“And they were beginning to bring children to him, that he might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it he was indignant, and said to them, “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God”. Mark 10:13ff

“Play is an expression of God’s presence in the world; one clear sign of God’s absence in society is the absence of playfulness and laughter. Play is not an escape; it is the way to release the life-smothering grip of busyness, stress, and anxiety. (Playfulness is a modern expression of hope, a celebration of the flickering light of the gospel that plays with the dark by pouncing on the surrounding darkness like a cat toying with a mouse.) (Mike Yaconelli, Dangerous Wonder; The Adventure of Childlike Faith, p78-79)

Jesus told his disciples to keep children in his midst, so they could hear his teachings, and to be present to the kingdom of G-d. Our youth have many, conflicting influences – many more so than when I was a child. I had three channels of television to watch – today our children have hundreds. I had a ball and bat and bike to spend my “down” time – today kids have electronic games, portable devices, and the internet to project them into avenues and experiences I could never have imagined as a child. When I was a child my family walked to church on Sunday morning – today many of the children in our community are on soccer fields, basketball courts, cheerleading events, rugby fields, football fields, and on and on it goes – on a Sunday morning.

I remember a time when there were twenty children in my confirmation class. We went to middle school classes together during the week – we attended religious education during the weeknights. Today many of our youth who do go to church pass five or six or even twenty churches to go to services and may be in religious education classes with other youth from three or four different schools, or towns. If we want to address the dwindling numbers of young families with young children attending worship services, perhaps we should look to their children to see why the family is not in church. Many families have multiple children playing sports on Sunday morning and afternoon. Many families are so burned out by over-involvement that they only have one morning to sleep in — and that is Sunday morning.

Our worship in the Christian Church has fundamentally changed in the last eleven months because of the pandemic of 2020. The church is at a crossroads. How can we make worship and other church experiences so compelling that our youth and their parents will want to participate in worship, either virtually or in person? I think we need to begin by asking them. They can teach us something about what is missing in their lives that the church might be able to fill– at least when it comes to faith, religion, and a relationship with G-d. They can help us make their worship experience more compelling – possibly more compelling for all of us. After all, Jesus said that the children around us have something to teach us about being open to the kingdom of G-d. What can our youth teach us?

Pastor Dave