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.” Every thing 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 the Christmas season gives way to a lengthy, and what can feel colorless, Epiphany. The Christmas season gives rise to all sorts of expectations. Each year we struggle to make Christmas more wonderful than the last. We decorate lavishly, purchase lovely presents to make our children and others smile, we eat more than we should, rush around like mad people to get it all done and then, somehow – Christmas just doesn’t live up to our expectations - often times because we expected that all the bustle, glitter and gifts will fill the empty places inside us. By mid-January, the second Sunday after the Epiphany, we suddenly discover we have arrived in “the Doldrums.” The Christmas decorations have been put away, the tree has been dragged to its final resting place and the credit card bills have arrived. We find ourselves agreeing with Milo, “It seems to me that almost everything is a waste of time.”
It is hard under all the clutter of what Christmas has come to be in our culture to find the meaning of what Christmas IS for Christians – that miraculous discovery that GOD IS WITH US!!!! We often feel let down in our Christmas expectations because we haven’t been expecting what we find at the manger. Milo is reminded, "Expect everything, I always say, and the unexpected never happens." Christmas is not about what we expect; it is the ultimate revelation of the unexpected. God made flesh is both far simpler and way more complicated than we thought we wanted or needed. God’s coming to us in a human baby transforms our human experience. Our lives are lifted up and made meaningful because our goodness is restored and 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." Distracted by the glitter and the bustle of what Christmas has become, we miss God being born among us. What is "worth noticing" about the Christmas season, many times "escapes" our eyes.
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.
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. The Star that illuminated Bethlehem and led the shepherds and the wisemen to the baby Jesus, still shines for us today. 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 the baby Jesus and the gifts our hearts make in response. It is this light that lifts us from “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 the Star’s light, we can be confident we will get there. The light will continue to get brighter and brighter the closer we get.
So here is your assignment for this 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!
Faithfully,
Elizabeth
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
"We Welcome You as a Member of the Family of Christ"
This morning, we welcomed a new child into the household of God through Holy Baptism. Baptism is my very favorite thing that happens in Church- I never get through one dry-eyed. When we as God’s family welcome the child or adult being baptized into our midst and promise to support them and help them grow in the faith, I am always awed by the gift and the responsibility we are given.
The Christian truth we claim and the Christian discipline we live is a VERY counter-cultural message in our culture. Living as a Christian is not now (and never has been) a job for the faint-hearted. It requires daily practice, constant attention to the Holy Spirit’s directions, Bible reading, a habit of prayer and praise, loving and ethical interactions in our day-today lives, and an abiding sense of whose we are. We cannot do it alone. We need the company of other Christians- and that is why at our baptisms the congregation literally has our backs. The company of God’s faithful people bears witness to us as we make our baptismal promises. It is there to educate and guide us in sermons and through Church School, invites us into service on behalf of others, and while praying with us, teaches us how to pray. This loving community encourages us when we feel defeated, loves us when we fail and shares our hurts and joys. You have heard the saying “It takes a village to raise a child?” Well, it takes a “great cloud of witnesses surrounding us” (Hebrews 2:1) to raise a Christian.
All of this is awesome. But what happens when that brand-new Christian (usually an infant) goes home? For generations upon generations, the home was the principal place where new Christians were made. That is a more than daunting task for many Christian parents. Many of us were raised with no faith or in religious traditions in which we have ceased to believe. The cafeteria of beliefs in the world around us calls out from our televisions, computer, ipods and from neighbors and friends. Just exactly are we to go about the task of raising Christian children at home?
Often the easiest way to begin is to set aside a few minutes at the meal time each day where the entire family is present. You may have to be creative if your family has different start, eating and end times of the day! Find five minutes in the day when you can all be together and PRAY together. In our home, we make sure that we eat together – even if it is snack – every day. This is the prayer we say, “Thank you for this food – for rest and home and all things good. For wind and rain and sun above, and most of all for those we love.” Sometimes we say it in parts, sometimes all together. But it is OUR family prayer. I even have it posted inside on the door of the cupboard where our snacks live – just as a reminder. Some families have more time in the morning or evening. The United Methodist Book of Worship has a section that includes prayers for morning, midday and evening worship beginning on page 568. Take a look through and see what might appeal to your family.
Put a “gratitude” bowl and a “help” bowl on your kitchen table. Invite your kids and spouse and jot down on a small piece of paper things they are thankful for and things they need help with. Collect them each night or once a week when you can be together and read them out loud. Pray together – it could be the Lord’s Prayer or you can simply say, “Lord, hear the thanks and needs of our hearts.”
