Here at Incarnation children are valued and nurtured and we are committed to helping them learn how to worship. Perhaps they won’t always understand what is going on, or what is being said, but children can understand that this is a place where they are loved and accepted. They can come to understand that we place great value on worshiping God as a community and begin learning this practice at a young age!
When children are young, it can sometimes feel challenging to bring them into worship. It is important that we all remember the promises made at baptism to teach our children how to worship. At its very core, worship is our recognition of the greatness of God. In Psalm 50:7-15 we learn about the true nature of worship, that God is not concerned with rituals and sacrifices. We learn that God most desires heartfelt thanksgiving and adoration. We are told time and time again that the most important commandment is to "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul and mind". Worship is a reflection of that love.
Tips for Parents Worship can provide an excellent opportunity for parents to be involved in the spiritual development of their children - use these tips to help your experience!
Allow enough time to get settled and have bathroom visits before the service begins.
Sit towards the front of the worship space!!! Children who can see easily will feel more engaged in what is going on.
Introduce your children to people nearby.
Make sure your child has a bulletin (especially if they are a reader). Help your child find and identify different parts of the service. Let your child underline words he or she can read.
Encourage children to participate by sharing their own financial resources.
Children learn worship etiquette by participation - feel free to whisper to children to teach - explain the meaning of difficult words in music or liturgy. Share your own positive feelings about the various parts of the worship service.
Remember, it is hard for children to sit for a long time. Allow children to sit or kneel on the floor and use the pew or chairs as a desk if necessary. Feel free to pick up a Children's bulletin or a Rainbow Bag as you enter the worship space; both will help keep your child occupied as you worship together.
Children who have received first communion instruction are invited forward to receive communion—but those that haven’t are still invited to come forward for a blessing—this can be a very meaningful part of the service for both of you.
Talk about worship at home during the week (“That’s like what the Pastor said during the sermon” or … “Do you remember the story we heard in church?”) This reinforces what they’ve learned.
Talk about the prayer concerns and pray for them during the week.
If young children get too disruptive feel free to take them out of the service and try again next week—lengthening the amount of time in worship each week until they are ready for an entire service.
Tips for the Congregation
Remember the commitment we have as a congregation to the children in our midst.
Greet the children around you before and after worship, not just their parents, make them feel like an important part of the worship service.
Hand offering baskets to children, not over their heads!
Invite a child you know to sit with you in worship on occasion.
Make it a goal to learn one child’s name in this congregation, and greet that child by name each time you see them in worship.
Understand when parents need to take younger children out of worship or to the nursery and then return to worship. Make them feel welcome when they return, not self-conscious!
Have patience with the learning process; sometimes children will be restless and active in worship. Remember, we are all children of God, and learning how to worship is important. As a congregation we should help support, not hinder, families in honoring the promises they made at baptism.
Compliment children (and their parents) when children have participated and listened attentively during the service.
Our
children, who love so freely, need to be in worship, and they need to
learn how to express their love to God. It's important to God, it
should be important to us, and it is important to the future of the
church as we know it. Will it always be easy? Absolutely not, because
just like everything else, our children are counting on us, their
parents and their congregation, to teach them. It means that we should
endure the goldfish in the pews, and the occasional loud comments with
grace and the understanding that having them there is pleasing to God
and part of our responsibility in fulfilling the promises we all made
at their baptism.
At Incarnation we understand that, and welcome
children to partner with us in being an active part of our worshiping
community.
