It Started with a Book Report

It was somewhat of a challenge late May of this year to find a Newbery-award winning book for my 5^th grade son to read for a book report. He reads significantly above his grade level and is easily bored. Self-described as an “I don’t believe in God person,” helping this literal child and Star Wars aficionado select a book that piqued his interest was no easy task. And then, searching for something else on my office bookshelves, I came across Madeline L’ Engle’s, A Wrinkle in Time.

The book is the first in a quintet of young adult novels that deal with deeply biblical themes. Published in 1962, A Wrinkle in Time explores salvific love through the emerging concepts of quantum physics. It sounds daunting, doesn’t it?

However, the story is more than readable and, for Christians, its themes will sound familiar. L ‘Engel was an Episcopalian who served as the librarian and author-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City for much of her adult life. The main characters in this story, Meg Murry and her younger brother, Charles Wallace, set out across time to rescue their scientist father. The story is set in the cosmic drama of good against evil – love against lovelessness. The prologue of John’s Gospel echoes through the story and Christian readers will recognize Scriptural passages and familiar –although not named as such – biblical characters.

The book proved such an amazing way into a conversation with my son about Christian beliefs, values and practices, that we both the read the second book in the quintet, A Wind at the Door separately and then talked about it together. This book brought Psalm 139 to mind for me as we talked about height and depth, and the ways in which all life is connected to the source of Creation. My son found the science in this book interesting and it gave me the opportunity to really engage his newly emerging formal brain operations in thinking theologically. The discussions have delighted us both to the degree that we ordered the other three books in the Quintet and decided to read them out loud together over the summer months. We have just begun the third book, A Swiftly Tilting Planet and already we have discussed the balance of darkness and light in the Creation and some of the ways which that balance has been distorted by the choices human beings make. Genesis sings out from its pages. We can’t wait to see what happens next.

Early in my career as a Christian Educator, I taught an adult education class on making the theological links between secular children’s literature and biblical themes. And my experience with my son this spring and summer has reinforced my belief in the importance of Christian parents and educators reading the books their children read and drawing on the themes and parallels we find there. I remember reading The Runaway Bunny to my now 23 year-old-son for the umpteenth time and suddenly realizing that what I was hearing was Psalm 139. What books is/are your child/children reading this summer? And how can you help them make the connections between the values you find there and the Christian story in which you, your children and our faith community are living?

Grace and peace,

Dr. Elizabeth

A Work in Progress

Anticipating the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (June 12^th this year), our Church School curriculum has been sharing the stories of Peter, Paul and the community of Christians formed immediately after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension. These stories are recorded for us in the book of Acts, which follows the Gospel of John in the New Testament and is believed by scholars to have been written as the continuation of Luke’s Gospel by the same author.

The full title of this book of the Bible is Acts of the Apostles – “apostle” is derived from Greek and means “one who is sent forth” as opposed to “disciple” which means “one who follows.” The community who followed Jesus on earth has to shift its focus from following their teacher, Jesus, to sharing his message after he has ascended to Heaven. It’s a bumpy journey for this group as they make the transition.

Acts is a fascinating book – the early Church wrestles with a number of issues from who can be included (do non-Jews have to become Jews before they can become Christians?) to what kind of food can be eaten to how to care for members of the community of faith while still preaching and teaching. Acts is a work in progress as the early Church tries to figure out who and what it is called to be.

It seems to me that we – the Church – are still struggling with the same sorts of questions: who belongs and who doesn’t? How do we serve care for our members and still preach and teach? What does it mean to believe? To follow? To lead? To serve?

While the canon of Scripture is considered to be “closed,” I believe that we are still writing the Acts of the Apostles. Like Peter and Paul, we are sent forth to share the Good News in our homes, our neighborhoods, our faith community and the world. We are called forth to both live and tell the Story of God’s saving action in Jesus. Like Peter and Paul, we, too, are Apostles and it is up to us to continue living out the Acts of the Apostles! How we “go forth” matters!

Grace and peace,

Dr. Elizabeth

"Were Not Our Hears Burning Within Us?" Luke 24:32

The Gospel for this past Sunday, the third Sunday of Easter Year A, is always the disciples' experience on the road to Emmaus. I grew up hearing this story and it never ceases to thrill me. I look forward to hearing it read and preached upon every three years.

The story the two disciples tell of their experience at Emmaus is a familiar and rich one. There is much food for thought and prayer within this text, yet I always find that it is verse 32 that leaps out at me, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the Scriptures to us?"

I suspect this verse catches my attention because, at heart, I am both a teacher and a student. I recognize the thrill and the certainty the disciples feel when they have been in the presence of Truth that opens their hearts and eyes to seeing in a new way. Educators of all kinds refer to this moment in the story as a "teachable moment" - a moment that helps us see and know in a new way. This is the function of Christian education within the Church. Gathered together as the community of faith in both sacrament and teaching, we experience over and over again, the "teachable moments" that faith offers us. We meet Jesus the Teacher again and again - and our lives are changed because of it.

