A message from your Pastors

An article came across our desks last week. It was an interesting thought. It peaked our interest, especially in light of our ongoing discussion about worship times and Christian edu- cation. What is best for the faith development of our children and our adults? How shall we best pass faith on to our children? How can be best nurture our own faith life? As you read the thoughts below, pray and think about how you would best meet the spiritual needs of all of Bethlehem.

The article, "Welcoming Our Littlest Members" by Nancy Windels, started out by asking: "Do we really welcome baptized infants into the Lord's family or do we ignore them until Sunday School?" How would you answer this question? In the service of Holy Baptism we as a congregation pledge: ."We welcome you into the Lord's family. We receive you as fellow members of the Body of Christ, children of the same heavenly father and workers with us in the Kingdom of God"

As much as we warmly welcome and greet children in baptism all too often we forget about them until Sunday School time. Our Lutheran theology of Baptism encourages us to baptize infants as a sign of God's grace and gift to all. But, do we in the sacrament of baptism give the message that growing in grace requires us to sit still, interact with peers, work on projects and sing songs of faith?

Community education stresses the greatest window of opportunity for significant development and learning is in the first three years of life, yet this time period is virtually unexplored by the church. How is it that we who bring infants to the font struggle to engage them in a time of learning and growth?

I believe it is not for lack of care or value for these our youngest members of the congregation. Rather I believe the trickier questions are: Let the children come where? For what? And lastly, taught by whom? Our traditional Sunday School works well for our traditional child. But what about our infants, toddlers and other children who struggle with the traditional Sunday School?

Very young children are very much attached to their parents, they aren't into cooperative play and other activities of the traditional classroom. If indeed the preference is for solo play, and to be with their mother or father, then the question is raised -- is the pew an ideal classroom? If per chance the answer is yes, then we need a new framework for parents. Their task is no longer to get the kid through the service with as few interruptions as possible. The task is now to be a 'pew parent', coaching the child on actions for worship, inviting them to participate as developmentally as possible, and guiding them through their questions and observation of worship as they do in every other area of their parenting practice.

We all belong in worship because we are part of God's family. And we are only asked to worshjp as we are able. I truly believe that the presence of children in worship is an important witness for the whole community of faith. Worship is a place where the generations meet, praise, and share with one another.

The larger question for us at Bethlehem Lutheran Church is how do we shape our time on Sunday Monring and Saturday Night so that we provide a fulfilling and meaningful worship and educational opportunity for all the generations? For now, we have no answers. For now we are not talking about change. We are in dialogue exploring, thinking outside the box, and looking into how to enhance the spiritual life of all our members. From time to time the team will share with you various ideas and articles that will stimulate your thinking. Pray for the worship team. Pray for the Christian education team as they continue to explore and learn about possibilities.

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