I ran across this piece and thought it excellent. It's from a Catholic perspective, so there are some obvious points about which I would differ from the author. However, in the big picture I think she makes some excellent points about bringing children to church.
It does bother me that it has become so automatic to so many to drop their children off in the nursery every Sunday. I won't go so far as to say there shouldn't be a nursery. I know there are cases where it might be best. I'm sure some days the parents just need a break, or the baby needs a nap. But in general, I think it would be ideal if using the nursery were the exception and the occasional circumstance rather than the rule.
Certainly children aren't good at sitting still for so long. But if they aren't made to try sometimes, how else are they going to learn? Young children won't understand everything. I wouldn't say they have to sit and listen the entire time as if they did. I think coloring books and Bible story books are perfectly acceptable ways to keep children quiet during a sermon. As they grow and mature, more will gradually be expected of them. But I do think that if it is at all possible they should be there. Worshiping as a family is an amazing blessing that is available to us. Many people don't have that, and I think that can be easy to forget.
I'm not sure how Carlos & I will do things once the baby is born, but I figure if they're fussy, then they can go to the nursery, but we will most likely keep our children with us for worship until the sermon time... so then we can worship as a family. I know some parents just need the time to worship, as their children can be a distraction and can cause their focus to veer from God onto the child - which I think we see so many take them to the childrens church instead. Either way, I think that every child is different, and it almost has to be done on a case by case basis.
ReplyDeleteHa, I didn't really think anyone would read this, considering I haven't posted in months. I hope my tone was ok:) Bottom line, I just hope people are thinking about this decision. It shouldn't be automatic one way or the other. I thought the linked post gave a very good perspective on the issue:)
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