Christian Education - "Church School" as it is more commonly known - is not the glamour place in the Church. It tends to be messy (glitter paint and glue) and noisy (children were not designed by God to be quiet!). Viewed in passing, it can often appear somewhat chaotic. And it is easy to think that it is only one more activity in which our children participate. But something else goes on in Church School that happens no where else in the lives of our children. It is in this place, in this time, in these activities, that our children encounter Jesus the Teacher, just as the disciples on the road to Emmaus. At Church School, our children hear, play, share, sing and explore the teachings of Jesus in community with others of all ages doing the same. As they mature and progress through the different stages of faith formation here at SUMC, children encounter the stories of Scripture over and over. Each moment is rich with the possibility of new understanding, change and growth. These stories of God saving action in Jesus form a foundation of faith that lasts a lifetime and continues to grow and develop as our children mature throughout their lives.

In the larger scheme of life, it is easy to forget the place of Church School in our children's lives. But where else in their busy activities will they hear the stories that transform their hearts, provide a secure foundation of love and trust, and form them into the people God calls them to be? That is the role of the Church School in partnership with you, their parents. We are delighted to have you and your children on the journey of faith with us.

Grace and peace,
Dr. Elizabeth

"What Are We To Say About These Things" (Romans 8:31)?

I have spent much time this week pondering and praying over Osama bin Laden's death and how to respond. This is a difficult and ambiguous issue for those of us who are adults, but knowing what to say and how to say it to our children is complicated. The first thing to remeber is that you know your children best - follow their lead through their questions and be confident the Holy Spirit will be with you as you respond.


Our Scripture tells us "Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather they should turn from their wicked ways and live?" (Ezekiel 18:23) and this same understanding of God's mercy is also found in 1 Timothy 2:4, Michah 7:18 and Ezekiel 33:11. Yet, it would seem that Osama bin Laden did not turn from what Americans have know as his "wicked ways." The evil he perpetrated continues to have lasting effect on many of our sisters and brothers and on our country as a whole.



We live in a messy world - one that does not yet resemble the "peaceable kingdom" where both God's justice and mercy dwell hand in hand. Often times, we live in a world where "the color of truth is grey" (Andre Gide). So "what are we to say" to our children "about these things?"



There is an excellent prayer on the General Board of Discipleship's web page. You can find it at http:/http://www.gbod.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=nhLRJ2PMKsG&b=5801541&ct=9377657/. Prayer is always a good place to start talking with our children. Elementary-aged children and up can begin phrasing their questions from the prayer and parents can use the prayer as a guideline for response. The tougher questions are going to be things like "Is Osama bin Laden in hell?" A good answer might be "I don't know, but I am trusting that God knows what was in his heart and knows how best to treat him." Our junior high children may begin really wrestling with good and evil- and questions such as "Why does God let bad things happen?" and "Why did God let it take so long to find this guy?" These are questions that tug on our own sometimes unanswered questions. Often the best way to respond is to ask the young person what they think and talk it out together in conversation. You may find that you know something you didn't and both you and your child may learn from the presence of God in the conversation. On the other hand, very young children will probably not ask many questions and will be reassured by the fact the OBL is no longer a danger to themeselves or those they love.

This is a tough issue through which to wade - both as individual Christians and as Christian parents. I find myself feeling rather ambiguous; I am glad that OBL is no longer walking among us, but I cannot rejoice in the death of another human being anymore than I can rejoice in the pain he caused. The disordered social relations in which we live are the results of disordered human hearts and actions over the long continum of human history. My own reaction is to pray and then to use the resources of our Methodist quadrilateral - Scripture, Tradition, Reason and Experience - to help me come to some form of response. It is slow work in this case.

Please know that these are simply guidelines and my own thoughts - I am happy to talk through any questions or concerns with you - just call or email. And know that I am holding the children and families of SUMC in deep prayer this week.

Grace and peace,
Dr. Elizabeth

Thinking Ahead to Holy Week

It is hard to believe that Palm Sunday is almost here (April 17th). And if Palm Sunday is almost here, then Holy Week isn’t far behind! Parents, especially those of young children, are often confused as to how best handle the crucifixion as we tell the story of the Easter miracle.

The events of Jesus' death are shocking and violent, but we cannot fully live into Easter if we have not experienced Jesus' death. There are ways to approach this with children that make it easier to share the whole story. Here are some of the things I have learned in twenty-five years as an educator and a parent:

1. Children - even very young ones - know that bad things happen. The Easter message is that good always triumphs over evil - even if it doesn't seem to at the moment. This is a message children can hear and understand.

2. When you talk about the crucifixion, always continue immediately with the Resurrection. I have found the following kinds of language helpful: "Jesus loved people so much that some people were scared by it and they put Jesus to death on a cross. But love is so strong, that not even death can destroy it, so God raised Jesus from the dead.”

3. If your children are visual learner, you may only want to share the story in words - the shorter the better. Use art that reveals the empty tomb instead of Jesus on the Cross as you tell the story.

4. Some children are curious about how crucifixion actually kills. They will ask questions such as "Did it hurt?" ("Yes"), "How does crucifixion kill someone?" ("Slow suffocation"). You do not need to dwell on the gore, but an honest answer that is short and to the point is helpful to children and allows you to move on to the resurrection.

5. Other children worry that Jesus was alone. He wasn't - his mother and the Beloved Disciple were there, along with other women. Two other men were crucified with him. And most importantly, God was with Jesus.

Experiencing the events of Holy Week and Easter can be a powerful way for children to share in the defining moment of our Christian faith while being held in a safe and familiar environment. The events of Holy Week are all great places for embodied learning – we shout and parade with Jesus on Palm Sunday, have our feet washed, taste bread and wine, strip the altar and raise the joyous “Alleluias” on Easter Day. With careful planning, parents can help children experience the mystery and wonder of both Holy Week and Easter.