Bedtimes are another wonderful opportunity to pray together. Is there a bedtime prayer your children already know? You can try, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Guard me, Jesus, through the night and wake me with the morning light.”
One of my most favorite parts of being a parent is blessing my children. I began when they were babies and as I tucked them into their cribs at night, I traced a small cross on their foreheads and said, “the Lord preserve, protect and defend you.” I had no idea how formative or meaningful this experience was for my children until I had been in a car accident. When I came home from the hospital full of painkillers and medicine, as I was drifting off to sleep, my then eight-year-old son crept into the room. Very gently, I felt him trace the cross on my forehead and whisper, “the Lord preserve, protect and defend you, Mama.” He said nothing else, just quietly left the room. It is a joy to bless my children but a gift beyond words or price to receive their blessing of me.
These are just some small suggestions to get you started on making Christians at home. Maybe you have some ways your family practices faith at home. I would LOVE to hear your traditions and rituals. Please consider sharing them via the comments on this blog!
Faithfully,
Elizabeth
The Christian truth we claim and the Christian discipline we live is a VERY counter-cultural message in our culture. Living as a Christian is not now (and never has been) a job for the faint-hearted. It requires daily practice, constant attention to the Holy Spirit’s directions, Bible reading, a habit of prayer and praise, loving and ethical interactions in our day-today lives, and an abiding sense of whose we are. We cannot do it alone. We need the company of other Christians- and that is why at our baptisms the congregation literally has our backs. The company of God’s faithful people bears witness to us as we make our baptismal promises. It is there to educate and guide us in sermons and through Church School, invites us into service on behalf of others, and while praying with us, teaches us how to pray. This loving community encourages us when we feel defeated, loves us when we fail and shares our hurts and joys. You have heard the saying “It takes a village to raise a child?” Well, it takes a “great cloud of witnesses surrounding us” (Hebrews 2:1) to raise a Christian.
All of this is awesome. But what happens when that brand-new Christian (usually an infant) goes home? For generations upon generations, the home was the principal place where new Christians were made. That is a more than daunting task for many Christian parents. Many of us were raised with no faith or in religious traditions in which we have ceased to believe. The cafeteria of beliefs in the world around us calls out from our televisions, computer, ipods and from neighbors and friends. Just exactly are we to go about the task of raising Christian children at home?
Often the easiest way to begin is to set aside a few minutes at the meal time each day where the entire family is present. You may have to be creative if your family has different start, eating and end times of the day! Find five minutes in the day when you can all be together and PRAY together. In our home, we make sure that we eat together – even if it is snack – every day. This is the prayer we say, “Thank you for this food – for rest and home and all things good. For wind and rain and sun above, and most of all for those we love.” Sometimes we say it in parts, sometimes all together. But it is OUR family prayer. I even have it posted inside on the door of the cupboard where our snacks live – just as a reminder. Some families have more time in the morning or evening. The United Methodist Book of Worship has a section that includes prayers for morning, midday and evening worship beginning on page 568. Take a look through and see what might appeal to your family.
Put a “gratitude” bowl and a “help” bowl on your kitchen table. Invite your kids and spouse and jot down on a small piece of paper things they are thankful for and things they need help with. Collect them each night or once a week when you can be together and read them out loud. Pray together – it could be the Lord’s Prayer or you can simply say, “Lord, hear the thanks and needs of our hearts.”
Bedtimes are another wonderful opportunity to pray together. Is there a bedtime prayer your children already know? You can try, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Guard me, Jesus, through the night and wake me with the morning light.”
One of my most favorite parts of being a parent is blessing my children. I began when they were babies and as I tucked them into their cribs at night, I traced a small cross on their foreheads and said, “the Lord preserve, protect and defend you.” I had no idea how formative or meaningful this experience was for my children until I had been in a car accident. When I came home from the hospital full of painkillers and medicine, as I was drifting off to sleep, my then eight-year-old son crept into the room. Very gently, I felt him trace the cross on my forehead and whisper, “the Lord preserve, protect and defend you, Mama.” He said nothing else, just quietly left the room. It is a joy to bless my children but a gift beyond words or price to receive their blessing of me.
These are just some small suggestions to get you started on making Christians at home. Maybe you have some ways your family practices faith at home. I would LOVE to hear your traditions and rituals. Please consider sharing them via the comments on this blog!
