Children and Worship

As I write I have not seen the feedback from the 9.30 services questionnaire which was circulated before the summer. Whilst I do not know what that congregation has said about the development of their worship I am sure that there will be mention of children somewhere.

Children's Spirituality is something which we take seriously at All Saints – we try to provide learning and worship experiences which will encourage and develop children in their faith and ultimately provide them with firm foundations in their relationship with God as they become teenagers and then independent young adults.

Doing this is a tall order, especially for adults who have spent a long time trying to be sensible grown ups. The sensible grown up adult knows that reason is more important than imagination, that experience trumps dreams and that stability is more important than adventure. And here is our first problem, both in educating and more especially in worshipping with children we often start from a sensible adult viewpoint and then just try to say things in shorter sentences with easier words.

In fact, Christianity is a very simple religion, and one which has a lot of pictures and places for imagination which are very suited to children. The idea that God is in charge, God made me and everything else and God loves me are very easy concepts and well suited to a very young child's literalistic and then highly co-dependantly relational mind. As we tell the story year after year to children they will grasp different pieces and ask challenging questions. I often tell Godparents at baptisms that they are not being asked to be people who have all the answers but people who are willing to engage in conversation about matters of faith and spirituality.

This is perhaps a good thing for us to bear in mind – that we are being invited by God to share in a conversation with both God but also with these young Christians. It is no accident that Jesus wants us to become like children – we need both simplicity and imagination in our Christian journey – combining these with adult responsibilities and insights is a magic combination but not many people actually get there – most prefer the safe ground of an adult world with set boundaries and carefully decided expectations.

The really vital thing to remember is that the conversation is not all about us listening. As well as places for imagination and laughter in Church and out of it, there are places where we need to teach a joyful tradition. First and foremost this means that we, ourselves, need to engage with that tradition and make sense of it for ourselves. Why do we do this, that or the other? Why do we say these words and what do they mean? Children are actually very good at liturgy and liturgical action but this only really shines through in communities where liturgy is truly an expression and the worship of those gathered. Children also have a really good sense of whether things are genuine or not and the best way to put them off is to be going through motions which we either do not understand or find in some way objectionable or uncomfortable.

So as we settle into the new academic year my challenge is to all of us adults and it is twofold. First of all if you have lost the simple trust and wild imagination of childhood try to recover it – try to be the childlike person without layers of hurt and prejudice who Jesus calls and calls again. Easier said than done, of course. Secondly, really engage with our worship at All Saints. Find your place in it and your talking to God, and with God, through it. Sometimes we will use simpler words, sometimes we will use different pictures and actions, but most of all we have to be unashamedly in love with God in our ordinary, everyday worship – this is the biggest lesson we can teach and one which will not go unnoticed.