"Let the little children come to me" Matthew 9:14

Yesterday at Children's Church we focused communion and on having God speak to us. 

We played a clip for the children to watch from the movie "The Miracle Worker". I had never seen this movie, but I'm sure that it impacted the children because it had a great impact on me also to think about the great love that God gave to us. This clay cartoon video showed Jesus as he was walking with his cross through the streets, as he was dying on the cross and when he came back to life and showed himself to Mary and the others. This was something that I had never thought deeply about before yesterday. People who had not seen Jesus, before he revealed himself to so many people, must have thought that Mary was crazy. Sometimes, our faith seems crazy, but there are so many clues in our faith that point to the truth. I thought that the video depicted these ideas in a way that the children could understand and grasp. 

After the video the leaders did a skit on the ways that Jesus speaks directly to us in so many ways. When we cannot get something out of our minds, God could be telling us that we need to pray about those things. I think it was great that these children are learning to speak to God and sit in his presence at such a young age. This was something that I never fully learned (and I am still learning) just to pray in a way that I am not asking God for anything, but rather just having a friendship, a relationship, and sitting in his lap and being in his magnificent presence. 

C.S. Lewis talks about this in one of his essays in the book "God in the Dock" called "Work and Prayer". He talks about how it is important to ask and present requests to God, which is something the leaders at St. Aldates are teaching the children. At the end of class they had the children come and surround a couple of the children who asked for prayer. The leaders and the children surrounded the kids who needed prayer and asked God for comfort, for healing, and to show his mighty presence. Also Rachel and the other leaders are teaching their kids something powerful in, as Lewis writes having "communion or intercourse with Him". The kids laid peacefully on the floor and were asked to think and pray. Some of them talked to leaders and myself about visions that they saw, stories that they thought of either in the Bible or in their own experiences, and some even saw vivid images that in my opinion was the Lord speaking to their hearts. 

One child, who was extremely loud in class on a normal basis saw a vision of three candles on top of a bell. The candles represented the Trinity and he did not understand what the bell represented. He knew that God was trying to tell him that he was supposed to tell others about Jesus, but could not fit the pieces together. Isaac, one of the interns, was talking with the young boy about some of the things the bell could symbolize. Bells are loud, everyone in the town hears the bells, bells announce something such as the time or that someone is getting married, they are important in cities. I just thought this was the neatest thing that the Lord was speaking to him in a way that he felt and was real! 

After they each had a time to shut their eyes and pray, the kids had the opportunity to express the feelings and emotions they had from this experience. They were given the chance to read a story about what they had just heard in the Bible, paint a picture of a vision they just saw, play with play-dough and make a sculpture of what they just heard, or color a picture. Although this is a somewhat non-conventional way of having children's church (or as our culture sees having children's church), I believe this was a powerful way of letting the little children come to God and sit in his presence. 

As the semester is coming to an end, I have started to think about how much I am going to miss St. Aldates and being a part of this church. The people have encouraged me and I have been stretched and have learned so much from the faith of the little children and from the belief of the leaders who spend their time loving and teaching young kids. 

fair trade" taught to young children @ church!

Homelessness, poverty, hunger, injustice needs to be met. The children at St. Aldates are learning these needs at the young age of 5, 6, and 7 years old! It is amazing and exciting to see all the concepts that they start to teach these young kids early on in their lives. At St. Aldates, I feel as if they lay down a foundation that is solid for the kids. A background that is simple, yet steady. A solid rock that is real and tangible and can be applied to their lives right where they are. 

I remember going to Sunday school when I was young and seeing puppet shows and silly skits. Yes, they displayed Bible stories, or ways that I could, "be kind to my neighbor"; however, the kids in England are learning things that I did not understand until I was much older in my life. This week in Sunday School the topic was "Injustice and Poverty". It is week nine out of the "Top Ten" series that the Children's Ministry is teaching at church. 

Prayerful consideration went into this lesson before hand- which was wonderful. Christ tells us to cast all our anxiety and worries on Him because He cares for us. This week, I feel as if God really worked in the hearts of the "climbers". Rachel, the head children's minister was the main teacher this week. I led the red team. We prayed that the Lord would touch the heart's of the kids and of all of us to be generous, to do what we can to help the poor because we are called to be the "hands and feet" of Christ. 

One thing that really stuck out to me this week was praying that we, as Christians, and as young children, would not feel inadequate to help others. I, as a college student, so many times feel inadequate and that the things I do to help others are no good. I think this is a lie and a falsehood that Satan tries to tell us. He twists the truth stating that the little things do not matter and are of no use. I believe differently. It is the little things that make the difference. If it were not for the little random acts of kindness, giving a pound to someone on the street, buying someone coffee or a cheap sandwich, that is what makes a change. 

