Jolanda Howe

Hi Greg, 

Madison is doing something very interesting to tie together their children's program with the Sunday morning sermon series. From what I understand the pastoral team is preaching through the stories in the The Jesus Storybook Bible and Kristin, the director of children's discipleship is using that storybook Bible to develop the content for the children's large and small group time. I would encourage you to contact Kristin Buursma to learn more about what they are doing. Her contact information is available through the staff director on the Madison Square website page. I'm sure she would enjoy talking with you!

You are correct that many children's ministry resources divide children by grade level. To find one that groups children in a broader age range you'll want to look for curriculum with a large group/small group format like the Kid Connection curriculum from Faith Alive, which divides in groups of K-3, and 4-6. Those are still smaller age ranges than what Madison does, but it is an example of a curriculum that can be used in a multi-age context. I have used it with an even broader age range because the story is the same for all K-6th graders. 

I hope that helps! 

Not to worry, Bill. I don't represent the voice of Synod when I suggest it's worthwhile for churches to consider hiring a special needs coordinator. I'm just a volunteer Sunday school coordinator and former church staff member who sees value in the idea. 

Children and worship is a wonderful program! It really helps kids connect with God and learn to wonder about God. We have it at my church and there are several others in my area that have that program. I hope others will respond with more detailed accounts of how they've experienced it at their church. There is a space for Children & Worship on the Network, so feel free to post other questions and thoughts here.  

Hi Leon,

I do have a few leads for you on litanies. Here is a link to one that I wrote, and this forum post includes two responses from people who have written their own and would be willing to share. You can contact John Lee and Bert Slofstra at [email protected] and [email protected] to get a copy of the litanies that they use with their congregations.

Also, I just discovered that the new hymnal, LUYH, includes a full commissioning liturgy on page 855, and a prayer for commissioning leaders on page 869 that goes along with the song Here I Am, Lord. I was excited to hear that!

I hope this helps. Happy new Sunday school season!

Absolutely! Thanks for asking, please make it your own!

In light of Christ’s prayer that we would be one, just as the Spirit, Father, and Son are one, I think the relationship of people within the body of Christ should always and everywhere be an important priority for the church. North America and North American churches have a very long way to go in making this a reality.

I would not accuse anyone of purposely thinking or acting in racist ways—but I see an unhealthy apathy in myself and others. We are not yet convinced that life together is richer than life apart. We don’t fully appreciate the theological value of diversity—that if God created us in his image to reflect his goodness and glory then we need the insights of other people from different cultures and experiences in order to have a fuller, richer, deeper understanding and experience of God’s goodness, faithfulness, majesty, love…. etc. We aren’t moved to go out of our way to understand others, to make new friends, to widen the circle.

This is contrary to who we are as Reformed Christians. We believe that God uses as part of his plan to reclaim and restore all of creation. We pray with all other believers, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” And we see in Scripture that “thy will be done” includes God shaping us into a multicultural people who sing his praises together. But as individuals and churches we aren't very motivated to make that happen here on earth. How many of our churches are multicultural bodies, or wish to be? How many are striving to be places where people from every tribe and every nation feel welcome? I wonder if that is important to us only in theory, or in practice too.

Jesus said that the thief comes to steal and kill, and destroy—where do we see that more than the realm of human relationships? All over the world, all throughout history, skin color has been used as a reason to kill, degrade and destroy lives, families, communities, etc. In the USA alone, systemic racism still affects everything from the school systems, to the job market, to the justice system, to the person who feels comfortable sitting next to me in church.

But (ever an optimist) I believe the church has a great opportunity. We have the answer in Jesus Christ, if only we would live it more fully. We have the message that God created each of us with dignity and value. We believe that we all stand before Christ, equally guilty and in need of mercy—each one receiving salvation in the same way, as a free gift. We have the power of the Holy Spirit, who brings conviction, transformation, healing, and reconciliation. So, striving to become a body of believers that lives in unity and demonstrates genuine love for one another isn’t just another thing to do—it’s one of the ways that we can taste of the new heavens and the new earth now, and it's a powerful testimony to the world that God is real and his love transforms.

Adopting the Belhar as a confession isn't the magic solution for making us a more anti-racist, multicultural denomination that testifies to God’s grace. But I wonder what it would do to shake us out of slow motion and move us toward the kingdom vision that we’ve been inching towards for years. The Belhar is a good reminder that the 1500's wasn't the last time that the church spoke in a powerful and prophetic ways. Whether we adopt it or not, the Belhar is already challenging our assumptions and making us think about the role creeds and confessions play in shaping our lives. I hope it will also call us to be a prophetic voice here in North America.

I understand the concerns about the vague points within the Belhar. But we always hold Scripture as the final authority over the HC, Belgic, and Canons of Dort. Certainly we would do the same for the Belhar. The vague points or points of contention within the Belhar would be subject to our corporate interpretation of Scripture.

I hope the discussions over the next couple years will not be dominated by fear. We have faced tough issues as a denomination and will continue to face them as long as we seek to be faithful followers of Christ in a rapidly changing world. But whatever the issue, whether the Belhar or something else, I hope we will never let the fear of what could go wrong keep us from standing up for what we know is right.

Thank you for this thought-provoking discussion!

I read your post, Roger, and I'm glad you're keeping this interesting conversation alive! I agree that our society puts all the attention on us, and baptism is really about what God is doing, not what we are doing... But I don't think that alleviates the problem that Howard is describing. Memories shape us and help to form our faith, so I am deeply interested in helping my kids and our church find ways to acknowledge the meaning of baptism and remember and hold onto it in personal ways, faith shaping ways. Pointing to infant baptism as something GOD is doing is itself a hurdle that makes it different from infant dedication. Our ways of remembering our baptism should focus on that message of remembering God's work in our lives and God's faithfulness in our community and through the generations.