You never know when a new idea will
emerge. I was talking to a retired colleague about how hard it is to
find a way to connect with our children in religious education,
because I am leading worship while they are down the hall in their
groups. She made a suggestion that sounded a bit crazy, but just
maybe might work—and when I talked about it with our Director of Religious Education and some
members of the Religious Education committee, they liked the idea
too. So we are going to try it out in April.
Here is how it will work. On the 7th
and the 21st, after the Lesson for all Ages at the 9 a.m.
service, I will go out with the children, and go to one of the RE
groups. I will stay with them for about ten minutes, during their
time for joys and concerns in their group. Meanwhile, back in the
sanctuary, one of our Worship Associates will lead the time for Joys
and Concerns and the Offering, as well as share the reading for the
day. I will come back to the sanctuary for the anthem and be ready
to preach the sermon. I have emailed our Worship Associates and
gotten several volunteers and a lot of enthusiasm. I hope it will
work.
The plus side is that I will be able
to hear what is going on for our young ones. The minus side is that
I might feel a bit scattered going out and coming back in to worship.
(Someone suggested roller skates.) So we'll give it a try in April,
and if it works, I will try to visit the other groups in May and
June. Stay tuned...
