This past Sunday, which was Palm/Passion Sunday, two of our young people who are grades six and seven were leaders in the reading of the passion narrative. One took on the role of Jesus while the other was the narrator. There are places for the congregation to respond as well, acting as the crowd at Jesus' trial, along with other roles. It is an interesting and important challenge to engage children in what can be a compelling drama of our Christian faith. All during Lent we have involved children in a litany for candle-lighting, similar to what happens through Advent. When we washed feet last night on Maundy Thursday we invited a household with children to participate.
For today's Good Friday service Rev. Cathy has worked with the Junior Young People's group to do the Call to Worship, using symbols of the passion, and the Hi-C group for the Prayers of the People. She will have some of the same gang involved again at the early service on Sunday morning.
All we can hope is that they get a sense of the unfolding events from two thousand years ago. As I took the two young people through a practice of the passion narrative last week I stopped periodically to explain the bigger picture of the story they would be telling.
How important is it to involve children in worship? What happens in your church? Are your kids active participants?
5 comments:
Children should be a part of worship. If they are involved early on maybe they will stay involved.
It is Good Friday here and nothing is shut. It feels very strange. The only thing not allowed on Good Friday in England is horse racing.
The young people did a great job this morning.
Good Friday is "wide open" in the States as well. In secular Europe it's not surprising, but odd in the US.
You will have to go to Ascot on Saturday Laurie!
Having the opportunity to write Good Friday Prayers with our teens this year was a strong reminder to me of the benefit of having our kids involved. One teen suggested finding the story of Good Friday scary. I had forgotten this sense, which I too had as a kid. In the process of creating our prayer, we were able to talk about this honest feeling and add this concern to our prayers, which had I or another adult written the prayers, would likely have been left out.
I still remember a Good Friday Courtroom Drama I did in Youth Group and presented to the congregation Good Friday evening. I just heard from the mom of one of those youth group pals from 25+ years gone by and felt fortunate that now my kids were welcomed by our home church to learn and grow and be active participants in their faith journey.
Having been active in children's ministry for many years, I am passionate about having children actively involved in worship and adults actively engaged in growing their faith! Presently in the congregation that I attend children and youth read the call to worship, scripture lessons, the prayer of approach, announcements, have lead the White Gift and Children's and Youth service, and have given congregational reports about faith experiences.
Have they written the material they are reading - that I don't know.
Children have such insight and ask wonderful questions that we need to ponder and examine. Children have so much to teach us.
It is wonderful to hear how children have been involved in worship. I remember talking to a Sunday School teacher about this one day; and she just cringed when when she thought about having children in worship more. But I said to her, if they don't worship now, why would they as adults? It really made her think twice. We practice intergenerational worship a lot. I love it and I think it is important for all ages to be worshipping together in community.
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