KidsInC Lent

Ok, sorry for the 3rd post in a row, but there's a lot going on. In KidsInC (preteen ministry), we've been doing a Lenten series which came from a hodgepodge of places (books, my head, worship planning, etc). One book that has some really good ideas in it is Seasons of Faith by Abingdon Press. I don't use it exclusively but more as a springboard for ideas. It's a great building block.

We've worked on Jesus' baptism and created a "river" for them to put their feet in while we told the story. It was basically a covered wading pool, some water, pebbles, sand, and some fake rocks and plants, but they got the point, and they loved the tactile sensory stuff. We also did the temptation of Jesus, which led into some peer pressure issues, and then Jesus' healing which was nice because we incorporated some activities from the Bo's Place grief seminar and opened up some great discussion in small groups. And today was the Triumphal Entry lesson. The Seasons of Faith book has some great art projects like a mural incorporating all of these lessons and a Lenten Tree which the kids have had fun decorating.

Next week, it's the Cleansing of the Temple to the Crucifixion, and we're ending the time with our version of a Tenebrae service, which I'm very pumped about. And then the following week, we're doing our Easter celebration, and they can't wait for that.

Then we're doing our monthly service project which this time is goodie bags for the confirmands who go before Session that weekend, and then it's time for our retreat which is going to be focused on friendships.

Ok, I should probably go to sleep now, but I'm just psyched. It was a great night with soooo many kids--a little chaotic, but that's always fun!

CW 4 and Palm Sunday

The pilot is finished, and it was a huge hit! I haven't gotten many parent surveys back yet, but the kids' surveys were all positive. In fact, the only suggestions they gave for improvement were for more stations. Yup! When we get more volunteers...though the response for volunteers for this pilot was actually very positive. Whether that will wane when this becomes a permanent fixture remains to be seen, however.

Verbal parent feedback was also positive, though there are some funny faces when I tell them that the kids will be in the service for the entire time this weekend and that there won't be any cute processionals--we'll ALL have palms in the pews. I think they'll be pleasantly surprised. Plus, the kids have worked very hard on their leadership roles for worship this weekend; we did a dry run with mics tonight, and it was outstanding. It's the first time in the church (and anywhere else I've seen for that matter) where anyone but the pastors have spoken elements of a sacrament (communion), and that is very, very cool to me. They are leading communion alongside the pastors, saying the Great Thanksgiving and prayers for the people, etc. It's very exciting, and I'm lucky to have such forward thinking and kid loving associates.

Pentecost update

So now the thought is that KidsInC, our midweek preteen program, will illustrate the different aspects of the story of Pentecost, and then we'll scan them and project them on the screen as we tell the story.

We're doing a similar thing for Sunday School this weekend. All grade levels are going to get a different "station of the cross" scripture to illustrate and then hopefully, we'll get to display them in order during Holy Week.

Pentecost

We're (adult ed and CFM) planning an intergenerational (well at least semi-intergenerational--the youth tend to do their own thing) SS event for Pentecost which will involve the telling of the story and then a bunch of different stations for activities including the following:

• windsocks
• kites
• bubbles
• candles
• cupcake decorating (bday of the church)
• pinwheels

Then, after they make their crafts, we're going outside and flying the kites and such (provided the weather is good). It sounds kind of boring on here because I just hit the highlights, but I think it will be a nice event, and it's cool that adult ed approached me about planning something together! Maybe we'll start breaking down some of the silos after all.

CW2,3

The last two Sundays of the CW pilot have been amazing. Our numbers were a little small last week due to spring break, but I was glad to see several visitors coming back.

What was interesting to me was comments from parents whom I haven't met before who brought their kids back because the kid "really liked it." Let me explain. These kids don't come to Sunday School, which is rotation and supposedly fun filled and action packed. [Personally, though I like rotation SS much better than popsicle stick Jesus SS, I think it lacks something, but that's an issue I can't tackle right now, and I try to supplement the lessons as much as possible.] But they come to the Children's Worship pilot--no curriculum, no "action," no puppets (puppets give me the heeby jeebies anyway), no flashy lights and mesmerization--just pure adoration and worship of God. It's simple, heartfelt, and real, and these kids want to come back for it. I'm amazed and overwhelmingly happy by that. They aren't coming back to CLPC because of what we're giving them. They're coming back because they enjoy worshiping God, and that is just...well, I don't have words for it...indescribable.

