I once asked a parent in the congregation what she and her husband were looking for in a parish as they sought to raise their children in the knowledge and love of Christ. She replied that she wanted her children to enjoy being at church. She longed for church to be a place that they looked forward to visiting and in which they could even have fun. One of our youngest parishioners takes this to heart. Last Saturday, she and her family attended a parish workday in the retreat house, but before they left home, this child told her parents that she needed to dress up and look nice before going to church! So, she donned a tutu (not a dress, as I once erroneously called it) and came to help.
In my opinion, these are not just cute stories about children. Children always have something to teach us who are older and maybe a bit more jaded. It’s my profound hope that everyone at Good Shepherd, young and old, will find church to be a place where they enjoy themselves and even have fun. I don’t mean this in a superficial way, nor do I intend to suggest that going to church always seems enjoyable or fun. It’s a fallacy of our age that we should only do something if we feel like it. But I do want to suggest that if we adults have taken certain things for granted, or lost our spiritual sight, we might take a cue from children.
Have you noticed the enthusiasm of children in the parish at the Communion rail? Until the invitation to Communion, they are usually playing in the soft space at the back of the church. And then, when it’s time to come forward, they practically run up, “like greyhounds in the slips” as one parishioner says. One toddler is insistent on receiving the Wine and will vehemently protest if he is passed over! He seems to know what a gift is and that the Gift is being offered to him.
Jesus’ welcome of the little children in the Gospels has been overly sentimentalized. Children in his day were vulnerable and often marginalized, and so his welcome of them was, in some sense, a welcome to the disenfranchised. And yet, I can’t help but think that Jesus knew as well as we do that children teach us things with purer eyes. I have found them to be much quicker to assert their love for you quite openly without restraint or to reach for your hand to hold. If we want to begin to see others through the eyes of Jesus, we would benefit from taking a cue from a child.
This past week, twelve children have gathered at church to enjoy themselves, and by all accounts, they have been doing so! Friday concludes the last day of our children’s arts and music summer camp. Each day, children have heard a Bible story (told through the Godly Play curriculum) of an important person from the Bible. They have received professional singing instruction and teaching from Robert McCormick, our Organist and Director of Music. They have listened to demonstrations on musical instruments from the guitar to the human voice to the ukulele. They have engaged in creative art projects. And of course, they have played and had fun. Playtime is usually the easiest part of leading a camp. Kids simply know how to play.
Unfortunately, I have been sorely disappointed to miss this week of camp. On Monday morning, I woke up and tested positive for COVID. It has thankfully been a mild case. But it was invigorating and heartwarming for me to watch camp leaders spring into action within a couple of hours. As a leader in ministry, it’s both humbling and deeply encouraging to watch ministry happen without your direct involvement. It’s a testament to the strength of leadership at Good Shepherd, as well as to the numerous gifts present among our parishioners, that this week’s camp has proceeded without a hitch. Indeed, the kids have had a fantastic time, from what I hear. I’m deeply grateful to our camp leaders: Kit Apostolacus, Sarah Austen, Heidi Kolberg, Gail McCown, and Robert McCormick. Thank you to Margaret and Anna Helminska for acquiring much-desired snacks, especially Welch’s fruit snacks! Campers also received assistance from a former chorister of Robert McCormick’s, Chiara Crociata, who has been a mentor to our new choristers in training. This week’s camp has acted as a kind of prep for our new children’s chorister program, which begins rehearsals in a couple of weeks.
Do you know of a child who loves to sing? If so, would you please help us spread the word about this incredible program? Registration is open online. In my experience as both a musician and parish priest, I have seen church chorister programs change lives. Not only do they teach invaluable music skills in a time where schools are often not doing so; they also form children in the faith, inculcate habits of discipline, and provide venues for deep and lasting enjoyment.
I hope you can see from the picture to the left that children at Good Shepherd are genuinely happy to be with each other and to be at church. That brings me great joy. If you know of friends and families who are looking for a loving, nurturing, safe, and spiritually-grounded place to raise their children, please direct them to Good Shepherd. The Church may be one of the few places in our world where children can know that they are loved, despite their mistakes and failures, and in which they can find a respite from the world’s unceasing demands for overachievement and competitiveness. And we at Good Shepherd will all be richer with more children in our midst, because they can help us learn where and how to find joy.
Yours in Christ,
Father Kyle