Grace and peace,

Dr. Elizabeth

A Prayer for Parents

In the parent group with whom I have been meeting the past few weeks, we have been discussing what it means to be a Christian parent. A great deal is expected of us as Christian parents and we worry whether or not we measure up in passing on the faith to our children. Looking through some old files of mine for something I never did find, I came across this anonymous prayer that I had cut-out and used on a bulletin board many years ago. It still speaks volumes to God about what is in our hearts as parents and so I share it here:

Oh Heavenly Father, make me a better parent.

Teach me to understand my children, to listen patiently to what they have to say,

and to answer their questions kindly.

Keep me from interrupting them or contradicting them.

Forbid that I should ever laugh at their mistakes,

or result to shame and ridicule when they displease me.

May I never punish them for my own selfish satisfaction or to show my power.

Let me not tempt my child to steal or lie.

Guide me hour by hour that I may demonstrate by all I say and do

that honesty produces happiness.

Reduce, I pray, the meaness in me.

When I am out of sorts, help me to hold my tongue.

May I ever be mindful that my children are children

and I should not expect of them the judgment of adults.

Let me not rob them of the opportunity to wait on themselves and make decisions.

Bless me with the bigness to grant all their reasonable requests

and the courage to deny them privileges I know will do them harm.

Make me fair and just and kind.

And fit me, O Lord, to be loved and respected and imitated by my children.

Amen.

Stories Told in Water, Grapes and Grain

During this Lenten season, I have been having a wonderful time exploring the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion with our 2^nd -5^th graders and their parents. As we “play” with water, fire and different kinds of bread, I am reminded all over again about the power of our Christian Story.

Christians are a people set within the Story of God’s loving and saving actions in the world. The sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion are God’s “show- and- tell” or, as John Wesley wrote in the Articles of Religion, “They are certain signs of grace, and God's good will toward us, by which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm, our faith in him.” Water, grapes and grain graft us to God’s story. When we pray over the water at Baptism, that water connects us to the water of Creation, the water of the Great Flood, the water the Israelites traveled through on their way out of slavery into freedom, and the water in which Jesus was baptized. We participate in these stories, and through the water, they become part of our experience too. Water is God’s vehicle of new life and it flows throughout Christian life. We are renewed and re-born in it.

As we celebrate Holy Communion each Sunday during Lent, we are given the chance to experience our story as God’s people through the grapes and grain. Just like the baptismal prayer over the water, the communion prayers remind us of who we are, how we got to be that way and what God has done for us in Jesus. As our Pastors lead us in the Great Thanksgiving and then consecrate the bread and cup, listen carefully to the story that is told; the covenants God made with us that we broke, and how Jesus restores us to right relationship with God, “In love you made us for yourself; and when we had fallen into sin and become subject to evil and death, your love remained steadfast . . . Blessed is your Son Jesus Christ whom you sent in the fullness of time to redeem the world” (UMH pg. 62). The prayers may differ a bit from week to week, but through them, the story of our redemption in Jesus is told. In the bread and the juice, the new life given us through Jesus in baptism, is sustained, nurtured and grown by the regular family meal at Christ’s table.

As John Wesley reminds us in his sermon, The Duty of Constant Communion,” The benefits of [Holy Communion] are so great to all that do it in obedience to him; the forgiveness of our past sins and the present strengthening and refreshing of our souls.”We are never too young or too old to be reminded that we are formed by God to be part of God’s story. We are never too young or too old to share the family meal. Eating and drinking together at the table is the visible sign of God’s grace – the place where we all belong, where we all are welcomed and valued, where we are forgiven and restored joyfully to our place in God’s story.

See you at the family table this Sunday!

Dr. Elizabeth

Lenten Communion Thoughts

As part of our communal Lenten discipline, we are experiencing Holy Communion each Sunday during Lent. While our children have been receiving Communion regularly, up until now, they have received it with their church school class. Lent offers us the opportunity to have our children worship with their families – a grace that brings both blessings and challenges of its own! Here are some tips to help you experience Holy Communion together:

· Worship begins before the service: Remind your children Saturday night or on your way to Church on Sunday morning that we will be sharing God’s special meal together and that everyone is welcome at God’s table.

· Let your children know where you are: On your way to Church School, show your children where you will be sitting so they can find you when they come into Church.

· If your children are readers: help them follow along in the hymnal as we begin the Great Thanksgiving.

· If your children are not readers yet: Our Church School music program has introduced our children to the music we sing during the Great Thanksgiving and the consecration prayer. Nudge them when it is time and invite them to sing with you.

· Follow the action: Remind your children to watch carefully what the Pastors do with their hands during the prayer of consecration. They take, bless and break the bread and offer up the cup. Watch particularly for the part where the bread is broken.

· Help your children receive: As we come forward to be fed by Jesus, our hands are lifted up, one palm over the other (making a crib or throne for Jesus depending on how it works best for your children) to receive the bread. Then we take the bread and dip it in the cup and place it in our mouths. If your child would like to come forward but does not wish to receive, hands are crossed over the chest so the server knows to bless the child rather than distribute the elements.

