During the month of May, we baptized five children in this congregation, and in June, we will be baptizing four more—two sets of twins. That means that nine times recently you have been asked to promise that you will “guide and nurture this child by word and deed, with love and prayer, encouraging them to know and follow Christ and to be faithful members of his church.” Did you notice that I didn’t say that I baptized these children, but that WE baptized these children? Baptism is an act of this congregation, on behalf of the entire church of Jesus Christ around the world, welcoming a new child into the family of faith.

I grew up in a Christian culture. There was nothing else to do on Sunday morning except go to church. All my friends and neighbors got up on Sunday morning and went to church every week. Nothing competed with the church on Sunday mornings—surely not sports teams or shopping malls—not even a drug store would be open. We learned Bible stories in school. I heard the Bible read every morning in my classrooms. I learned the words to all those Christmas carols in Girl Scouts. We prayed before every public event. And even people in the movies went to church now and then. None of that happens today. If our children are going to learn about Jesus Christ and decide to be faithful members of his church, we are going to have to do all the teaching. Becoming a Christian is not automatic anymore. We have to make our faith clear to our children, and make it a compelling choice for them in our fractured world. We are now completely on our own.

We can no longer depend on a very few, very dedicated Sunday School teachers to teach the children every thing we want them to know. We need less from individual teachers, but we need more of them. You have to ask what you can do to help. You have to share what you know. You have to be willing to spend time preparing lessons for the children. You have to help us produce a memorable week of Bible School in July so that children will want to come and learn that the church is a great place to be. You have to be willing to mentor the confirmands and help us find a new Youth Director. We have been without a youth director all year. Thank you to the few who have stepped up and provided wonderful experiences for the youth. They participated in a hunger lock-in at the Rodgers’ last month, and went sailing with the Rule’s and the Pritchard’s. But we really need someone who would be a positive Christian role model and plan a program of activities that keeps the faith growing and alive for them throughout their teens.

And, you have to help us with nursery care for the smallest ones. Feeling that this church is a warm and safe place for all children is the very first step in Christian Education. If that place is not welcoming, parents will stop coming and we may never have another opportunity to teach that child about Jesus. We want to offer childcare for more and more activities, but we must always have at least two people with any group of children, no matter how small. Help us hire caregivers. Volunteer to be a caregiver. Volunteer to lead Share the Care, or one week of summer Sunday School. Please don’t leave it up to the parents alone. You promised to guide and nurture by word and deed…….Just how are you planning to do that?

                                                       - Diane