The other interesting comment I've heard is from the workers who all say that the kids are more focused and involved than they've ever seen before. Again, so cool bc it's just pure God and not a bunch of smoke and mirrors.

We've done the worship with our hearts and strength, and this weekend is soul, which I'm particularly jazzed about because a group of kids are doing an interpretive dance as the message. They choreographed much of it themselves based upon the music and lyrics, and it is enough to bring you to your knees. And we're even going to have a dance station where they can just freely dance to music. I'm a dancer, though, so it's cool to me. We tried to vary the messages for the pilot: drama, video, discussion circles, and now dance, just to give them a flavor for the many ways to praise God. And we've varied the prayer station, too, last week being rocks that the kids could write their prayers on. Note to CM workers: that was a hit. They really got into that and put them in their gardens or special places when they got home.

We're putting out a survey for the kids and parents this week, so I'll be interested in seeing what they have to say about it.

Think God!

Worship Pilot week 1 went well. The theme was "Think God! Worshiping God with your Mind." We had a few technical difficulties at the beginning, but they were soon resolved.

From my perspective, it seemed that the kids were very engaged, particularly because we kept them moving with sign language and movements for many of the creeds and songs. Plus, the more emergent part of the service was very well received. The message for the day was in the form of a drama, and Exalt (the kids' worship team) presented it beautifully.

One of the adult helpers shared her thoughts:

"I was in the break out prayer room with the children. I told the children to write a letter to Jesus either thanking him for everything or telling him a problem or concern they have or anything they want to tell Jesus.

I wasn't trying to read theirs but a couple of the children shared with me. They were so touching I almost cried. One little first grader was writing her letter and wrote to Jesus that she wanted him to take care of her cousin in heaven that had died. Then below that she drew a picture of a tomb with a little boy inside with Jesus holding the little boy and above it was the cross and below the tomb was grass and flowers. But the cross was very large and prominent over the little boy's grave.

Another little girl wrote a long note to Jesus very detailed but I did not read it but below it she drew a large cross and in it she drew Jesus with his hands and feet nailed to the cross and above it she wrote. He died for Me! Then around the cross was a couple of angels. Anyways she spent a long time with lots of detail and I thought it was such a great picture and depicted what Christ did for her and us."

We also had a station with heaps of different types of Bibles from comic book style to a standard NIV. Here's what a volunteer had to say:

"What I liked about Sunday was the reading room. I went in there to see how the kids were doing, and several of them asked me to read a story out of the Bible. They would be looking at all the different versions and pick a story and then I would read it. They would all sit around me (almost cuddle up to me) while I read. It was really nice. And, it was several of them, not just a few and not just my son (I don't even think he asked me to)."

All in all, it didn't go exactly as I had in my head-- a seamless, polished service. I had different plans for music (songs with visual images of nature and unbelievable crosses that the executive assistant put together), but the music department had plans for a large chunk of kids being gone to sing in the main service so to compromise, we had the kids come worship and then sing in our service. The music was very choral/ecclesiastical, but it worked, and it showed another form of leadership through singing in a choir. And that's when I was reminded: this was His service--let go. And I did, and it was amazing.

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!

Pilot starts March 4

It's almost here, the Children's Worship Pilot. We're doing 4 weeks and studying how to worship God with your heart, soul, strength, and mind. We've also got a technology group to put together multimedia presentations.

Also, we've got a children's worship leadership group called Exalt who meet once a week to plan leading worship. They will lead during the pilot and will also lead alongside adults in all three regular Palm Sunday Services.

Ok, more on this later. It's 10:30 and I just got out of Session meeting! I'm probably repeating earlier posts, so forgive me!

APCE and Vday

The conference was jam packed with activity. I don't have much to share from the seminars--at least not anything I haven't learned in past workshops. The plenaries were outstanding, though--Frances Taylor Gench.

Valentine's dinner was spectacular. We reached capacity and had a nice mix of ages. The older adults and other non-parents were so complimentary of the kids, and it was nice for them to get to see how hard the kids work in this church and to see how much they love serving. And the kids had fun! It was awesome bc they would come up to me and ask if it was ok to do this and that, and their ideas were amazing! Truly it was a success.

Helping kids work through grief

I recently went to a 2 day seminar on helping children cope with grief and trauma at Bo's place . It's a fantastic facility doing amazing work, and they gave me permission to highlight some of the seminar's events online, since they are only local to Houston.

The first part of the seminar was understanding the grief response and mainly comes from J. William Worden.