Faithfully,
Elizabeth
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Epiphany
The Christmas season comes to a close on January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany. This celebration marks the arrival of the Magi or Wise Ones in Bethlehem. "Epiphany" is a Greek word that means "manifestation," "revelation" and "showing." In the Christian context, it is a celebration that God's revelation in Jesus is for ALL people of ALL nations and tribes for ALL time.
While the Feast of the Epiphany is celebrated on one day (usually the Sunday before January 6 at SUMC), the time between the Feast of Epiphany and Ash Wednesday is known liturgically as the Season After the Epiphany. The symbol of the Epiphany season is the five-pointed star and the seasonal color is usually green representing our on-going life as disciples of Jesus. The Feast of the Epiphany is a "white" Sunday of celebration and there are two other "white" Sundays during this season: the Baptism of our Lord and Transfiguration which occurs on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday.
During the Epiphany Season, the readings we hear in Church focus on Jesus and his disciples. We follow Jesus through his baptism into his ministry to and with the disciples. These are important lessons as they teach us that because we are baptized as Jesus was baptized, we too are disciples who both learn from Jesus and who share, teach and preach the Good News to others.
There are many ways to celebrate the Epiphany Season at home. You can make a "Kings Cake" (see http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1841,151162-249201,00.html) and learn the varying traditions surrounding the cake by a quick reading of Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_cake). Many Christian cultures emphasize Epiphany rather than Christmas as the time for gift giving. Take your kids to the library and do a little research about el Dia de los Reyes! Try out some of the customs and traditions and share what you learn as a comment on this blog!
Happy Epiphany to you all!
Elizabeth
While the Feast of the Epiphany is celebrated on one day (usually the Sunday before January 6 at SUMC), the time between the Feast of Epiphany and Ash Wednesday is known liturgically as the Season After the Epiphany. The symbol of the Epiphany season is the five-pointed star and the seasonal color is usually green representing our on-going life as disciples of Jesus. The Feast of the Epiphany is a "white" Sunday of celebration and there are two other "white" Sundays during this season: the Baptism of our Lord and Transfiguration which occurs on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday.
During the Epiphany Season, the readings we hear in Church focus on Jesus and his disciples. We follow Jesus through his baptism into his ministry to and with the disciples. These are important lessons as they teach us that because we are baptized as Jesus was baptized, we too are disciples who both learn from Jesus and who share, teach and preach the Good News to others.
There are many ways to celebrate the Epiphany Season at home. You can make a "Kings Cake" (see http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1841,151162-249201,00.html) and learn the varying traditions surrounding the cake by a quick reading of Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_cake). Many Christian cultures emphasize Epiphany rather than Christmas as the time for gift giving. Take your kids to the library and do a little research about el Dia de los Reyes! Try out some of the customs and traditions and share what you learn as a comment on this blog!
Happy Epiphany to you all!
Elizabeth
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Pregnant with Possibility
I suspect that I am one of the few people who love the short days and the early nights. Ever since I was a little girl, I have yearned for the darkness and silence of December evenings. The dark is luscious, rich, deep, and I feel enveloped and held by it.
It wasn’t until I was in my teens that I became aware that the time of early darkness coincided with the season of Advent. Suddenly, my love of the darkness made sense to me. I am such an extroverted personality – and I have been all of my life – that it is difficult for me to be still, to wait, to be contemplative. As the darkness creeps in around 4:00 PM, I can feel my body go quiet and still. Without willing it, without any work on my part, I find myself still and waiting.
I know now that what I wait for in the stillness is the fullness of God to grow within me. For me, the darkness is pregnant with possibility and hope. As I rest in the silence, God’s voice gets stronger within me. My deepest yearnings surface and I find myself looking at my self and my gifts in new ways. I see the world more clearly and I begin to puzzle out how God might be asking me to make a difference, to contribute more to the world around me, to be a light that shines in the darkness. The themes of Advent echo through the darkness to me in an almost embodied way. I feel the rhythms of new life pulsing inside me. It is holy time. Advent is a 'waiting" time - a purple season when we prepare for the coming of Jesus. We remember God's coming to us in the form of the baby Jesus and we await the day of Jesus'coming again. In the words of the new song the children are learning this year, we, "Get Ready!"
