What are your earliest childhood memories of church? I remember crying at the door of the nursery as my Mom dropped me off, but then quickly being consoled by a plump, gray-haired woman who gave me a huge hug and offered me those round shortbread cookies with a hole in the middle you could wear as a ring on your finger. I remember swinging on the church playground. I remember wondering if the people wearing robes and headpieces telling stories underneath the tents set up for Vacation Bible School were REALLY old enough to have lived during Bible times. I remember making a dried noodle necklace and wrapping felt around a hotel size soap to make it look like a book and we wrote "Bible" on the front. Someone said to put it in your dresser drawer to keep your clothes smelling nice which I thought was strange, but I did it. As I packed my clothes to move away as a camp counselor at Glisson and later to college, I remember finding the small, scented "Bible" and all my church memories came flooding back.
Let's ask our children their earliest memories of church! (Feel free to email me and they might just end up in this Sunday's sermon!) Just yesterday as a wonderful volunteer helped install the what-I-thought-was-infamous indoor VBS slide onto the stairwell going into the Fellowship Hall, I was aghast that even my 9-year-old did not remember this pre-pandemic staple of Vacation Bible School. She smugly reminded me, "That's because you didn't bring me to VBS when I was in daycare." Toushe'. I suppose our pandemic kids' earliest memories may include zoom screens and drive-thru children's ministries. And my own children DO now remember Family VBS as an evening event where we bring an ice cream truck on the last day! (Actually, ice cream AND cookies this year with Tiff's Treats!)
As I reflect on the challenges and hindrances to Jesus' call to "let the children come to me" that I'll be preaching on this coming Sunday, I'm reminded about how hard it is to physically and logistically (and sometimes emotionally and even spiritually) to bring my own children and children of Glenn and this community to Jesus. I am grateful for the generous tithers that support our budget, to flexible and persistent parents and grandparents who show up, and an encouraging church leadership and staff for us to keep journeying together to overcome the challenges to answer Jesus' call to let the children come. Will they still sometimes cry when we drop them off? Absolutely. (And we now offer lots of Family ministries so no drop off required!) Will there still be snacks? Usually. Fun on the playground? Yep. Memorable AND random crafts? Yes. Eccentric volunteers? Always. Strange traditions? You bet. With the hope and prayer that enough faith traditions are offered that even if they are stored way back in the far corners of a drawer and forgotten about, one day soon a familiar scent (or song or person) will remind each beloved child of God of the stories we first learned of Jesus and the church family who showed the way to Him.
Grace and Peace,
Susan
P.S. I recognize not all church memories are good ones and church/faith related hurt and trauma is a reality of complicated relationships with the Church as an institution and in our spiritual lives. If you'd like to connect about resources for healing church/faith-related trauma, please know you can reach out.
P.P.S. It's never too late for "first" memories or new memories of church! If you've never been a part of our Glenn UMC ministries, or it's been a while, ALL are welcome! Check out all of the announcements below and/or let me know if you'd like to connect over coffee/lunch to share ministries that you and/or your family could be a part.