Children in Cityside
It's been commented before that lots of young children changes the dynamic, and are very distracting for many. Could we have one Sunday a month where all children and babies go out to Sunday school for the entire duration of the service?
Or is it the people who are distracted (me sometimes) who need to change? I have a child who occasionally attends.
Children in Cityside
I also hadn't quite registered that the children went out earlier on communion Sundays. As to is it often enough, I think that is a question worth considering. As Cityside is a place where thinking aloud is allowed I am going to do that now... What is the reasoning behind the children going out before the sermon slot and not earlier? Would it make sense for the preschoolers at least to go straight to kids space? Or would that be disruptive given the rate at which we trickle in on a Sunday morning? On the other hand the only problems I have with children being in the service for the length of time that they are would be the noise / activity level, especially if someone presents a more contemplative space, and the difficulty I face when putting together a slot in finding something that is relevant across the age groups and in which the kids might at least engage at some level. Part of me feels there is not alot of point in the kids being there if what is happening is above their heads and so they learn to switch off ( I think that is happening already from what I observe). These are just some rambling thoughts that I am open to being challenged on!
I didn't realise that the
I didn't realise that the children went out that early on communion Sundays.
On the first Sunday of
On the first Sunday of each month we have a communion service where children go out after the call to worship, and the rest of the service is generally some contemplative activity based on a theme...stations etc. The older children are in with us for that, but are provided with their own activities that fit with the theme. So we already have a monthly morning service that's intended to be quiet and reflective, and where the younger children go out earlier than normal. I wonder, is this not working, or not enough...?
Children in Cityside
I think this is an area which could do with some more thought and inspiration so that we find ways which allow for children, their parents and the rest of the Cityside community to have time and space which is best suited their needs. In the process we all need to give and take somewhat. Having three children ( all now adults) I accept that part of being a parent is that for a period of time while my children were young I was not as free to be fully part of worship services as I was once grew older. But I also decided along the way that sometimes the children's needs were better met by providing them with activities and words that they could actually understand rather than having them sit through adult stuff and switch off. I ran the creche at Valley Road Baptist for eighteen months - I only went to about 3 morning sevices in all that time - and I felt that what was important for the children was that they were well looked after and provided with a welcoming environment with good adult interaction. I was lucky enough to have a church leadershup who backed me in what I was doing so we had good equipment, enough adults rostered on to actually engage with the children, proper juice instead of that powdery stuff and nice biscuits for morning tea ( why should children have wine biscuits while the adults get the nice ones?!) I hope those children grew up knowing their was a place for them at church ( even though they didn't go to the service at all unitl they were 5). One thing I know is they loved coming to creche and one Sunday morning when there was no Sunday morning service it was the kids who complained that they couldn't go to creche! So I wonder whether we could think about making some changes at Cityside. Some ideas would be to do as Jonathan suggested - have one service a month where the children went straight to Kids Space. Or we could have them going to Kids Space earlier than they do now - maybe after a slot that was more encompassing of the age groups that make up Cityside and tried to specifically involve the children in some way. Or maybe some other way... I think there are a number of adults who need some quiet reflective space as part of their worship so it would be great to be able to offer that on at least some occasions ( not necessarily every week because as I said earlier we all need to compromise somewhat.) Sending the children out earlier should not be seen as us not wanting them - they will probably be better engaged in something at their level anyway. And so long as we find ways to be welcoming and affirming of the children I think they will know they have a place among us janfd are valued by us just as much as the adults.