Then they began to focus solely on kids, breaking the grief cycle up by ages and giving the following general advice (keeping in mind the age of the child):

• Answer questions honestly and openly--Avoid euphemisms bc the young child will view them concretely, and the older child will view you as inauthentic
• Allow child's own time table-don't push or lead the child into a certain direction
• Reflect back feelings (validate), and reassure concerns for safety
• Allow for repetition in discussion; each time a child repeats a story or part of a story, he/she is allowing himself/herself to feel and process the emotions associated with it a little bit more.
• encourage physical activity
• help child to connect with a support system
• be mindful of anniversaries
• encouraging kids to get the emotions out; if they are reticent, tell them to cry in the shower bc you're alone there and wet anyway
  

Much of the other general advice they give is what we give to all children--building trust, etc.

Activites and resources:

• Bring in an item of clothing from the family member who died and let the kids make a giant pillow out of it
• Monster Stomp
• Bring in concrete images for preschoolers (e.g. a dead leaf and a live plant)
• When Dinosaurs Die
• Write a letter to the person who died
• Anything from here
• Tear Soup
• Tibetan Prayer Flags--write on them things that you wish to tell the person who died, and then hang them outside (wind takes the prayer to God is the visual image)
• journaling
• make a grief garden (paper flowers attached to tongue depressors that you put in a flower pot with rocks in it--write on the flowers things that you appreciate or have learned from the grief)
• Journey Map--what landmarks or geographical things would you see on a map of your grief journey
• quilt squares
• Tri fold paper (past, present, future--how you feel)
• Fire in my heart Ice in my veins

There was much more, but it's tough to condense it into a blog post. Hope you can use some of it (and actually some of the activities could be tweaked for things other than grief).

Conferences and seminars

Lots of seminars coming up:

• Good Grief for Kids
• APCE--this one I'm attending more for networking and because a church member is receiving a lifetime achievement award
• Promiseland--having recently moved from Chicago, I'm not a huge fan of Willow Creek personally (megachurches just aren't my personal style, and frankly, Barrington has always struck me as a monoethnic suburban nightmare), but they do have great leadership conferences.

Anyone attending any of these?

Upcoming happenings

This has been a week of nonstop meetings and planning (what else is new?), but there are wonderful things happening:

• Weekend in the Word: adult lecture series, but the kids will also have a series which will be a multisensory look at parables
• Valentine's day dinner--an intergenerational event where the kids will actually be working the event.
• New children's worship pilot program to start in Lent (I can't express adequately on this blog how excited I am to see this one coming together).

Big Meetings

Ok, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. The past few months have been filled with, well, Advent and Christmas, and then significant reading, researching, planning, praying, pulling my hair out, praying again...you get the picture. Blogging has been the last thing on my mind.

I've emerged not necessarily refreshed (I need a good vacation, really) but stoked and incredibly nervous at the same time for the exciting changes to come. This week is filled with meetings. Tuesday, we're planning Lent and Easter as a staff, which leads me into my next meeting--new Children's Worship!

For many months now, I've felt guided to change the children's worship at the church. As it stands now, children come in for the first 20 min of worship, have a "aw, look at the cuteypies" children's sermon, and then file out for less than 20 min of busy activities. Well, I take that back. That's what they used to do. Now we have a much better curriculum, but it still only lasts 20 minutes and is really more similar to Sunday School than to worship. There's no real worship going on. It's been nagging me for awhile, and now, we're planning something different.

We're starting with a pilot for Lent. We're pulling the kids out of the main worship service for the full time period (hear me out before you start groaning). The idea is to give them more of an emergent service, different from the traditional and even contemporary services now. Think of everything you know about emergent services (multisensory, visual, etc)--it mostly applies. Furthermore, we're comprising a group from our preteen ministry and teaching them about worship and about how to lead in worship, thus forming a worship team of these kids for drama, dance, music, prayer, etc. This team will actually start earlier than Lent, obviously. Then, on Palm Sunday, the kids (all kids) will join the adults, side by side, in leading worship. Emphasis will be placed on teaching the adults that the kids are not there for the "AW" factor but because they are members of the body of Christ and will lead side by side with the adults in the congregation.

The hope, then, is that if the pilot is well received (or mostly well), then in the Fall (summer is very slow in this community--many vacationers), the kids will spend 3 weeks out of each month in this type of worship, and then will lead and worship with adults on the 4th week. It will be a hybrid of sorts to begin with, with room to blossom into something more.

