One of the things I really enjoy about the Thanksgiving service, and something I've been thinking about more lately as I've visited a few other churches over the past 5 months, is having the kids with us in the service.
I have loved when my boys were (are) infants and it is “socially acceptable” to bring them into the service with me. I find that even when I'm sitting/standing next to my husband and/or friends in a worship service, I tend to become very "me and God" focused, and the community sort of fades from my consciousness. Which defeats the purpose of worshipping in community, doesn't it? Anyway, when my kids are with me, or even when other kids are in the room making noise and moving around, that becomes impossible. I am forced to become aware of those around me. As distracting as it sometimes is, I'm not so sure that's a bad thing. At the very least, it reminds me that church is community.
The church I grew up in usually used the format of having elementary-age kids in the service up until the sermon was about to start, and then we would exit to children's church. I had kind of forgotten about that, as it's been over 15 years now since I've been in a church that did that, but it seems to be a trend that's coming back, and I am so glad. Not only am I more community-focused when the kids are participating, but I think the kids feel themselves to be a part of the worshipping community when they participate in “big church.” Of lesser ultimate significance but still important to me, being in the worship service exposes kids to church music. I think this would be especially valuable at NFC where church music tradition is honored and valued and a variety of styles is employed.
Last fall my family visited one of the Mars Hill congregations up in Seattle, and one of the things that caught me off guard at the time but that I really appreciate in hindsight was the way they included children in the worship service. It is the only congregation I have ever seen that asked parents to go pick up their kids from their classes immediately after the sermon, during a time of extended musical worship. I liked it from a logistical standpoint, both because I was able to check my kids into their classes and see where they were and who they were with--which was important to me as a visitor--and also because it allowed children of all ages, from the nursery on up, to participate in the service. Also, because the currently popular worship music style tends to particularly lend itself to that "me and God" thing, it was very helpful to me to have the children join us at exactly that point in the service when I would be most tempted to turn my focus inward.
I think every single member of the congregation would benefit from including our children in our worship gatherings on a regular basis. What do you think?
1 comment:
Jennifer, thanks for posting your thoughts on children in worship. One of the things I like best about the all church retreat in the fall is that the kids are an integral part of the gathering. I enjoy the sounds of children in our own service even though I know their parents are stressing about it. To me, children are a sign of life - an important part of what it means to be a growing community - and that's a vital part of who we want to be.
Plus, when the kids are tucked away in SS for their formative years, they hit middle school and start sitting in the balcony and I have no idea who they are or who they're connected with because I've missed their growing up. It creates a gap in our sense of community, I think.
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