Monday, September 15, 2008

On the first day of Sunday School, Jesus gave to me...

...a much bigger class than I was expecting.

Based on the estimates I was given, I was expecting somewhere between 4-6 ninth through 12th graders yesterday morning. I ended up with four high school students, 3 eighth graders, one sixth grader, and a 20 year old who can't bring herself to sit through the adult forum, where the youngest participants are more than twice her age (I feel her pain...)

The eighth graders will eventually be taught by the interim pastor for confirmation when she arrives. I suspect the 6th grade will join them, even though she is too young for confirmation. She already made her first communion, so asking her to sit through that class with the 5th graders isn't fair.

I wasn't expecting to have such a wide age range, and the high school kids weren't really happy about it. They were even less happy about the "opening ceremony" which is planned for the opening of classes each week. It's intended to get everyone together to pray together before class, but the problem with that plan is that it is absolutley impossible to plan prayer for a group of kids from preschoolers through 12th grade. The middle school and high school students absolutley don't want to jump up and sing, "Allelu, allelu (Praise ye the Lord)" or "Jesus loves me." The preschool kids can't dig deep into prayer like the older ones can. It just doesn't work.

I told my class yesterday that if they didn't want to sit through that every week, they didn't have to. I can't subject them or myself to that every week. The problem is that the woman who is organizing that is a pinnacle of our congregation, well respected, very...outspoken, etc. She is also a first grade teacher who, I think, just doesn't get how...offended middle school and high school students are to be asked endure that. And it's not like they are being asked to plan, or read, or anything else, which I could get behind. They are just being asked to sit in the pew like good little boys and girls and jump up whenever the song calls for it. Blerg.

Oh, the supply pastor we had this week (who we've probably had more than any of the others) had an awesome stole for the Feast of Holy Cross. It consisted of patchwork crosses in different shades of green, but at first your eye only saw the darkest ones. It's very hard to describe, but it was very cool.

And the children's sermon was awesome yesterday. It was only three preschoolers up front with the pastor, but they were really listening and interacting, and climbing all over her. It was really fun. To see those little kids with so much energy and enthusiasm really gives me hope. I just hope the world doesn't crush it out of them down the line.

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