· Holy Communion is the food of the baptized Christian: The bread and cup nurture us and help us to grow. Much like the benefit of vitamins, we do not have to know cognitively how Jesus is with us in Holy Communion. We receive grace to grow on when we take the bread and juice into our bodies, souls and hearts!

Remember to say “thank you!”: When you return to your seat, take a minute with your children to say “thank you” to Jesus for having us at his table

Lenten Thoughts

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the season of Lent. Lent is the forty days (Sundays don't count because each Sunday is a little Easter) period during which we remember Jesus' temptation in the desert following his baptism. It helps us get ready for Holy Week and the celebration of the resurrection at Easter. Most folks associate Lent with fasting or giving up something. This is one Lenten tradition, but there are others. For example, we stop saying the word "Alleluia" beginning on Ash Wednesday. We do not say it again until Easter when we kindle the new fire and light the paschal candle.

It can be hard to keep a "holy Lent" at home. But here are some themes you can share at home as a family during this season. Lent is:

-a time for looking at the things we have done that are wrong and asking forgiveness

of God and those we have wronged.

-a time to grow closer to God by either giving up something or adding something to our lives that helps us focus more on God.

-a time to think about new ways to show our love for others as God shows God's love for us.

-a time to remember our baptismal promises and try to live into them (check out pg. 24 in the UMH Hymnal)

The seasonal color for Lent is purple - it is both the color of penitence and the color of royalty. In the words of the Godly Play story “the Mystery of Easter”, "Purple is the color of kings. We are preparing for the coming of a king and his going and coming again . . . purple is a serious color and it reminds us that something sad is going to happen." (The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Vol. 4, pgs. 29-20). The purple color reminds us that Jesus must die before he can rise again.

There are many ways to incorporate purple into your family life during Lent. A purple scarf in the middle of the table, or purple placemats are easy ways to remind your family daily. Lent is a good time to write a family grace if you don't have a favorite. Learn it together and share it when you are together. Paper chains are another easy way to bring the seasons of the church year into your home. Perhaps each family member might want to write the name of someone or something they are praying for on one of the rings each day and the entire family can share that intention in silence together for a moment before mealtime or bedtime. Small purple napkins can be tucked into your child's lunch box or backpack with a note like "I love you and so does God" or "I am praying for you today." Little things like this connect us to one another and to our larger Christian family - past, present and future!

Be creative! Lent can be a refreshing and nurturing time for us as individuals and families.

Grace and peace,

Dr. Elizabeth

The Doldrums Re-visited

One of my favorite children’s books is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster. The story begins when a very bored young Milo returns home from school one day to find a tollbooth kit in his room. He quickly assembles it, takes the map offered and drives his toy car through the tollbooth. At once he finds himself in the Land of Expectations. Enjoying the ride he pays no attention and suddenly finds himself in a dreary place called “the Doldrums.” Everything is colorless. Neither thinking nor laughing is permitted, and nothing much happens in this very stagnant place.

While there is a great deal more to the story (I’ll let you read it to find out how it all turns out), it seems to me that the first chapters of The Phantom Tollbooth describe exactly where we find ourselves as this very long Epiphany draws to an end. Christmas has come and gone. Our New Year’s Resolutions and our best intentions have hit brick walls. It seems we have been shoveling snow and breaking up ice damns since forever. Stuck in the Doldrums, we find ourselves agreeing with Milo, “It seems to me that almost everything is a waste of time.”

In the Doldrums, we forget the miraculous discovery of Christmas – GOD IS WITH US!!!! As Epiphany unfolds, we continue to catch the glimmers of the truth of God’s transforming love for us. We yearn for the deeper meaning even though we feel sometimes that we, like Milo, are stumbling around in the colorless miasma of life without joy and excitement. What lies underneath “the Doldrums” is the fear of disappointed hope in a yearning we are afraid to name. Yet, we continue to yearn for that meaning in our lives.

The Epiphany season teaches us that what we expected in a Savior is different than who God sent to us. Rather than saving us from our full humanity, the incarnate Jesus invites us to reclaim it- not what we expected. Milo is reminded, "Expect everything, I always say, and the unexpected never happens." Our God made flesh is the ultimate revelation of the unexpected - both simpler and way more complicated than we thought we wanted or needed. Because of it, our lives are made meaningful because our humanity is restored. We realize we have been invited into partnership with God in re-creating the world. Our lives become far more than a “waste of time.” But we have to be looking for that truth. Milo is told, "There is much worth noticing that often escapes the eye." But buried under the mounds of snow this winter, it has been hard to notice.

As wise character in The Phantom Tollbooth speaking about meaning and purpose reminds Milo, “You know that it's there, but you just don't know where - but just because you can never reach it doesn't mean that it's not worth looking for.” And that is what the season of Epiphany is about – it is about both our deepest yearning and how we are led to look for it. But unlike Milo, we KNOW where to look. Jesus, the light of the world, still shines –even in the snow. Gradually, as we follow ray by ray, “the Doldrums” becomes filled with light and in that light we see the gift we have been given in Jesus and the gifts our hearts make in response. It is this light that moves us through“the Doldrums.” We may not know what our ultimate destination will look like- and it will be beyond our wildest expectations - but as long as we keep following Jesus, we can be confident we will get there. And just as the days get longer, the light will continue to get brighter and brighter the closer we get.

