722 N. 145th St. | Shoreline, WA 98133

Summer Worship

Wow! Youth Sunday was great. The children payed the chimes, Ian impressed us again with his flute, and Ryan played the piano beautifully. In the sermon we learned from the kids just what peace really means. My favorite definitions were “harmony”, “love”, and “not punching people.”

Youth Sunday was great for kids and for adults. We want to make all our summer services work well across the generations, so Jonathan Thoms and I met this week and came up with a few ideas. (Jon is taking up the leadership of your children and youth programs as Mary E. Pacher retires from her many wonderful years at that helm.)

First, we will prepare an activity sheet each week for kids that are old enough to read and write. These will supplement the activity bags that are hanging on the coat rack at the back of the church. A great example from the past is to have them count the number of “Amens” in the service. How many times do we pray?

Next, we will include a “children’s moment” at the beginning of sermons, and try to end with a take-away message to discuss later.
Finally, throughout the summer services we will pick one thing in the service, or at the altar, to teach about. For instance, do you know what the square, white board that sits on top of the chalice is called and what it is for? (It’s called a pall, and it was originally a way to keep flies out of the sacramental wine.)

My hope is that each of these can be done in a way that enhances our experience of worship for all. Our children’s programs are growing. We are becoming a more multi-generational church. Thanks be to God for these blessings.

Yours in Christ,
David+