How do we use the time when kids are included in worship? We've tried to focus on the most kid-friendly verses that capture the heart of the message and design a kid's talk and activity sheet around that.
How do we use the time when they have their own time? Should we do something totally un-Song of Songs with this time? We can talk about how "God made me special and He loves me." That's not out of character with the story. Should we tell the Biblical story from Song of Songs in a kid friendly way and let the kids interact with the story? Song of Songs uses all five senses to observe and describe. Should we set up stations to use our eyes, ears, nose, fingers, tongue to identify, describe, or remember (What are you touching in the bag? Which item did I take away? What's that sound? What's that smell? What's that taste?) Should we talk about Jesus? Love? Marriage? What about preschoolers who have been through stormy family times? The old song, "His Banner Over Me is Love" hits all the simple kid-friendly elements, right? Jesus loves me.
So instead of wondering how we could justify R-rated Sunday messages (and they aren't R just PG 13) I began to ponder Song of Songs in the NIrV as a story not just for adults, but for children. Here's an opportunity to tell the story and let the kids respond to the story in it's simplest form. A chance to just let the story and the scriptures speak to them.
But because of the nature of the story, this is ground to tread carefully lest we stir up or awaken something before its time. On the other hand, it may be just as wrong to avoid the story and take the easy way out. Will the Song of Solomon stand as a story in it's simplest form and if so, is it child-friendly? I'm wrestling with this.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment