Swimming Lessons

A mother and two daughters drowned recently in a hotel swimming pool in Eastern Ontario. This tragedy drew attention to the importance of teaching children the basics of swimming and the reminder that immigrant families need assistance in this regard because they often come from countries which don't have access to water the way we do.

CBC radio had a phone-in related to what sound like an excellent program for schools in Ontario to teach the essentials of swimming. All schools have to do is ask and fulfill some basic criteria to get help. The question asked to callers was whether swimming lessons were the responsibility of the education system or parents. Not surprisingly, the answer most respondents offered was "both." Public lessons reinforced by parental efforts produced the most effective education. The representative of the swimming program reminded listeners that parental involvement, particularly with young kids, was the best possible way of assuring children that they can learn to swim.

Maybe it's because we have baptized children twice during July that I drew a parallel with the life of faith. Parents and congregation make commitments to raise children in the Christian faith when a baby or young person is baptized. We don't just throw them into the pool and walk away, or expect them to find their way there on their own.

I love swimming and worked as a life guard in my teens. Last summer while on leave I was in a location where I could get in the water almost daily. It was in a secluded section of a river and it was wonderful to swim out from shore with the natural world around me. Eventually, though, I came back to the community of faith in which I swim in a very different manner.