The kids were especially attentive this week. I helped teach by reading the story of the "Good Samaritan". When we discussed the passage of scripture, the children were so insightful about the simplistic story that we hear all the time. Sometimes when I hear parables told over and over again, and repetition of certain sermons, sadly, these ideas become numb in my mind. It was great to hear this story with a freshness from a children's perspective, yet applicable to my life. 

They stated that the reason the priest and the Jew did not stop to help the man who had been mugged was because he possibly was in a hurry to get somewhere, or did not want to touch the man because he may have been dirty and unclean. This made me think about all the times when I am in such a rush to get somewhere that I selfishly do not think about the needs of others around me. However, the Samaritan, who himself was an outsider, was the one who stopped so graciously to help. He gave the innkeeper money for medical care for a man that he didn't even know. I want to be generous and hospitable like this man. 

Rachel also talked about the Fair Trade movement to the children and how we can help in this little way. I was definitely surprised at the amount of kids who knew what "fair trade" was and even how it worked. I did not know about this until pretty recently within the last few years of my life. I do not know if this is a cultural thing, but the progressiveness of St. Aldates truly never ceases to impress me with the way they handle certain situations like this one. The people here truly want to help and change the world and the lives of all the people in Oxford and around the world. 

I am praying for an irresistible revolution to come over this new generation that is rising up. That they would have a real heart for the poor. I pray that they would be able to overcome the injustices  that the world entangles people with on a daily basis in all nations and countries. 

Everybody Needs Jesus

Sunday morning was another wonderful day of working with the children at St. Aldates. 

Like other mornings, our group started off with prayerful consideration for the children with James and Anna before the class. Anna was the teacher this week, so I helped her get set up for class. I helped pour drinks for the kids before they came to class and set up all the blankets on the floor. We decorated the room with bright colored banners and blew up balloons because the topic of this week's lesson was "Sharing the Good News". 

After the kids sang some songs and they got to talk with the Bishop for a little while, the kids trickled into the common room for games and worship. We played a silly game where they would guess what noise went with which certain animal. They kept score for boys versus the girls. We sang some songs then the Explorers split up from the rest of the group and the excitement began! We started off breaking the ice asking the children if they had any "good news" from the past week. As we did this, Anna called individual children over to the "Good News" box where they found a surprise of smarties inside. They were instructed to tell one other friend in the class to go look inside the "good news" box to receive a candy. Soon, the whole class was filled with excitement from candy and good news! We related this back to the "good news" that Christ has given us- except His good news is not smarties and candy, but rather that Jesus conquered death and offers us forgiveness. We played a game with the five to seven year old kids with balloons. The relay races tied into the lesson by learning to "share" balloons. 

We created a worksheet for arts and crafts for the children. It was a calendar of the days of the week. They were instructed to write a friend's name or a country in each of the boxes and draw a picture of them to pray daily for a person or country that does not know the "good news" of Christ. It is amazing that they are being taught at such an early age to pray for evangelism and people who are not believers. Spreading the gospel can be hard, but it creates a more comfortable atmosphere if they are taught at a young age. I am so excited to be a part of the teaching of these young people for the new generation that will soon be the leaders in the world. 

It was interesting, as I spoke with the children as they did this project at the amount of kids who had been to foreign countries and even continents. A handful of kids had been to Africa and to Russia. They have a very mature world view for the importance of spreading the gospel. Many of the kids had lots of countries drawn to pray for on the worksheet they colored. After they were finished coloring, they prayed in small groups for the people and countries they had drawn. Their prayers were precious, and I know they were pleasing in the sight of God. 

Each week, I am humbled by the fact that so many people in the community take time out of their week and busy lives to invest in children. I am blessed to be a part of this organization and mission work. It has been amazing to get to know the other leaders in my group through small things such as washing dishes after children and folding blankets that they have sat on. It is a joy to be able to pray for them as they grow up in the church and for their friends that do not know Jesus. 

3 more hours with 5-7

This Sunday, February 17, I spent three more hours helping out with the five to seven year old children at St. Aldates. Rachel and Simon (the children's minister and her husband) were not there this week, so there were less leaders in the group. Amanda, Anna and I set up for the lesson right when we arrived at 9:30 AM. 

This week the topic for the lesson was the Holy Spirit. It has gone in chronological orders. We first talked about God the Father, then the next week God the Son and now this week we talked about the Holy Spirit. Amanda, Anna and I prayed for the children for a long time before we started the lesson. This is such a unique time to get to pray intimately with people who I don't know that well, but have Jesus in common with! Because of this common ground, it makes our relationship feel as if we have known each other for a long time. 

