How will you celebrate the birth of the Royal Baby? Continue reading
Blogging from our church camp this week, our message is simple: God made the creation, and us as part of it. The more we know our place within God’s creation, the more capable we will be to care for it. If the campers can understand this, what will it take for us adults to understand? Continue reading
Over the years I’ve heard many excuses and reasons why people don’t come to church. Some are amusing, some suggest deeper issues to be dealt with. What’s your excuse for not coming to church? Continue reading
Many times age seems to be a barrier to ministry and mission in the church. Persons are overlooked because they are too old or too young. We dismiss the quiet, introverted souls as we strive to respond to the squeaky wheels in our communities. Continue reading
When we teach children that their worship matters, we teach them that they are enough right here and right now as members of the church community. They don’t need to wait until they can believe, pray or worship a certain way to be welcome here, and I know adults who are still looking to be shown that. It matters that children learn that they are an integral part of this church, that their prayers, their songs, and even their badly (or perfectly timed depending on who you ask) cries and whines are a joyful noise because it means they are present. Continue reading
“Your words set up a chain of events beyond your control and which you would never know. One word can destroy beliefs, harden hearts, or cultivate hatred, but they can also demonstrate faith, display forgiveness, and at the end nurture love.The power of life and death lies in a single word. And we, the image of God, have this great power in one word.” How are your words affecting the children in your church? Continue reading
Notice that it is the adults of the existing congregation who are challenged to do what it takes to provide a welcoming community and sense of belonging. We need be talking about how can we create a sense of welcome for families. We might have to ask some hard questions. What is working? What changes should we make? How do we create accessible spaces where families feel at home during worship? What can we do to demonstrate to children and families that they truly belong? Continue reading
I could tell you so many stories about the ways in which I have learned deep spiritual truths from the children in my church family. Many Christian educators have commented how much they have learned from the children in their care. I would concur. In fact I think I have probably learned far more than I have taught. Children are natural teachers and their enthusiasm, simple faith and intuitive grasp of the Holy have taught me so much. Continue reading
While the Chinese calendar marks 2013 as the year of the Snake, personally, I think it is the year of the Baby. Well, two babies to be exact; two very high profile babies. Continue reading
The church has been given a powerful message, but that message is not about gun laws and civil rights. The message that we have been given is that there can be an end to our feelings of isolation and depressing loneliness; there can be an end to that soul-sapping emptiness that shrouds people in darkness and pain; there can be an end to those dark shadows of death and those expressions of evil. Continue reading
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