It’s nearing the end of the day on Thursday and we’re heading into another weekend without Sunday School or KidZone. The fact that we’re not having either of these programs this weekend is nothing new. In fact, it’s been a sort of tradition at CtK for Sunday school to be off on weekends when the Gwinnett County Public School system is off on the following Monday. However, I’m beginning to field more and more questions as to why we’re not having anything offered on those “off” weekends. We do this for three reasons: 1) Children need an opportunity to worship with the gathered faith community; 2) our teachers need an opportunity to worship with their families; and 3) many families use those extended weekends for vacations away.
When we baptize a child into the faith of the confessing Lutheran church, we also baptize them into the family of God. In so-doing, that child has been granted a meaningful place in everything the church family does, including worship. Therefore, people of all ages belong in the worshipping community. Children should be involved in worship with adults because the church, which follows Jesus Christ, assumes responsibility for children at their dedication or baptism, and is designed as a covenant community. Surely children, as God’s creation, are part of that community.
Worship is a community action in which we are all invited to participate. The message of the gospel suggests that the good news is for all ages, and as we the church include people of all ages, so God seeks and accepts worship from young and old alike and together. When children see the gathered faithful of all ages, with a variety of learning styles, talents, abilities and modes of self-expression, they can begin to see that worship can and should include everyone, and that everyone can worship.
Christian education and worship are inherently related in that worship brings us to and is thus supported by the programs of Christian education. Through worship we offer to God our sacrifice of praise and adoration. Soon we will need and want to learn more about him in order to more fully communicate with him. In Sunday school we learn about who God is and about God’s purpose for each of us. As we grow and understand more, we worship God more deeply.
Just as our children need this time of worship to gather with the wider church family, so too do our teachers need this time to worship with their own families. As families get busier and busier and cultural values and habits begin to shift and change with each new generation, the church itself finds that many of its people’s habits and trends are changing, too.
In fact, churches across the country are finding that a “regular attendee” is no longer one who attends on a weekly basis, but now a bi-weekly basis. People don’t come as often as they used to! Churches are also beginning to see fewer and fewer children and students attending corporate worship, especially when Sunday school programming is offered at the same time. Sunday school has become an alternative to worship for many children and youth. It’s not just the children who are in Sunday school during worship either. The Sunday school and KidZone programs here at CtK would cease to exist were it not for nearly 50 faithful and dedicated volunteers who give of their time and talents week-in and week-out to share God’s love with our children. These precious volunteers desperately need to be supported by our church family. We can do this by affording them time to worship and to recreate with their families.
For these reasons the Children’s Ministry Team has thoughtfully and prayerfully decided to maintain our tradition of foregoing Sunday school on weekends when the Gwinnett schools are off on Monday. However, we would like to dedicate these Sundays as “Family Worship Sundays.” We strongly encourage you to embrace these special Sundays as a gift—a chance for you and your family to attend worship together, to praise God together, and to ultimately become a stronger family of faith.
