Thoughts on Sunday school attendance in 2013

January 16, 2013

Well, my last blog was last January 2012! Pretty poor showing, I guess. But, better late than never.  Here are some thoughts on Sunday school attendance in another new year.

Clearly, we no longer live in the era when people attend church as a habit; likewise for children, youth and adults attending Sunday school. I know church is competing with sports and that lives are very busy, very scheduled. I also  know that, if parents find nourishment and engagement at church, they are likeliest to bring their children consistently. And vice versa! And I do believe that the Story of God's People (aka the Bible) is a Story worth hearing and becoming part of (and maybe rewriting!) - whatever our age. That is why I come to church. That is why I am the Director of Children's Ministries, so that I can tell the Story to children, and in the telling, hear something new in it each time. Not just because I like strange old stories, but because this Story gives my life purpose and meaning, as well as the less industrial duo -- joy and hope! These things come in pretty handy as one goes through life. Plus, they can change at least small parts of our world.

Currently, our average Sunday school attendance is at about 50% of the children whose parents are members or regular attenders -- which matches the percentage of members who attend worship. Probably not a coincidence. In any case, I hear from many of you that you think we've got a good program going here, so please help me solve the mystery of the other 50%! If you are one of our members or regular attenders whose children do not attend Sunday school often, please feel free to blog, email or call to think out loud with me about the reasons for that. If you and your children do attend regularly, I want to know what keeps you coming.

Thanks for reading and thinking. I look forward to hearing from you --

Kindly,

Rachel M Clark

Director of Children’s Ministries
Falls Church Presbyterian
703-532-6518, X 103

A New Year, Time to Blog!

Greetings!

Some of you will no doubt chuckle at this, but this is my VERY first blogging experience. But, how I could be the Director of Children's Ministries here at FCPC without posting things on the Christian Education blogspot? It's a new year, time to try something new!

So...here we go.

I am going to offer a few impressions of this past year's Christmas Eve Family Service. The 4:30 one, with the pageant. Remember? The one with all the Sunday school kids in assorted Bethlehemesque costumes. And the Charlie Brown Christmas music,, including an electric guitar and drums. And little kids singing The Friendly Beasts, one of whom was not too keen on being the beast which had been chosen for him. And the dog on stage. And the two girls in pajamas reading a story to two wiggly little kids in pajamas -- on a bed. And a little girl playing "The Brightest Star" who suddenly got stage fright but managed to shine after all, even though the points of the star were poking her in the chin. And a quick-thinking 5th grader, who picked up the very heavy, old rock upon which Mary has sat in pageants of old, and plunked it down at the right time, so Mary could receive the gifts from the shepherds and wise men while she held Jesus (cloth and foam) lovingly in her arms.

It was a short service (35 minutes with prelude and postlude!), but it taught me a long lesson in humility (a lesson I am sure to need repeated many more times).

As a performer and writer, I tend to want things to be PERFECT the first time. But, that is NOT "what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown." It's a Story of an unlikely birth in an unlikely place. And a glimpse of God breaking through the veil which separates this world from the next. That cannot be stage-managed. It happens when you least expect it.

Nonetheless, I had put a LOT of work into that service. And I wanted it to be a lovely, charming, meaningful, artistic and profound experience for all those worshipping with us that afternoon.

Well...here's what happened instead. God took over. There were mistakes. And missed cues. And hesitations. I could feel my nerves fraying as it progressed. But...at the end, the chancel was filled with children and youth gathered around Mary and Jesus in the manger. The Story had been told once more. We sang all the usual Christmas hymns, ending on an up-note with Joy to the World. No one was injured. No babies cried (that I remember). Nothing was damaged. And most importantly -- the children had the experience of leading the congregation in worshipping God, of helping to bring Jesus into the world, once more. Amen.

I have never tried a blog before, but I figure it can't be much harder than emailing or having a conversation (albeit one-sided if no one responds!). Here goes...