This Advent, I invite you to let the darkness envelop you and your family. Rather than try to cram as much as you can into the holiday season, let the early coming of night wrap your family in a cocoon. Light your Advent wreath at dinner, hold hands as you pray together and linger a few moments before dashing off to making lunches for tomorrow, catching up on email/voicemail and starting the kids off on their homework. Just rest in each other and the candles glow. Don’t direct the conversation or feel like you must accomplish anything productive. Just BE together and let the Holy Spirit fill you and yours. Wait. See what happens. Something new will come of it in God’s time.
Faithfully,
Elizabeth
It wasn’t until I was in my teens that I became aware that the time of early darkness coincided with the season of Advent. Suddenly, my love of the darkness made sense to me. I am such an extroverted personality – and I have been all of my life – that it is difficult for me to be still, to wait, to be contemplative. As the darkness creeps in around 4:00 PM, I can feel my body go quiet and still. Without willing it, without any work on my part, I find myself still and waiting.
I know now that what I wait for in the stillness is the fullness of God to grow within me. For me, the darkness is pregnant with possibility and hope. As I rest in the silence, God’s voice gets stronger within me. My deepest yearnings surface and I find myself looking at my self and my gifts in new ways. I see the world more clearly and I begin to puzzle out how God might be asking me to make a difference, to contribute more to the world around me, to be a light that shines in the darkness. The themes of Advent echo through the darkness to me in an almost embodied way. I feel the rhythms of new life pulsing inside me. It is holy time. Advent is a 'waiting" time - a purple season when we prepare for the coming of Jesus. We remember God's coming to us in the form of the baby Jesus and we await the day of Jesus'coming again. In the words of the new song the children are learning this year, we, "Get Ready!"
This Advent, I invite you to let the darkness envelop you and your family. Rather than try to cram as much as you can into the holiday season, let the early coming of night wrap your family in a cocoon. Light your Advent wreath at dinner, hold hands as you pray together and linger a few moments before dashing off to making lunches for tomorrow, catching up on email/voicemail and starting the kids off on their homework. Just rest in each other and the candles glow. Don’t direct the conversation or feel like you must accomplish anything productive. Just BE together and let the Holy Spirit fill you and yours. Wait. See what happens. Something new will come of it in God’s time.
Faithfully,
Elizabeth
Friday, November 20, 2009
More Than Enough
In this busy, stressful, competitive world of ours, we are focused on performance. What we do - and how well we do it - defines us. Or so we think anyway. We worry about what our friends, our families, our neighbors, our bosses and a host of other folks think of us.
Thanksgiving is a time when we get to take a breath and realize that God does not judge us on our performance. God loves us simply because we ARE - each of us a unique creation reflecting "the image and likeness" (Genesis 1:26) of our Creator. This is where the heart of our thanksgiving prayer comes from - a realization that God loves us and gifts us with our talents, our livelihoods, our children, our homes, our food, etc simply because God LOVES us.
Two weeks ago in this space, I spoke about the different kinds of prayer. One type of prayer is “Thanks!” Meister Eckhart, a German philosopher who lived during the Middle Ages wrote, “ If the only prayer you say in your entire life is ‘thank you,’ it would be enough.” Prayers of thanksgiving are the easiest ones to say, yet they are also the easiest ones to forget to say. Our constant pursuit of perfection blinds us to what is already more than “good enough” in our lives. We miss the moments of gratitude as we move from expectation to expectation in our over-full days.
I am guilty of this myself. As I balance the demands of life in the parish with life in the family, I am focus on the next task to be done. Did I get the Chronicle article written? Is the laundry load ready to go into the dryer? Do I have time to return that email before I get my 4th grader launched on his homework? And what are we going to have for dinner? I spend a lot of my time wondering if I will ever get it all done – and if I will get it done well.
And in the doing of all that, I forget to notice what is good in my life – I have work I love, a child overcoming learning disabilities with the help of a wonderful support system, a family to gather around a table that has plenty of good food on it. When I take a moment to give thanks for these blessings, I realize that the world will not end if the laundry isn’t folded and put away at once, that it doesn’t really matter if I send the email now or if I send it an hour later and that the homework will still get done if I take a moment to sit quietly with my son and just enjoy who he is.
God neither expects nor requires perfection. God asks only for grateful hearts sharing love with others. So this Thanksgiving week, stop worrying about whether or not the turkey will be dry or if there will be enough mashed potatoes - come to your Thanksgiving table with a grateful heart. You will not leave empty - and it will be more than enough.
