Ash Wednesday

One more little blurb:

As I mentioned earlier, we did a dry run the week before Ash Wednesday to allow kids to ask questions about Lent, about the service, about the ashes, about the sanctuary--everything! As always, they kept me on my toes with astute questions.

We also talked about the importance of a holy, sacred space, and I encouraged them to find something sacred to them to focus on before they even walked in the sanctuary, to remind them of the holiness (akin to taking shoes off before standing on holy ground). At the service itself many of us sat together (although some kids preferred to sit with their parents), and the kids received ashes. I was moved by their solemnity and the energy they put toward looking up the scripture passages and writing out their sins on the flash paper (later dropped in the urn at the altar).

After it was over, several of the kids came up to me and said, "Ms. Kim, it said on the bulletin to enter in silence, but some of the adults were talking. Don't they know it is a holy place?"

In SS, we've been discussing Jesus calling the children, so I reminded them that Jesus called children examples of the Kingdom of God. What examples they were that night!