We once again set out cups for drinks and cookies for snacks for the children. We set up a craft, game, and blankets for the room. The craft this week was the kids cut out a white paper dove onto a pop-out piece of construction paper to symbolize the Holy Spirit when it came down on Jesus after his baptism. The game was also symbolic of the topic of the Holy Spirit. We cut out fish and had a roll of newspaper where the kids had to bat the floor in order for the fish to move. It was a relay race between teams of the kids to see who could get their fish to the other side fastest. The wind is supposed to symbolize the Holy Spirit because even though we cannot see it, we can see the effects it has and the way it moves us. The Holy Spirit is described as fire and wind also in the Bible. We read these scriptures to the children after we played this game. 

Anther activity that we did was play charades with the kids. The leaders and I acted out the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness...) and the kids had to guess which one we were trying to act. We talked about when we receive the Holy Spirit, other people can see Him because of the fruits he gives us and the actions and qualities that we possess because of the Holy Spirit. 

The kids were so excited to play this game. After the game was over we split the leaders up into smaller groups with the kids and talked about the fruits of the spirit in more detail. We asked them which fruits they thought they possessed and which ones they would like to pray for God to give them more of. One little boy named Lucas was adorable. He said that he had the gift of generosity and kindness because he loved to share and he is good at making new friends. Other kids in the group prayed for patience with their siblings and parents, and self control. 

When the lesson was over, parents came to pick up their kids. Myself and the rest of the leaders cleaned up the room and put away all the supplies for the week. Jill and I cleaned the cups from snack time. It was another successful week in Children's church! God is so good to give me this amazing opportunity to learn from other leaders and from kids about Him. I'm richly blessed to be in Oxford. 

remix.

This morning was a new experience. Molly and Jill were sick, so St. Aldates was short on Children's leaders this morning. Rachel asked me to switch groups for the week to work with the 8 to 10 year olds. While I still got to see some of the kids that I worked with last week, it was a whole different ball game working with the older ones. I was with the "Christopher Columbus" team. 

When I arrived at church this morning, we set up for snacks (made juice, set out cookies and cups), prepared for the games, and for the class project. We gathered our whole team to pray before the eventful morning began. Worship was my favorite time this morning. There was a little girl named Abbey who sat in the back. She was a very quiet little girl, but very cute. During the songs she still stood solitary in the rear, however she was doing all the sign language and hand motions. I could tell that she was praising God with all her heart. This blessed me to see how the Lord is using these people to bring up a nation of believers who will in turn help others as they mature into society. 

The idea we were trying to convey and teach the children this morning is how Jesus was both fully human and God. The metaphor we used to paint a picture of this idea was "super heros". The game was like "Simon Says". Each child had to make a super hero action such as Superman, Mr. Incredible, Catwoman, Spiderman, or Elasticgirl when the caller was turned around. If they were doing the action that the caller said, they would be out. The last four kids remaining get points for their team. The kids loved this, and really had a fun time with it. 

Neal taught the lesson this morning. He created a worksheet for the children to complete in where they were given a Bible story and asked to state whether this was a fully human, superman or mix of both characteristics according to the reference. The kids are so smart here! We worked in our teams to complete the assignment, however each child worked rapidly on their own to go right through the worksheet. They would raise their hands and say what they thought about each Bible story we read and say if they thought it was a human or super hero characteristic. 

As we cleaned up the room, which looked like a tornado had run through it from all the kids, I talked with Zeda and Neal. Neal was feeling discouraged because the kids were a bit rowdy during the lesson. Zeda and I encouraged him that the Lord worked through him this morning and through his words. One little boy named Jake asked if Jesus was both human and a superhero if he would weigh twice as much. What a concept! I thought this was so neat to see how little children wrap their minds around difficult ideas in a vastly diverse way than adults do. This would be something very silly for an adult to say, but hearing this from a child made me want a faith like this. 

Next week I will be back with the 5-7 year olds, but I think the Lord worked on my heart this morning with the older kids for a change. I realized this morning as I was cleaning the dishes from snacks, preparing to leave the church, that there are many ways in which I do not place my full faith in God all the time. It's not silly or dumb to ask questions like Jake did, or to speak your mind like some of the girls in my group. It can only help you or the people around you to talk about it. Jesus told us to have "faith like a child". Being around these children this morning and for the next few weeks, hopefully I will get a small glimpse of what that really means and learn to live that out. 

the first day...

This morning at 9:30 Jill, Molly and I arrived at St. Aldates for our first day of Children's Church! I was excited, yet had no clue about what I was getting myself into. Anna and I got everything ready for the children to have class. We made juice and set out cookies for a snack, set up blankets to sit on, cut out circles for the craft, and most importantly our group prayed for the children before they arrived. 