Faithfully,
Elizabeth
Thanksgiving is a time when we get to take a breath and realize that God does not judge us on our performance. God loves us simply because we ARE - each of us a unique creation reflecting "the image and likeness" (Genesis 1:26) of our Creator. This is where the heart of our thanksgiving prayer comes from - a realization that God loves us and gifts us with our talents, our livelihoods, our children, our homes, our food, etc simply because God LOVES us.
Two weeks ago in this space, I spoke about the different kinds of prayer. One type of prayer is “Thanks!” Meister Eckhart, a German philosopher who lived during the Middle Ages wrote, “ If the only prayer you say in your entire life is ‘thank you,’ it would be enough.” Prayers of thanksgiving are the easiest ones to say, yet they are also the easiest ones to forget to say. Our constant pursuit of perfection blinds us to what is already more than “good enough” in our lives. We miss the moments of gratitude as we move from expectation to expectation in our over-full days.
I am guilty of this myself. As I balance the demands of life in the parish with life in the family, I am focus on the next task to be done. Did I get the Chronicle article written? Is the laundry load ready to go into the dryer? Do I have time to return that email before I get my 4th grader launched on his homework? And what are we going to have for dinner? I spend a lot of my time wondering if I will ever get it all done – and if I will get it done well.
And in the doing of all that, I forget to notice what is good in my life – I have work I love, a child overcoming learning disabilities with the help of a wonderful support system, a family to gather around a table that has plenty of good food on it. When I take a moment to give thanks for these blessings, I realize that the world will not end if the laundry isn’t folded and put away at once, that it doesn’t really matter if I send the email now or if I send it an hour later and that the homework will still get done if I take a moment to sit quietly with my son and just enjoy who he is.
God neither expects nor requires perfection. God asks only for grateful hearts sharing love with others. So this Thanksgiving week, stop worrying about whether or not the turkey will be dry or if there will be enough mashed potatoes - come to your Thanksgiving table with a grateful heart. You will not leave empty - and it will be more than enough.
Faithfully,
Elizabeth
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Children and Worship
Parents of 4th - 7th graders will be receiving a letter this week inviting your children to serve as worship leaders by joining the SUMC acolyte team. The Worship & Ministry Commission wants to revive this tradition during our Sunday morning worship.
The word "acolyte" comes from the Greek word "akólouthos" meaning "follower." The same Greek word is used in Mark 6:34, "If any want to become my followers, let them take up their cross and follow me." An acolyte is first of all one who follows Jesus.
In the context of worship, acolytes are also leaders. Their following of Jesus calls them to serve at worship, bearing the light of Christ into the sanctuary and lighting the candles as we begin worship. At the conclusion of the worship service, they extinguish the candles burning on the altar, while they continue to carry the flame of light back down the aisle for us to follow out into the world to love and serve in Jesus' name. This is an important way of following Jesus and an important way of serving the congregation through leadership in worship. The call of children to lead in the Church is written in our scriptures, Isaiah 11:6 tells us, "And a little child shall lead them."
I am a big believer that children of all ages should be invited and expected to serve and lead at worship. We are NEVER too young to learn that our gifts have a place at the altar, that the gifts given to us by our loving Creator God should be gratefully offered back God with praise and thanksgiving. Leading as acolytes, singing in the choir, reading the scripture lesson the day, serving as ushers are all important ways that children find their place in the household of God.
We are presently recruiting 4th - 7th graders to join this important ministry. Please contact John Iberg (jwi0841@verizon.net) if your child is interested by December 1st. I will be leading training for our new acolytes on Sunday, December 6th immediately following worship and they will be installed in their ministry on Sunday, December 13th. During the service on the 13th, they will be given a wooden cross to remind them that they are picking up their cross as "followers" of Jesus.
If you are the parent, godparent or grandparent of a 4th-7th grader, please encourage your children to participate in this important ministry. If you are a member of the congregation, please take a moment to let those you see serving at the altar know that you find their presence meaningful and enriching.
Thank you so much for your support!
Faithfully,
Elizabeth
The word "acolyte" comes from the Greek word "akólouthos" meaning "follower." The same Greek word is used in Mark 6:34, "If any want to become my followers, let them take up their cross and follow me." An acolyte is first of all one who follows Jesus.
