Children in Church

"Adult members sometimes complain that they cannot pay attention to the sermon, they cannot listen to the beautiful music, when fidgety children are beside them in the pews.  'Send them away.' many adults say.  Create 'Children's Church' so that these distracting children can be removed in order that we adults can pay attention.

"Interestingly, Jesus put a child in the center of his disciples, 'in the midst of them,' in order to help them pay attention.  The child, in Jesus' mind, was not an annoying distraction.  The child was a last-ditch effort by God to help the disciples pay attention to the odd nature of God's kingdom.  FEw acts of Jesus are more radical, countercultural than his blessing of children."

 - Hauerwas and Willimon, Resident Aliens

What the Church Needs

"What we need at present for our Church's well-being, is not invention, nor originality, nor sagacity, nor even learning in our divines, at least in the first place, though all gifts of God are in a measure needed, and never can be unseasonable when used religiously, but we need peculiarly a sound judgment, patient thought, discrimination, a comprehensive mind, an abstinence from all private fantasies and caprices into personal tastes - in a word, Divine Wisdom." (emphasis added) - John Henry Newman, Priest and Theologian

Lent 2, Monday

So, I dropped the ball with my collects.  But we repent and return to the Lord. so here it goes again.

Holy Three, you are model for us being in relationship with others as you are in relationship with yourself: Give us strength and guidance that we may be mutually encouraged by those around whom we find ourselves; make us thankful for those who care for us and for whom we care so that we may see you in one another and love one another as you have loved us in Jesus Christ, Son of the Father, giver of the Spirit.  Amen.