Letter from Josie: June 25, 2025
- josie
- Jun 25
- 4 min read
Dear church fam,
Last week I pontificated on all ages being in church together, sitting together (in cozy prison boxes of love!), using and sharing space, being considerate of others, and welcoming children in to worship. This week: more about movement and flow!
Our goal is for children to grow into full participation with the church community. To that end, we want them to feel loved, known, and connected at church; and part of the security of being loved is being expected to participate as a member of the family. So, we’re thinking about how to give them the tools they need to be part of the family—including nursery care, spaces to take a break and move as needed, and materials to help connect to worship. We’re “trying stuff.”
We ask God for wisdom, then move forward in peace and do our best! Here are some thoughts on movement and the flow of the liturgy that I’ve found helpful to think through (for both children and adults):
Purposeful Movement
Children may have difficult moments during the church service, but remember that adults do as well! Adults are probably better equipped to regulate ourselves: some of us have practices of sketching, coloring, or knitting during church; or taking notes; some take a moment to walk outside or visit the restroom during the service as needed. (In Orthodox churches it’s common to visit icons around the church’s perimeter or light a candle in prayer during the service in a devotional way.)
We’re not expecting zero movement from anybody, but we want to move away from distracting movement and channel it toward “church movement” (devotional movement!?). We’re fortunate to have the church’s structure to help us through worship, with numerous ways to engage our minds, souls, and bodies. We listen a lot, but the liturgy also offers opportunity for full-bodied worship: standing and sitting, kneeling (which is not so obvious or easy at BHUMC, but is available to us). There are processions: with the cross, the elements (the bread, wine, and water), and the precious Gospel book. We lift voices (and hands?!) in song. We make the sign of the cross and pray through other gestures; some of us use practices like genuflecting (bowing or kneeling) before the cross.
Not moving and moving at church
So, movement: we’ve got it, baby! No one is expected to be perfectly still, but we can think about helping children focus their movement through some of the above. (It's not just helpful physically to move, by the way; these things hint at, or openly convey, theological meaning: e.g., standing during the creed; kneeling/sitting to confess; shaking hands at the Peace; Sursum Corda: Lift up your hearts to the Lord!)
Even more:
Help children flow with the liturgy!
Music will be a natural way for many children to participate. All of us can learn “For the Beauty of the Earth” which is the hymn we’ll use to start the service as we process from Wild Wonder into church this summer (later we’ll switch to “All Creatures of Our God and King”). If you’re into it, you could sing or play this at home (here are some easy piano versions), or use a verse or two as a dinner blessing. It’s nice when children recognize a song they know at church and feel some ownership of it.
The longest stretch of quiet, still time will be the scripture readings and the sermon, so save the most engaging “activity” for the sermon (i.e. don’t use all your tricks during the opening song!)
Worship bags are available, and some families have had success putting together a special church bag with things only available on Sundays: a great coloring book, an engaging Bible story book, or a special stuffed animal.
The preacher will often offer a prompt or a question for children to consider at the beginning of the sermon. In the worship bags, there are half sheets of paper that children can use to make their own “prayer cards,” which are essentially illuminated scripture or art responses. (An older child might copy a selection from that week’s scripture readings; a young child might write “Amen” or draw a cross, or something seasonal.) Families can collect these over time for use at your own home prayer table.
At the Peace, it’s a nice time to say hello to friends, move around, pick up children from the nursery, and clean up any materials. (This is also when I’d take my kids to the bathroom! Because if not, inevitably, they ask to go right before Communion.) It’s great for everyone to be there together for the Eucharist, our family meal, the high point of the week.
At the conclusion of the church service (after, we hope, we and the children enthusiastically send all problems to the cross of Christ!), parents should encourage/enable/bribe children to re-set their worship bags so that they’re ready for next week: discard trash, sharpen pencils as needed, refill the paper. Children can also make sure the pews are clear for next Sunday, for the other congregation that shares space with us. This not only helps me and everyone out; but young children love to “work” and help, and they will feel a valued part of the community (and it will be true!).
I’m talking all about various ways to include children, and of course we love them and want to do all we can to connect them to God. But it’s easy to make the mistake of anxiously watching them and hoping they react the right way—either behaviorally or spiritually—when really they’ll benefit most from seeing adults engage in the beauty of worship ourselves, with reverence and joy.
Full disclosure: when Incarnation started we met in a similar sanctuary with pews. The first Sunday, my freshly potty-trained son (you know him!) peed in my lap during our first ever Atrium time. As the weeks progressed, he was known to find and taste old gum from beneath the pews.
We’re very fortunate to have children in our midst, to be able to support each other and each other’s children, and to build a really healthy culture that welcomes children and strangers. I’d love to hear your thoughts/questions/ideas as you think about continuing to build that culture (and increasingly flowing with the liturgy, man!).
lots of love—Josie
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