This is the vision; the meetings are Tuesday and Wednesday, so we will see what happens.

Also on the agenda is an intergenerational event, a Valentine's dinner. The kids will decorate, plan, and serve a catered meal to the adults who reserve a place. The older adults and many single adults and families are responding well to it, and the kids are excited about the opportunity to serve (well 90% of them, anyway). Some of the kids plan to serenade diners with piano, violin, and even recorder music. That meeting is Tuesday afternoon.

Much on the plate, and now I must sleep!

Quote of the day

"I grew up in church and still love God. I am one of the survivors. Many are not so fortunate."--Kathleen Chapman

Alive and well

I'm still here, but I've got a lot going on. Will post soon.

Hope everyone had a wonderful new year!

January goals

Getting own site and learning wordpress, which will have some nice privacy controls among other things.

Teaching children to lead in worship, despite controversy.

Strong focus on making sure that kids make connections with what they are learning and retain it.

Revamp website and other uses of technology in CFM.

Intense prayer for the incoming pastor and pastor nominating committee--that they have strong commitment to children and to seeing them as part of the body of Christ RIGHT NOW, not merely as decoration or entertainment.


That's a good start.

Seeking ideas

Any ideas for the following?

• All church retreats? (ideas, activities, unique ways to include kids in worship?)
• curriculum or other creative ideas for teaching the Parables? (we're doing a weekend series for adults, and I'd like to have a kid component)
• starting a kids' worship team (ideas, suggestions, etc.)
• ideas for teaching kids about how to be leaders in all areas of worship
• ideas for incorporating more technology--we use computers in SS as teaching tools, but I'm thinking more along the lines of having something they can log into from home (e.g. a Sunday School blog or message board; a component of the website that's interactive, etc.).
• parents--getting parents more involved at church AND at home, reinforcing what's learned in SS

How's that for a list?

Evening of Advent

The evening of Advent was a success. First of all, a "cold snap" came in (literally, it was 70 degrees one minute and then clouds flew over and it was 35). That was a good and bad thing. It certainly got me in the mood for Christmas, as well as the other people who were there, but it did deter a large group of folks from coming. Texans don't like cold. ;o)

That said, numbers weren't spectacular, but WHO CARES??? What I saw as I walked around last night was that new families to the church were involved! They were gathered at tables with other new and long time families, making wreaths and discussing plans for the holidays. Also, TONS of the OAKS (older adults keeping spiritual) were there, visiting with families and helping out the kids with their crafts. I, for one, chatted with people I've never had the chance to visit with before (because their kids are grown). Another plus: usually Grinchy members of the congregation were wearing holly bow ties and SMILING!!! Choir members were caroling through the halls. I was immediately cured of any bah humbug feelings (and there is certainly a lot of bah humbugging going on nowadays) and brought back to my youth, to days spent at my home church with my church family decorating the church with greenery and drinking wassail and hot chocolate.

My hope is that the Christmas spirit has spilled over contagiously to the worship services this weekend and into our greeting of visitors. We have the welcome mugs all ready, but I'm hoping our spirit is what embraces people, not a decorative mug.

Speaking of Christmas spirit, my cats have it for sure because I just spied one dragging HER present out from under the tree (she won't touch others). Gotta run before she opens it!

Young Disciples of Christ seeking Involved Parents...

How do you get parents more involved in children's ministry?

How do you respond to a person who drops their child off in the nursery and then goes HOME, not to worship but HOME????

How do you get parents to volunteer in SS when adult SS is going on at the same time, even if they only need to volunteer once or twice a semester?

How do you get parents to stay occasionally on Wednesday nights to help out at a Midweek program instead of saying, "yeah, but this is the only time I can get things done"?

How do we show well meaning people that CM is important for more reasons than just because they raise adult numbers in worship and because they are the "future" (nevermind the present)?

Maybe I'm too idealistic. Maybe it's because my parents were children's ministers and PTA members and youth group helpers and roomparents and choir parents and..." I dunno.

I'm blessed with a load of great volunteers who come every week and who juggle hundreds of volunteer responsibilities from teaching, leading childrens' choirs, handbells, shepherding, decorating and even baking cookies! But those people are the parents of a handful of kids. Where are the other 85%?

ADVENTures

Big discussion at our church:

Advent wreath litany--hope, peace, joy, love or prophets, shepherds, magi, angels?

Which do you use?

Ivy Beckwith talks about the importance of traditions in building community. What Advent traditions do you cherish, both with family and in ministry?