So here is your assignment for this last week of the Season after the Epiphany. Get yourself a copy of The Phantom Tollbooth. Read it aloud to your kids. Follow the light, as Milo drives his toy car towards it. His arrival at the place of light is miraculous to behold and is one of my favorite images of what it means to co-create with Jesus the Kingdom of God. Let me know what you think!

Grace and peace, Dr.Elizabeth

Space for Family Faith

Here we are fast approaching the 7^th Sunday after the Epiphany! As we come to the final Sundays of this season and get ready to move into Lent, now is a good time to take stock of our homes as a place where God dwells among us.

Does your family have a gathering space where conversation, laughter and family identity happen? Have you looked at this space lately to see what makes it special? Are there photos of family members both near and far? Mementos of special significance? These things are sacred objects your family. This space is the perfect place to acknowledge the God who is already present in the fellowship that happens there.

And here is the opportunity to make a small “holy center” somewhere in this space. Put a Bible there and maybe a collection of prayers and blessings and/or a bowl where family members can drop a slip of paper with a prayer request or a thanksgiving written on it. Add a candle or two. And then the next time you and your family are together enjoying each other, take a minute to recognize the presence of God’s Spirit among you. Say “thank you” together. Share the prayer requests in the bowl and finish by saying the Lord’s Prayer together. It isn’t fancy or complicated; it is just the honesty and gratitude of being a family together in the presence of God and each other. Enjoy the Divine and human company!

Grace and peace,

Dr. Elizabeth

Strength for the Journey

Epiphany is a season that can be as short as 4 Sundays or as long as 9 – it depends on the date of Easter. Our Epiphany season is LOOOOOONG this year (9 Sundays) – sort of like the winter weather, it seems to go on forever.

As we live this Epiphany season with our shovels in hand and our buckets under the leaking ice dams, it is a good time to ask what sustains on our faith journey when things seem ordinary, troublesome or just plain wearying.

Holy Communion – the meal we shared last Sunday- is one of the primary ways the Christian faith journey is nourished along the way. In blessing, breaking, taking and sharing the bread and cup, we invite Jesus into our souls and the community of faith. Like vitamins or a booster shot, we gain strength, nourishment, and resilience in our journey. The sense of well-being and contentment Communion offers us can be much like sitting down with your family over hot chocolate after shoveling yet again the driveway and sidewalk. The bread and wine restore us in each other’s company and we gain the strength to go back out into the world living the Good News – knowing that there are times when faith is ordinary and sometimes can feel as though we are slogging through heavy, wet snow up to our knees.

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, believed in what he called “the Duty of Constant Communion” because he knew from his own experience that the Christian journey needed regular and frequent nourishment. Stay tuned to the Chronicle and the bulletin – during Lent Pastor Joel invites to experience weekly communion and we will have the chance to share its sustenance together.

Grace and peace,

Dr. Elizabeth

A Hinge Point

As we follow the rhythms of the Church season, we look for clues to tell us what is happening. Beginning in Advent, we were paying attention to light. The Gospel told us “The Light shined in the darkness” (John 1:5), and we lit our advent candles each week to remind us that the “darkness has not overcome it.” The Shepherds see the bright light of the star as do the Magi who follow it and the star’s bright light leads us into the Epiphany season.

But beginning this week, the light begins to change. February 2^nd is traditionally celebrated in the Church as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. Faithful to the rites of their Jewish faith, Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the Temple to dedicate him (Luke 2: 25-39). Simeon and Anna who had been waiting their whole lives to see the Messiah, recognize Jesus as the One for whom they have been waiting and the light blazes for all the world to see.

Our Epiphany lessons focus on Jesus’ ministry- the healings, feedings, teaching that will lead him to the cross where, on Good Friday, the light will briefly go out to be rekindled in the resurrection fire on Easter Eve. The Feast of the Presentation is the middle point in the Church year between the light of the Advent candles and the re-kindling of the Paschal Candle. It is a hinge point in our journey.

Take moment this week to share the story of the dedication as a family. What are the hopes we share when a new child gifts the world? How do you and your children hope to make the world more like God’s Kingdom? Are there dark places ahead? What light will you take with you? How will you and your child shine as lights in the darkness?

Grace and peace,

Dr. Elizabeth

The Lord's Prayer

As we move through the liturgical calendar into the heart of the Epiphany season, the Church School has been hearing the stories of Jesus calling the disciples and the things he teaches them. In the time we have before music begins each Sunday, I have been sharing and talking through the prayer Jesus' teaches his disciples with our children.

As it is something we grown-ups say in Church every Sunday, it tends to be something we don't think much about - as familiar to us as the Pledge of Allegiance or "The Star-Spangled Banner." It is a prayer almost every Christian knows, absorbed largely through osmosis - and we expect our children to learn it in Church School.

In my first professional position as Children's Chaplain, the only "must" in my job description was teaching 3-7 year-olds the Lord's Prayer. It struck me at the time (and it still does now) as a somewhat odd assignment - how do you ask small children who often can't say their first and last names together to stumble through such words as "hallowed," "trespasses," and "temptation?"

Out of this experience came what I call "the Lord's Prayer in a Bag" - an "audience participation" homily with props to help children think, share and learn together what the Lord's Prayer means line by line, taking our time to really explore the "big" words of the prayer, as well as the imagery of the words "Father," "bread," and "Kingdom."

