. As baptized members, they belong, absolutely and fully. They grow up
thinking that they belong here with us.
And so far, it seems that kids who grow up being iun church
are more likely to stay on as adult members.
But that means
that the rest of us who grew up with kids not being in church
have to deal with the change.
It's noisy. Kids wriggle. They like to move around.
But that doesn't mean
they aren't participating.
They just participate differently.

But the reality is, that that makes it hard for some of us
to focus on worship.
The vestry has thought about this. We have considered hiring students from Rowan to provide child care during the service and to teach Sunday School. But we couldn't find any takers, not, at least, for what we could pay.
So what do we do?

I'd like to suggest three things.
First, if you have kids, help them to participate as much as they are able. With little kids, sit where they can see and participate. And bring snacks and quiet toys to distract them if necessary. As they get older, teach them the responses. When they learn to read, help them find the pages in the prayer book and hymnal and to follow along. And sign them up for the acolyte program when they are old enough, so that they can help us all worship God.
Second, if you don't have kids or of your kids are older, try sitting by a family with young kids. Older kids provide good role models as well as a welcome distraction. Take the opportunity of coffee hour to meet parents and their young children. If you develop a relationship with them, you may be able to share the load for parents of active children.
Third, if you really want to worship without kids being present, find 10 other people and a time for a service and we can start a quiet reflective service. We stopped doing the Wednesday morning one, which was like that, because of lack of attendance. We could start again.
Most of all, if you see or hear a child who you think is being disruptive in worship,
instead of complaining,
ask yourself,
how can I help to support this child
in their life in Christ.
And begin by praying.

The other issue we have to face
is that we have lots and lots of kids in our Sunday School.
About 16 registered from age 3 through 5th grade.
But we only have a few teachers. We need more.
Often we have to combine classes, so have 3 year olds in the same class as 11 year olds. And not surprisingly, the 11 year olds don't want to come anymore, when they have to be with the babies.
We need to have two classes as a minimum, and preferably 3.
And we need teachers.
We try to put people in teams,
so no one has to teach alone, and no one has to teach more than 2 weeks in a row. But we need your help. Please think if you could manage two weeks out of every five. It would make a huge difference to our kids. Otherwise
we won't be able to offer Sunday School any more, and our kids will grow up
without having had the chance to learn about their faith.

Will you, the congregation, do all in your power to support these children in their life in Christ?"
"We will."
How are you
keeping that promise.

Jesus is clear. When we welcome children, we welcome him.
We just need to work out
as a church community
how we do that.
It's up to you now.
Talk about it over coffee. Think about how you could help. And pray that God will show us a way forward.

"Jesus took a little child and put it among the twelve; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.""

 

Sermon ©Raewynne J. Whiteley 2006