At 10:30, all the leaders walked over to the main auditorium to pick up the children from their parents. Each child checked into class and the fun began! First the kids had a little battle of the sexes competition- playing Wii! It was so cute to see them all cheering for their friends as the boys and girls raced each other on the video game. We also sang and danced to many songs! There was a guitar, a drummer, and a piano player who were the worship leaders. After the songs were over, each child split up into their groups and walked into the classrooms. 

This morning the lesson was on our "Heavenly Father". The object of the lesson was to help kids understand that we not only have an earthly and biological father, but also God is our Father and he loves us so much! This is something that is hard for a young child to understand. Lily, a girl who was adopted from China was in our class. She and her mother came and talked about how we are the adopted sons and daughters of Christ. This was a neat illustration, especially for children who come from broken families or do not get to live with both parents. 

I met the cutest little children ever, and the accent made them that much cuter when they talked! (: A little boy named Lucas told me about how he and his family recently went to the Dominican Republic. They saw many children who did not have homes or families and had to live poverty stricken on the street without food, water, or shelter. This softened my heart to hear a six year old boy talk about how lucky he is to have a family, a home, and food. Many times we are not always satisfied, but God has richly blessed us beyond measure! I met children by the names of Ellie, James, Nathaniel, Lily, Dean, and many more. (Also, Kennedy was in my group! yaay!) 

Amanda, a volunteer in our group led the story today. She told the parable about the "Lost Son" and explained that God is our Father who waits for us with open arms. The children played a game, similar to Simon Says, where the leader yells out a command from the story and they have to do it. The last one who does it is out. For instance, the leader would yell "Father" and the children would salute. Or, the leader would yell out "Pig" and they would all make an oinkng noise like a pig. What a fun morning it was! After the game we had snacks and orange juice, which the children loved. 

When children's church was over around 12:30, the leaders and I stayed in the room until all the kids were picked up by their parents. We played a game of soccer with them. When they had all been picked up, we made sure everything was back in its place. We folded the blankets, washed the cups, and put up all the activities from the day's lesson. By the time all the parents came and the kids were picked up, and everything was cleaned it was not until about 1:45. I hope each child has a new understanding of the many dimensions of our wonderful God, especially for our Heavenly Father. I am left in anticipation to see all the children I met this week next Sunday! 

jump in!

Last monday night at 7:30 I met up with Rachel Smith, the Children's Minister at St. Aldates. I had asked her through an email about helping with the children, and we had been emailing for about a week. I was so excited to finally meet her. When I got there, I met the two interns named Isaac and Zoe who also help out with the children at church. I helped set up coffee, tea, fruit and refreshments before the meeting started. 

During the meeting we started off with a prayer around 8:30. One thing that I noticed from the volunteers is that they expect big things out of their children. As we prayed, big things were asked of God to do in the lives of the leaders who help, the children who attend, and for the parents of the kids. A girl named Lizzie said, "If we ask big things of God He will answer in big ways, if we ask little things of God he will answer the little things. Lets ask with great expectations and see what He does this term." It was so neat to hear that of these leaders, see the faith they had in God, and to see the important emphasis on the children's ministry. I think sometimes we underestimate the knowledge of children; they are very smart! 

At about 9:00, the leaders split up into smaller groups. I was placed to work with the 5 to 7 year old age group. Simon, Anna, James, Amanda, Rachel and Rebecca are in my group. I am very excited to get to know their hearts for children and for the Lord- they each seem like amazing people. We talked about the itinerary of what the lessons would consist of during the upcoming term. Rachel had already made binders with lesson plans, but each group went through to revise and modify for the age bracket they would be working with. There are some deep conversations that will occur during this upcoming term with the 5 to 7 year olds. The lesson plans are split into each week with topics about the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, God as our Father, God the Son (Jesus), and the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. 

When all the leaders were together, Rachel gave some advice about how to discipline and teach the children. It was amazing to see the patience she has while working with them, which is key in my opinion. She told us that if we are disciplining them, we should try to shun their actions rather than the child. Say "The way you were acting is not appropriate. Do you understand why?" and let the child have a time to reflect upon what he or she did. I left the church building that night around 10:30, and even though it was late all that I could think about was how excited I am to have the chance to work with children. It will be an amazing experience! 

Getting Started with Service

I am so excited to be able to serve the city of Oxford through service hours. My heart's desire is to work with the children or the teenagers at St. Aldates church, however, I am willing to serve in any way I can. My major is Youth and Family Ministry so this would be pertinent to what I am doing back at home. I have emailed a couple of times with Rachel Smith who is the children's minister at St. Aldates. In order to figure out where I am needed and how I can help, I will soon have a meeting with her. It will be neat to see how God uses all of us in this project!