So here is my question for the adults of the SUMC congregation: When was the last time you really spent some time thinking about what the words of the prayer mean? What does it mean for you to "hallow"God's name? By what name do you refer to God? What constitutes your "daily bread?" How do you deal with your "trespasses" as well as those "who trespass" against you? What "tempts you"? From what do you yearn for "deliverance?" And just what does God's "Kingdom" look like to those of us who live in a democracy? And did you notice that this a prayer to be prayed corporately? We address "Our Father" and "forgive those who trespass against us" What does this mean in a culture that celebrates the individual?

They aren't easy questions, are they? There is an awful lot of meat in this one prayer - and that is why the Church incorporates it into is regular worship and why we are taught it. So I hope that you will spend some time this week thinking about the prayer: how does it speak to your life? Invite your children into your discussion - I've been listening to them for the past several weeks and they have a lot to say and share. And when you are finished talking together, say the prayer together . . .

Grace and peace,
Elizabeth

Sharing Faith at Home

On Wednesday evening, November 1st, beginning at 7:30, we will begin our discussion of what it is to live a life of faith at home as a family. To helps us learn and live into forming our children's lives of faith (and shaping our own as well), we will use Elizabeth Caldwell's book Making a Home for Faith: Nurturing the Spiritual Life of Your Child.

Whether or not you can read the first few chapters before then (the book is available from Amazon and copies will arrive via Cokesbury in the Church office this week), we will begin our discussion by focusing on Caldwell's list, "What Every Parent Needs to Raise Faithful Children." She believes every parent should be able to do the following:

1. Read a story from the Bible.

2. Tell a Bible story.

3. Deal with children's questions.

4. Pray (privately and publicly).

5. Take some time daily or weekly for personal meditation.

6. Ask faith questions.

7. Struggle to understand and interpret affirmations of faith while balancing a life of faith in

mission and witness and being faithful in meditation, Scripture reading and prayer.

8. Explain the meaning of the sacraments and the liturgical year.

9. Struggle with language for God.

10. Become familiar with the basic beliefs and practices of other faith traditions.

11. Regularly participate in adult education.

12. Be layleaders in worship.

I don't know about you, but the list seems overwhelming. Seems like you would need a full seminary education to do this, doesn't it? It is rather daunting for any of us, but it is not beyond the realm of what any one of us can do. As you ponder these items this week, identify those practices you are already doing. I'll bet you have some practice of private prayer already - even if the prayer is just of the "Help Me, Lord!" variety as the bathtub overflows. Most likely, you are struggling like the rest of us to understand the affirmations of faith and balance a life of service, witness, prayer, study and reflection!

Some of the other pieces are harder. Not all of us were raised in a faith tradition and we may not know the biblical stories. If we know the stories, we may not know how to find them in the Bible or how to figure out where the ones are that we maybe heard in Church once upon a time.

We may not know what to say when our children ask us questions. And it is hard enough to understand our own United Methodist faith traditions, sacraments and the liturgical year, never mind have enough knowledge of other faith traditions to share them with our children.

All of this is perfectly normal. Not only are our children's lives of faith in process, so are our own.

Christian formation - what John Wesley called "being perfected" - is a life long process. Getting the process "perfect" is nowhere near as important as being in the process and trusting God's grace to do the work of perfecting. And as with anything else in Christian life, we are not asked to do this work alone. We have other Christians to share our struggles, our triumphs and our questions with as we grow into the image of God we are called to be.

SO . . . please bring YOUR experience to this class. Even if you haven't read the first few chapters of the book, YOU ALREADY KNOW the questions. As we begin what I hope will be an on-going conversation, please think about what you need to be better prepared to share the faith at home with your children. How can we help each other become more confident Christian parents? What specific topics would you like to know more about? What support do you need from the Church to help you share faith at home? Please come as you are, where you are in your life of faith. And if you aren't able to attend, post a comment to this blog with your questions and concerns. One of the best parts of being a Christian is that we are never on the journey alone!

Grace and peace,

Elizabeth

Happy New Year!!!

Although the secular calendar recognizes that the New Year begins on January 1st and the Church celebrates the new liturgical year on the first Sunday of Advent, those of us with children or who work in academia or in the Church School KNOW that the year really begins in September!!

The Christian Education Commission, the Pastors, the teachers, the Club 67 mentors, the God Squad mentors, the CornerStones leaders and I have been preparing for the 2010-2011 program year. A LOT is happening at SUMC this fall!

Church School begins on Sunday, September 19th. With a growing Church School, we are adding two more classes this fall so that our children are in age-appropriate learning settings with the proper student-teacher ratio. This is GOOD news, but means that we need additional teachers, not just for the Fall, but for our Winter and Spring sessions. We still have several openings for the Winter and Spring and an urgent need for two more leaders for our Pre-K/Kindergarten class and one more teacher for the 2nd &3rd grade class. You can sign up on the CE bulletin board or by emailing drelizabeth@sudbury-umc.org.

Our Club 67 group (our 6th and 7th graders) needs additional mentors. This group meets on Sunday mornings during Church School time. Leadership of this group rotates monthly and has worked well with a couple leading each month. We have only one team of mentors signed up thus far. If you are interested in exploring this chance to get to know and work with some of the most energetic and enthusiastic members of SUMC, please let me know!

