'Pulse', March 2010 - Chaplain's Contribution
01/03/10
Pulse, March 2010Mat 19:14 Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
There have been times in the past when Holy Trinity has been blessed with many children in the congregation and it should be our prayer that once again the average age of the church family will reflect our response to those words of Jesus, Mat 19:14 "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." The Church is the outward representation of the kingdom of God. If the kingdom of God belongs to children then the Church belongs to children and it is not just the preserve of adults. We should all be able to share in Church and in the kingdom over which Jesus is the King.
This means that we must pay urgent attention to welcoming and nurturing children in the family of Holy Trinity. We have already made steps in that direction with the preparation of the 'Upper Rooms' so that they may be used for Sunday School as well as for other activities. If we are going to ask God to help us to attract young families and children into our midst then we need to make sure that we are prepared and ready to cater for them with church members ready and able to inspire them and space and materials to support the teaching.
The Mothering Sunday Family Service on 14th March provides a great opportunity to invite families and children to join us for worship so that we can offer to them the greatest gift that God wants to offer to all - a place in His kingdom. Whether we consider ourselves to be young or old we all need to be young at heart and in sympathy with the needs of the young. After all, Jesus said, Mat 18:3 "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”.
In the weeks and months ahead we will need those who have the calling and appropriate gifts to encourage and teach children and to develop worship which children can understand and take part in. If you feel that you have those kinds of gifts please speak to me so that we can explore how they might be used for the blessing of children and young families.
Yours in Christ
John Gulland