Today in Sunday School we talked about how we are in the advent season on the "circle of the church year" calendar. We read the story of Mary's cousin Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah and how they had a son, John. We also talked a bit about Mary and Joseph and Jesus' birth in reference to John's birth. It was nice to focus on something other than what the children already know. Clearly, so much of advent is about the birth of Jesus, but I also like hearing the "back stories." I loved the look on the kid's faces when I said, "Can you imagine if your dad couldn't talk the whole time your mom was pregnant with you?" My husband, who was helping in class today, had to stifle a comment and a laugh. Besides a quick detour of "Santa's not real," we had wonderful comments and responses this morning. (What prompted that comment, I can't recall and I quickly sidestepped that issue - that's for God and you to deal with!!)

For our craft, we made paper chains as a sort of advent calendar. Every day the children are supposed to tear off one of the links so that on December 25 they will end up at the star representing the birth of Jesus. What we did not discuss (and I meant to!) was how each day they tear off a piece of the chain, they could think of something for which they are thankful. I know everyone is busy, so I thought this would be a simple way of being more thoughtful during this advent season. (I emailed this to the parents, so hopefully they will try this at home.)

A friend of mine takes this advent chain a step further. She and her two (older) kids write down on each strip of paper some way to give back for each day during the advent season as they create their paper chains. Then, as they go through advent, they have a daily activity that helps them focus on being more giving and caring. It can be monetary, as in donating food to a shelter, but it usually is not. For example, the other day my daughter Ellie and I took an elderly woman's shopping cart back from her car to the store's entrance. An older sibling could watch a younger sibling while a parent cooks dinner. You can be much more creative than I! I have not ever done this kind of chain with my own children, but my goal is to someday try it. I hope you find the idea interesting as well.

Of course, the children's paper chains can also just be decoration! :) We had a lot of fun making them (and figuring out that tape worked MUCH better than glue!). Plus, we got to use stickers at the end of the craft and really, there is no better way to celebrate the birth of Christ than with glittery stickers of Christmas symbols. May all your days during advent glitter and glow!

Improv Night at Fellowship

So this past Sunday (November 6th) my friend from school, Bea, and I led an improv workshop during the middle school fellowship hour. Many of you may know improvisation, or improv, from popular television shows like Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Drew Carey's Green Screen Show, and Drew Carey's Improv-a-Ganza, as well as touring groups like Whose Live Anyway? and The Colin and Brad Show: Two Man Group. I personally have been doing improv since I was 11, and Bea and I have been doing it together since our freshman year of high school. In fact, we bonded over a mutual love of the ever-so-wonderful Whose Line Is It Anyway?. Well, for an hour and half on Sunday, Bea and I brought our passion to nine middle schoolers from the church. We explained the 5 main rules of improv, showed them a clip of the oh so hilarious party quirks from Whose Line, demonstrated a scene of the very hard New Choice, and were off. We broke up into two groups, Bea taking one and I the other, and set off onto an adventure of President Obamas, Eeyores, bus stops, and whats-its. Needless to say, everyone had a blast. Nobody stopped laughing and the kids couldn't get enough. We ended off the night with a group game of Freeze for the parents, consisting of bungee jumping, 7-eleven robberies, and spilled spaghetti.... The kids didn't want the night to end, and, well, neither did Beatrice and I, and not just because we had history homework to attend to. Hopefully we can do it again sometime because, as I always say, improv is all about letting yourself go, making a fool of yourself, falling flat on your face (both literally and figuratively), and laughing till your sides split (sometimes literally depending on the scene you're doing), and you can't not laugh. Improv is a great stress reliever and a quick break from our hectic D.C. lives and Beltway traffic (although please no watching it while driving) and I sincerely hope all of you get to try it soon. From Bea and I, thank you so much for the opportunity. We had a B-L-A-S-T. :)

Chuck -
Thanks for sharing the development/beginning of the Beatles "curriculum". I appreciate the periods that you describe in the Beatles journey and similarities with that of Christians and believers of spirituality.
I think you have touched on the essence of God's powers and our role in His kingdom. If we let His will be done - God can use all of us to prosper His kingdom and positively influence our world. Whatever our spiritual talent or gifts, and in spite of our flaws/shortcomings, God will find a way to use any believer to connect and influence others.
Mark

Interested In Posting Original Ideas Or Material

For those members or friends who would like the ability to post an original idea to share - please send an email to the address below and you will be invited to be given that access. Peaceful Journey and God Bless.

markskinner32@hotmail.com

Beatles

The Gospels According to St. John, St. Paul, St. George, and St. Ringo?

            A couple of years ago, I was browsing in a bookstore and noticed a fat history of the Beatles, hard cover, sitting near the check-out, really cheap (about 5 bucks).  At almost 900 pages, the book (“The Beatles,” by Bob Spitz, Little, Brown & Company, 2005), I figured, would either be incredibly cheap entertainment or would make a good bookend.  It turned out to be a great read.

            Having come into this world in the late 50s, I was aware of The Beatles, first as a kid and later as a young teen.  I remember their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show,  my older brother being sent home from school because he was wearing “Beatle pants,” and the live global television performance of “All You Need is Love”.  But I never really knew much about them – where they came from, how they got their start, how they went about composing their songs, and how, as a group, they came to an end.  It is quite a story: four lads from the rougher parts of Liverpool (the “Nazareth” of England), none of whom had any musical training, coming together and rapidly rising to become the greatest rock and roll act that the world had ever seen (sorry Elvis), only to fall apart after a few short years at the top and go their own ways.

            Great, great, music, but could you make a Sunday School class about The Beatles?  My initial reaction was “No.”  After all, none of them were practicing Christians.  They certainly were not saints.  And, of course, there was that John statement about being more popular than Jesus.  But . . . .  there is the music . . . .

            I have always believed that great works of art – Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple,  Moby Dick, Michelangelo’s David – offer some of the strongest proofs that the Divine resides with us and within us.  I place the wonderful music and lyrics of Paul McCartney and John Lennon in this category.  Paul himself believed that perhaps he had “nicked” his most popular song, Yesterday, from someone or something else.  Downloading the lyrics and reading them closely for the first time while listening to the music, it became evident that The Beatles touched upon many universal truths about humans, their relationships with each other, and their search for spiritual meaning.  Thus was born the idea of a Sunday School class for teens, entitled  The Spiritual Mystery Tour.

               I began to see a progression to the Beatles’ music and their lives that parallels the faith journeys of many youth.   The Beatles’ musical canon is organized much like gothic architecture: an early period, followed by a middle period, a high period, and a late period.  In the early period, the music is upbeat and the lyrics focus on one thing: “relationship love”: as Silas Cabarle so eloquently described it.  Listen to “She Loves You,”  “Please, Please Me,” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” and you will see what I mean.   Oftentimes, early teens focus on their friends and relationships.  However, in the “middle period,” the music of the Beatles becomes more complex and less optimistic. The simple plea of “Love me Do” has been replaced by “Help,” “I’m a Loser,” and “Nowhere Man.”  Or, as Ringo put it, “The four of us have had the most hectic lives.  We have got almost anything money can buy.  But when you can do that, the things you buy mean nothing after a time.  You look for something else, for a new experience.”  Teens typically have a similar epiphany at some point:  it is not all about grades and getting into college and where you stand with your friends.

                        The Beatles music enters its high period when the group abandons the grind of the touring altogether and exists only in the studio.  The search for spiritual meaning becomes a prominent theme.  At one extreme is the preacher’s bane, Eleanor Rigby (Father McKenzie’s sermon that no one will hear”), with its rejection of organized religion as a means of spiritual growth.  But at the other extreme is All You Need is Love, a resounding vote for peace and understanding.   The message to be gained from this period, when George is exploring Eastern religions, John is writing poetry, and Paul is experimenting with all forms of instrumentation, is that each person must find his or her own path to spiritual fulfillment.

            And then there is the late period.  When the paths of the four musical wonders that make up the Beatles became too divergent, the group could no longer continue.  In their final few albums, the Beatles provide use with some of their most poignant expressions of spiritual insight.  There is Hey Jude, Across the Universe, Get Back, and Let it Be.  And then there is The End:   

And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love
You make

            If the Beatles have a Gospel, or “Good News,” then this is it.  Maybe there is a Sunday School class here.