Our CornerStones adult education program begins on Sunday, September 26th. We have a full slate of offerings that will challenge both mind and heart. Classes range from Healthy Eating to learning about the history of United Methodism in the United States to Pastor Joel's ever-popular Disciple I class (meeting on Monday nights beginning September 13th) - and everything in between! Please check out our CornerStones brochure for more details and information on offerings, leaders and times and let me know if you would like to sign up for a class or two!

With our Youth Coordinator on medical leave until October 1st, our God Squad mentors have continued their fabulous work with our 8th -12th graders! The full schedule for the year -along with pictures and souvenirs of the June Mission Trip to Pennslyvania - can be found on the SUMC Youth bulletin board outside my office. Offering fun, fellowship, service and faith exploration, our God Squad rocks!

The beginning of the year is a BUSY time, but our purpose is not busyness for the sake of being busy. United Methodists are called to bring both our heads and our hearts into our relationship with God. Worship and Christian Education are two sides of the same coin that over time form us into the people God calls us to be. It is important for each of us - as individuals and as parents - to take a step back from our busyness and search out the space and time for worship and Christian education so that we grow evermore into the image of Christ to which we are called.

The Staff, the Christian Education Commission and our teachers, mentors and leaders all look forward to deepening our relationship all ages of the SUMC congregation and with Jesus.

Grace and Peace,
Elizabeth

Musing on Justice

I have been preparing for tomorrow's Children's Moment at the same time I have been doing some curriculum research and reading on deconstructing racism for an adult education class next February. The text for the Children's Moment is Micah 6: 6-8: What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God."

This is a familiar passage and lots of sermons and homilies have been preached upon it. But this time around, I am having a hard time with how 21st century Americans understand justice with the way the Scriptures understand justice - and I am particularly struggling around how we convey the difference to our children.

Americans have a mental picture of justice - the blind-folded woman holding the balanced scales. We are given to understand that justice stands above us- impartial - adding to or subtracting from each side until the scales balance. And once equilibrium is reached, the problem is solved. And we feel better.

But this NOT how the Scriptures tell us God views justice. God's justice is most definitely NOT blind: God sees the plight of the widow, the despair of the poor and the hungry, the pain of the exile and the homeless. The very first thing God's justice requires of us is that we take the blindfold off and see the dynamics of human relations for what they are; disordered, destructive and well beyond the power of fairness to fix. And once we have seen human relations for what they are, we are called not only to mitigate the damage already done; we are called to engage the powers and principalities so that we change the dynamics toward those of the Kingdom of God.

As I read through anti-racism materials, this is far easier said than done - and in all honesty, we prefer it that way. It is hard to admit that well-intentioned though we are, we are part and parcel of the unjust systems that allow some to prosper and others to barley subsist. Doing God's justice, we must LOOK at ourselves and the society of which we are a part and then having SEEN, we must CHANGE ourselves and the society in which we live. The task is daunting.

We aren't the only ones who fail to understand what God is asking of us. God's people from the very beginning fell into the trap of thinking "justice" means "just us." Cautioned by God to remember that they too had been slaves, the prophets over and over reminded the people of Israel that fairness wasn't the standard. The people were to remember the pain of what it felt to be slaves in Egypt, hungry in the desert, exiles in Babylon and not perpetrate the same upon anyone else. God's people were called then - as they are now - to change the way they lived so that there would be a place for everyone, plenty for all and so that each and every human being would be able to live out being made in the image and likeness of God.

This is pretty heavy duty stuff - and it will take us a long time to wrestle with it as adults dealing with racism in adult education. I have time and wise counsel to help me plan for that. The real question is how I am going to manage to convey this to our children in five minutes or less tomorrow morning. Come to Church tomorrow and see how it turns out.

Faithfully,
Elizabeth

When Morning Guilds the Skies . . .

There is a hymn that begins, "When morning guilds the skies, my heart awaking cries, may Jesus Christ be praised!" (UMH #185). As I drove to SUMC this morning, I found myself singing that hymn.

It takes me about 35 minutes to head down 27 from my home to the Church. Most mornings when I come to work, I have just fed children and cleaned up the kitchen, gathered up my work materials and dashed into the car worried about traffice and if I have time to stop for coffee. But this Sunday was a bit different. I am on the road early on Sunday morning - I usually am in the car by 6:30 or so- and the morning was cool with no humidity and the promise of a bright blue sky. I found myself noticing just how green and lush the trees were (even though the lawns are in pretty bad shape), how bountifully abundant everything seemed in the increasing light. And suddenly I found myself singing and praising our Creator God.

We have just spent a week in Vacation Bible School celebrating the awesome nature of God's creation - from supernovas to "this fragile Earth, our island home" (Book of Common Prayer). It was a fun and busy week and I spent most of my time anticipating what needed to be done next to make things go smoothly for our children and volunteers. I didn't do much praising, never mind NOTICING just how awesome the creation really is!

My drive in this morning was a wake up call of sorts - a chance to simply BE in the presence of all that God has made and marvel at it. I wonder how many of you (particularly the Moms out there) are like me. There is just SO much to be done each day and not enough time to do it. I am never actually IN the moment that is happening right now; I am always anticipating, planning and making the next moment happen.

But that isn't what we are called to as followers of Jesus. We are taught to pray, "Give us THIS day our daily bread," to be like the lilies of the field "neither toiling nor spinning." Rather we are to relish, celebrate and reflect the goodness and the glory of God at all times.

The Bhuddist monk Pema Chodron writes, "This moment is the perfect teacher." I was reminded of that this morning as I was driving to work. Present in the moment, I was taught-again- to notice, to give thanks, to praise God for all that IS in the moment which is happening RIGHT NOW.

Children are often the best at helping us to practice this moment being the perfect teacher. Particularly during the summer months, they notice more than we do the way the light plays through the leaves of the trees, how ants can carry more than their body weight, the juiciness of a fresh, ripe berry and the delight of being in water. They live in the NOW and their joy in it can help us to remember that us grown-ups were also created to experience the delight of the creation, to know ourselves as part of it and to live in relationship with the One who caused it to be.

I hope your summertime includes lots of moments in the RIGHT NOWwith children!

Grace and Peace,
Elizabeth

Vacation Bible School

The Praiseship Galatic Blast lifted off from Sudbury United Methodist Church at 9:00 AM EST this morning. It is a much anticipated and long-prepared for mission! We began our planning back in January. After worship yesterday, our enthsiastic Mission Command Staff and I spent several hours turning our Chapel and Church School space into the flight deck of the Galactic Praise and outer space.

Our first day went well - the usual hitches; everything took a bit longer than we thought on the first day. We had one bumped lip on the playground and one child in the wrong grade. But we sang, prayed and made crafts together and explored the wonder of our Creator God as we heard the story of the Creation.

Vacation Bible School holds such an important place in my own faith journey. My Nana Windsor ran the three-town Vacation Bible School in her tiny corner of Vermont. From the time I was in the third grade until I graduated from high school, I taught the kindergarten class with my Nana. I did not know it at the time, but my vocation was being formed in those summers. VBS programming was no where near as neatly packaged and glitzy - we developed our own curriculm from the Bible and our projects consisted of mostly papertowel rolls and clothespins, but somehow, the love of God I experienced there found its way into my soul and sharing the biblical story of God's love for God's people became my life's passion and work.

It is hard when we sit down with children - most of whom are unknown to us -for a week of exploring together. As teachers and leaders we wonder just how successfully we will convey the story, what the children will learn and what they will remember. We feel RESPONSIBLE for how well it goes. And we should take our responsibility as teachers of the faith seriously, but our job is only to plant the seeds. God is responsible for the harvest - and we may NEVER know how the faith stories of those we meet this week will turn out.

But because story is such an important means of teaching and learning for me, I want to share one with you of my VBS experience growing-up with my Nana. There was a year when our theme was the Book of Daniel. We had this one little girl in our group who was an absolute TERROR. She was loud, she was uncooperative, she was downright rude in places. She interupted, wouldn't sit till and was disrepectful. We all wondered why she was there and how she could possilby get anything out of the experience.

The biggest story of the week was the tale of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Daniel Chapter 3) who were thrown into the fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar. At our end of the week performance for the parents, we asked the children to tell us the names of these men. And at the top of her lungs, our TERROR shouted out,"Shadrach, Bushwack and Amigo." Well, it got a laugh from the parents, but my Nana and I were despondent figuring we had done our job badly.

Many years went by. My Nana died and I officiated at her funeral. As I was greeting folks after the service, a well-groomed woman with three children came up to me. I didn't recognize her as family and she seemed young to be a friend of my Nana's, but she smiled and said, "I am sure you won't remember me, but I was in your VBS class many years ago and it changed my life. I fell in love with God. I went to seminary and became a UCC Pastor and my children are being raised in the Church. I never got the chance to thank your grandmother or you." I replied that I was so glad and would she please tell me her name. She laughed, "My name won't mean anything to you, but do 'Shadrach, Bushwack and Amigo' give you a clue? We dissolved into laughter as we hugged each other. And I could feel my Nana smiling down from the heavenly choir.

You just never know what will happen to the seeds you plant!!!

Faithfully,
Elizabeth

Bringing Our Gifts to the Altar

For me, the highlight of this morning's " Christian Education Sunday" was the children leading us in song. Perhaps because some of my earliest Church memories are singing with the choir (I sang in the Choir from the time I was in the 1st grade until I started doing my professional work in the Church which doesn't leave me free to sing with the Choir on Sunday mornings!), children's voices lifted in praise goes right to the core of my being.

Singing is an important part of worship - especially for Methodists. The Wesley brothers wrote over 2,000 hymns; singing to God and of God is our heritage. But standing up front and leading songs of praise as our children did this morning is NOT about performing. When anyone leads worship through prayer, praise, song or preaching, they bring the gift of themselves to the altar. When we offer ourselves and whatever gifts and talents we have, we give our gratitude to the God who made us and who delights in us.

This is an important lesson for all of us to learn. We live in a society that constantly tells us we can never be perfect enough. We feel ourselves being constantly judged. Worship is a TOTALLY different way of being. God asks only that we bring joyful hearts and the intention to offer ourselves to praise God and to be in service to each other in worship leadership. Children are some of the best teachers we have when it comes to learning what it is to be joyful in God's presence.We can be fidgety, not know the words, and forget what we are supposed to be doing. God isn't keeping track. But God IS smiling at our presence, clapping along with our joy and finding us pleasing simply because we are loving God back.

It is a lesson that cannot be learned too young. And a lesson about which we are never to old to be reminded!

Faithfully,

Elizabeth