CHURCH
IS FOR ALL AGES
February 2005
article for The Collect, publication for St. Thomas Episcopal church,
Medina
Who is the future of the church? Our youth? Well, yes and no. Our youth are definitely the future of the church, but they are also full members right now.
Whenever someone is baptized, that person becomes a Christian in every sense of the word. Yes, kids are under the supervision of their parents, but they are also members of the church. This means that involving them is not just an option: it is imperative.
Different people relate to Christianity in different ways. As Episcopalians, we have our own “flavor” of worship, but this doesn’t make us better or worse than other Christians. In much the same way, people of different ages relate to Christianity in different ways.
If you have kids, you probably have some sort of “liturgy” in your daily life. This may include saying grace at meals or bedtime prayers. Advent and Christmas are often brimful of family liturgy. But some liturgy isn’t blatantly Christian. For instance, setting aside time to read to your kids is an experience of sharing God with them. God gave us minds to think and learn, and when we show our kids how important that is to us, we pass on some of our experience of God.
I often hear kids, especially teens, say that church isn’t interesting to them. We’ve all heard this, but I think we’ve become complacent about it. We just figure, “Oh, I used to think church was boring, too, but when they grow up, they’ll be back.” This often isn’t true. If we are unable to share our liturgy fully with an entire chunk of our membership, the church suffers. You shouldn’t have to be an adult to understand church.
Think about when you were younger. How was God revealed to you? When did you most feel the presence of God? How can the church recreate those experiences in your kids’ lives? Of course, your kids are different from you as well. Have you asked them what church should be like? How can we pass on our traditions to our kids without boring them?
I don’t think there’s anything boring about church, but when I was in high school, I could never remember to pay attention when the lector was reading from the Bible. I always meant to, but I usually forgot. How can we keep the attention of everyone present as we share the ancient, yet always relevant, story of Christ?
I’ve always found Communion important. The idea of sharing a meal as a family is universal, and I think it’s one of those things we’re already doing right. As a kid, it was also a little thrill for me to engage in sanctioned underage drinking every Sunday morning!
It’s important for kids to learn that weekly worship is not the only experience of God; if they find it boring, that doesn’t mean God is boring. On the other hand, it’s also important for kids to learn that you can’t be a Christian in a vacuum: Christ commanded us to “love one another,” and we can’t do that by ourselves.
Ask your kids what church means to them. If they don’t find it interesting, engage them in a conversation about what could make church more interesting. I’d love to hear your feedback!