These links may be helpful as you navigate Flu Season:
 

H1N1 and Services of Baptism
What to Do and What Not to Do in Worship
Hygiene and Holy Communion
Center for Disease Control and Prevention

A lock on the gate of the playground with only the preschool director or the chair of trustees holding the key, or a needed space for the nursery on Sunday that remains dark and locked because the weekday preschool director does not want the church to “mess with her space”.  How do these scenarios exemplify Christian community?

There are several places that we can look to for our responsibility to our children.  Jesus passionately spoke of the importance of refraining from being a “stumbling block” in the formation of our children.  John Wesley encouraged ministers to visit children in their homes.  The UM Book of Discipline and the UM Book of Resolutions address how we are to care for the children entrusted to us. 

Given these examples, what is the answer to the long asked question of shared space between the weekday preschool ministry and the Christian education staff within the church?  Healthy Communication - coming to the table.  We can write policies, conduct meetings, and stake out territory, but if we are not communicating with one another all of those actions are moot and sometimes destructive. 

Questions to consider:

How are we continually looking at ways to improve communication and relationship between preschool staff members and the church education staff?

What mechanisms do we have in place to bring people to the table to constructively work through issues regarding use of space?

What policies do we have in place to allow ongoing communication concerning issues around space between the Preschool Director and church committees?

How do we communicate with one another so that there is more of a focus on community rather than individuality?

What budget process do we have in place to adequately maintain ongoing ministries given varying economic climates?

How do we set an example for children through our actions and decisions on shared space?

Resources:

1.        UMC “Childcare and the Church” document - www.gbod.org/children

2.        United Methodist Association of Preschools-Florida - www.umapfl.com - Accreditation and training for weekday preschools

3.        Director’s Manual for Weekday Preschool Ministries - Barbara Snell McClain - Practical guide for establishing and maintaining a weekday preschool ministry

4.        A Place of Our Own  - www.aplaceofourown.org - Web-based staff training for Preschools

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ ²He called a child, whom he put among them, ³and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.Temptations to Sin  6 ‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. ⁷Woe to the world because of stumbling-blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling-block comes!  -Mt 18.1-7

Matthew 18.1-7, the pericope of “true greatness” tells us that there is nothing greater than the Kingdom.  There is nothing greater than devotion to Jesus Christ.  So, why stop the imagination, the innate ability to play?  Jesus came to us an infant to bring “a new covenant that does not lower God’s standards, but points to the power to meet those standards.  Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, through the coming of the Holy Spirit, a new power is available for living God’s way.  The church is called to be the people of God who provide the nurturing community required to teach and to walk with our children on their faith journey.”

Our example of this is Jesus view of children.  We know that Jesus values children.  It was an angry Jesus who told the disciples to “let the children come” to him.  Jesus took the time to hold children in his arms.  Jesus took the time to lay hands on children.  Jesus took the time to bless the children.  Jesus healed children.  Jesus named children as people of faith.  Children experienced and experience personal time with Jesus.  The Kingdom belongs to children, and like at the celebration of the Eucharist, they deserve full welcome and participation.  Children need to grow up noticed and valued and nurtured as members of the faith community. 
   

Though it may sound silly, I invite you to stomp in a mud puddle, play “red light - green light” with your children, sing songs at the top of your lungs while waiting for the light to change at an intersection!  Volunteer at a weekday childcare center.  Life is tough and getting tougher.  Our children, our family and friends, our neighbors, and even us… we need blessed play.

Jesus requires us to be like a child.  Be playful.  Be spontaneous.  Be vulnerable.  Trust God.  Depend on God.  Have faith in God.

RESOURCES:

The Inner Lives of Children – The Spiritual Lives of Children by Robert Coles

The Religious Potential of the Child by Sophia Cavaletti

Unplugged Play by Bobbi Conner

Real Kids, Real Faith – Practices for Nurturing Children’s Spiritual Lives by Karen Marie Yust

Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey – Nurturing a Life of Faith by Catherine Stonehouse