In the context of worship, acolytes are also leaders. Their following of Jesus calls them to serve at worship, bearing the light of Christ into the sanctuary and lighting the candles as we begin worship. At the conclusion of the worship service, they extinguish the candles burning on the altar, while they continue to carry the flame of light back down the aisle for us to follow out into the world to love and serve in Jesus' name. This is an important way of following Jesus and an important way of serving the congregation through leadership in worship. The call of children to lead in the Church is written in our scriptures, Isaiah 11:6 tells us, "And a little child shall lead them."
I am a big believer that children of all ages should be invited and expected to serve and lead at worship. We are NEVER too young to learn that our gifts have a place at the altar, that the gifts given to us by our loving Creator God should be gratefully offered back God with praise and thanksgiving. Leading as acolytes, singing in the choir, reading the scripture lesson the day, serving as ushers are all important ways that children find their place in the household of God.
We are presently recruiting 4th - 7th graders to join this important ministry. Please contact John Iberg (jwi0841@verizon.net) if your child is interested by December 1st. I will be leading training for our new acolytes on Sunday, December 6th immediately following worship and they will be installed in their ministry on Sunday, December 13th. During the service on the 13th, they will be given a wooden cross to remind them that they are picking up their cross as "followers" of Jesus.
If you are the parent, godparent or grandparent of a 4th-7th grader, please encourage your children to participate in this important ministry. If you are a member of the congregation, please take a moment to let those you see serving at the altar know that you find their presence meaningful and enriching.
Thank you so much for your support!
Faithfully,
Elizabeth
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Thanks! Wow! Gimme! Oops! Don't Forget!
Talking with God and listening for God's response is the beginning of wisdom for all of us. Jesus prayed often, both alone and with his friends, and left us the perfect prayer, what we call "the Lord's Prayer" as a model for how we can pray.
The tradition of the Church categorizes prayer into different types. There are prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of adoration, prayers of petition, prayers of repentance and prayers of intercession. These are pretty big words, some of them loaded and it can be difficult enough to figure out how to pray them in our own lives, never mind teach them to our children. But if we get to the core of these different types of prayer, we can describe them as "Thanks!" "Wow!" "Gimme," "Ooops!" and "Don't Forget!" Sounds a little less formidable, doesn't it? And I'll bet you already pray many of these kinds of prayers. Here are my thoughts on teaching them and praying them with your children at home.
THANKS! is one of the easiest ways we talk to God. When something wonderful happens to us, it is time to remember that all good things are gifts from God and we need to take a breath and take the time to thank God for blessing us. Thanksgivings are an easy way to begin praying with your children. Grace before meals is an example of a thanksgiving prayer - and they are good models for other "thank you" prayers. The words aren't anywhere near as important as the feeling of gratitude we express.
WOW! is another easy and obvious way to pray with your children. When you see a beautiful sunset, hold a new brother or sister for the first time, or play in the first snow of the winter it is easy to be amazed by the world God has created so lovingly. Sometimes the feeling of awe we have is beyond words, but, again, the words aren't what is important. Simply to stand in the presence of God's work and acknowledge that it leaves you breathless is enough. Awe inspires wonder and children are wonderful at wondering. Invite them into the experience with you!
GIMME! These prayers require a bit more negotiation with your children to help them understand. It is always tempting to pray for things we want but don't need. We may want to hit the ball out of the park, but is that really the sort of thing we should ask God for? When your child wants to offer a prayer like this one, we need to gently guide them into the proper way of understanding what God wants for us. There is nothing wrong with asking God to help you use your abilities to their fullest or to be a graceful winner, but to ask to win games, get prizes or to be popular doesn't help us to learn to trust God and to rely on the good things God gives us. Gimme! is a normal desire of human nature, but it is one that needs to be tempered. The Lord's Prayer is a good model (granted, it's wordy!) for what a Gimme prayer might look like - what we ask for reveals our dependency on God and our desire to help make the world the way God wants it to be.
OOPS! Just as we teach our children to apologize to others, we need to teach them to apologize to God. One of the biggest reasons to talk to God is to learn how to be sorry for the things we do that hurt other people, hurt ourselves, hurt the world and hurt God. As we pray Oops prayers we begin to understand what we did wrong, our hearts soften and we learn not only how to ask for forgiveness from others, but we learn what it feels like to be forgiven. God ALWAYS forgives us and can help us to forgive ourselves and others. This one is a life long lesson for all of us and we are never to young to start!
DON'T FORGET! These are the prayers we offer for others - asking God to bless them, to heal them or to help them with some kind of difficulty in their lives. Again, this is an important lesson in being a grace-filled human being that can never be started too early in life. At bedtime we can invite our children to bless those they love by remembering them to God and asking God's blessing upon them. We can help our children pray for the playground bully or the friend who is too sick to come over and play. Life offers many opportunities to pray for others.
Prayer is a gift always available to us - wherever we are, whomever we are with, whatever the circumstance. It is never too early (or too late) to begin a practice of prayer. With Thanksgiving just over the horizon, now is a good time to begin counting our blessings. Make a list of your blessings as a family and start praying! I am sure that praying thanksgivings together will lead you into the other forms of prayer as well. Praying with our children is one of the greatest privileges of parenthood. To see into and share the joys, hurts and worries of our children's hearts is one of those experiences that always leads me to both THANKS! and WOW! prayers. I'll bet you will find it the same!
Faithfully,
Elizabeth
The tradition of the Church categorizes prayer into different types. There are prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of adoration, prayers of petition, prayers of repentance and prayers of intercession. These are pretty big words, some of them loaded and it can be difficult enough to figure out how to pray them in our own lives, never mind teach them to our children. But if we get to the core of these different types of prayer, we can describe them as "Thanks!" "Wow!" "Gimme," "Ooops!" and "Don't Forget!" Sounds a little less formidable, doesn't it? And I'll bet you already pray many of these kinds of prayers. Here are my thoughts on teaching them and praying them with your children at home.
THANKS! is one of the easiest ways we talk to God. When something wonderful happens to us, it is time to remember that all good things are gifts from God and we need to take a breath and take the time to thank God for blessing us. Thanksgivings are an easy way to begin praying with your children. Grace before meals is an example of a thanksgiving prayer - and they are good models for other "thank you" prayers. The words aren't anywhere near as important as the feeling of gratitude we express.
WOW! is another easy and obvious way to pray with your children. When you see a beautiful sunset, hold a new brother or sister for the first time, or play in the first snow of the winter it is easy to be amazed by the world God has created so lovingly. Sometimes the feeling of awe we have is beyond words, but, again, the words aren't what is important. Simply to stand in the presence of God's work and acknowledge that it leaves you breathless is enough. Awe inspires wonder and children are wonderful at wondering. Invite them into the experience with you!
GIMME! These prayers require a bit more negotiation with your children to help them understand. It is always tempting to pray for things we want but don't need. We may want to hit the ball out of the park, but is that really the sort of thing we should ask God for? When your child wants to offer a prayer like this one, we need to gently guide them into the proper way of understanding what God wants for us. There is nothing wrong with asking God to help you use your abilities to their fullest or to be a graceful winner, but to ask to win games, get prizes or to be popular doesn't help us to learn to trust God and to rely on the good things God gives us. Gimme! is a normal desire of human nature, but it is one that needs to be tempered. The Lord's Prayer is a good model (granted, it's wordy!) for what a Gimme prayer might look like - what we ask for reveals our dependency on God and our desire to help make the world the way God wants it to be.
OOPS! Just as we teach our children to apologize to others, we need to teach them to apologize to God. One of the biggest reasons to talk to God is to learn how to be sorry for the things we do that hurt other people, hurt ourselves, hurt the world and hurt God. As we pray Oops prayers we begin to understand what we did wrong, our hearts soften and we learn not only how to ask for forgiveness from others, but we learn what it feels like to be forgiven. God ALWAYS forgives us and can help us to forgive ourselves and others. This one is a life long lesson for all of us and we are never to young to start!
DON'T FORGET! These are the prayers we offer for others - asking God to bless them, to heal them or to help them with some kind of difficulty in their lives. Again, this is an important lesson in being a grace-filled human being that can never be started too early in life. At bedtime we can invite our children to bless those they love by remembering them to God and asking God's blessing upon them. We can help our children pray for the playground bully or the friend who is too sick to come over and play. Life offers many opportunities to pray for others.
Prayer is a gift always available to us - wherever we are, whomever we are with, whatever the circumstance. It is never too early (or too late) to begin a practice of prayer. With Thanksgiving just over the horizon, now is a good time to begin counting our blessings. Make a list of your blessings as a family and start praying! I am sure that praying thanksgivings together will lead you into the other forms of prayer as well. Praying with our children is one of the greatest privileges of parenthood. To see into and share the joys, hurts and worries of our children's hearts is one of those experiences that always leads me to both THANKS! and WOW! prayers. I'll bet you will find it the same!
Faithfully,
Elizabeth
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