It was on August 20 to 24 that we
had our annual Vacation Bible School at St. Martin’s, with the theme of
Daniel’s Captivity in Babylon. The curriculum only covered the morning and so
during the afternoons we did different activities like going to the playground,
playing games, visiting the Fire Hall and crafts. And one of those crafts was
Perler Beads.
Perler
Beads are one of those crafts that seems like a great idea but soon one
discovers there are many hidden pitfalls – something like clothing staining
acrylic paint or the impossible to get rid of glitter. The beads are small,
meant for tiny hands, and go onto small pegs on a plastic tray and are ironed
until they melt together and form a mosaic like picture. They are beautiful
when finished but the beads easily scatter onto the floor – I would not be
surprised if there are still beads scattered across the church today – and
the plastic trays are easily upset causing 30 minutes to an hour’s work to be
undone in an instant. So why do I put up with Perler Beads? Because they cause
children to be relatively quiet and in one place for a long period of time. But
they also have another effect which is to cause children to be close to each
other and still enough for long enough that they have time to talk to each
other and get to know each other. Later on, I will tell you about a particular
experience that happened VBS week with Perler Beads.
I returned from my three month sabbatical on August 7. What I
studied during that time was not Perler Beads but was small groups in churches.
Small groups are something like Perler Beads – they are a way to get people in
one place at the same time for long enough to talk to each other and get to
know each other. Last year when we were blessed by the ministry of Brian
Walton, he started a few small Spiritual Conversation groups that met weekly
four or five times to discuss the scripture readings from the Sunday worship
services. We all benefitted from these groups as Brian had a place to test and
refine his sermon ideas but those who were in those groups found a place where
they could get to know people better. Sometimes it was people who didn’t know
each other at all and sometimes it was people who knew each other for years but
who hadn’t ever had a deeper conversation. These groups were quickly formed and
there was a great demand for them.
But
what do these groups have to do with a church? Why should the church put its
energy into these discussion groups? The scripture reading from the Acts of the
Apostles today (Acts 2:43-47) gives a picture of the earliest form of the church. This is the
Garden of Eden for the followers of Jesus. Just after Jesus gave his disciples
the gift of the Holy Spirit, and just before the group of the followers of
Jesus gets too big that it needs to be organized, this is the ideal form of the
church. Gathering together to eat and pray and learn about Jesus. Seeing good
things done every day. Sharing everything so that no one had too much or too
little. No wonder that it says that every day more and more people joined them.
And
what are the hallmarks of this Garden of Eden? Food – which we always do well
in the church. Prayer – which we do every Sunday and strive to do every day in
our lives. Good deeds – which we encourage every week. Sharing – an offering
every week at worship and donating to the Mission and Service fund for projects
in Canada and across the world. Learning about Jesus. And holding it all
together – spending time with each other.
Spending
time with each other was not a new idea with the new church. It was there from
the very first. Jesus called his disciples to walk, eat, learn and live with
him. There are only a handful of cases where it says that Jesus was away from
his disciples for some time. They spent time with each other, learning about
each other and about God.
Spending
time together was good enough for Jesus and for the early church. It is for us
as well? I think that it is an important part of being a church is spending
time together – and not just in worship. Believe me, I think worship is
important, but more is needed. There are few of us extraverted enough to share
about ourselves in a church service. And if we went around the church asking
about how everybody’s week was we’d have a service hours long. I love worship –
but not that much! We need a smaller group with whom to share.
These
smaller groups used to be a usual part of the United Church. Many of the women
used to belong to one of the United Church Women units. These still exist of
course and provide great support and encouragement to those who attend. There
were frequent bible studies, young people’s groups, social mixers and the
hugely successful Family Camp. And there were informal groups that formed when
couples invited other couples over for dinner and talked about their faith and
their families. Some of these things still exist in different forms and it is
good to see the Outreach committee resurrect the Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
idea to great success. But our young families are being squeezed for time more
and more and find it hard to even make time for their extended families, much
less for strangers at the church. Heck, it’s not just young families but all of
us who are busier and more distracted than ever before with the 24 hour news
cycle, more immersive entertainment and more opportunities than we could have
imagined before. Our lives are good and full, but we don’t always get the
meaningful relationships that we crave.
But
we can have these meaningful relationships. Those people who are part of the
choirs or Band, know that their co-singers are not just singers but friends.
Those who attend the St. Martin’s Book Club know that they talk about more than
books, those who go to the Card and Board Games group know that they don’t just
play games. There are ways to experience that life together that Jesus wishes
for us, that he led his disciples in. I want to be part of making that life
together part of our experience at St. Martin’s. I want to be part of it
because I have seen what happens in children’s lives when they live life
together.
We
have not been seeing quite as many children here on Sunday mornings as we once
did at St. Martin’s. But that is not unusual for any church. On my sabbatical I
went to North Point Community Church in Atlanta, Georgia, one of the biggest
churches in the United States with some 12,000 people attending worship over
the weekend. Andy Stanley is their pastor, son of Dr. Charles Stanley. They are
securely located in the buckle of the bible belt. And yet their church has been
seeing decreased Sunday worship attendance over the past couple of years. But
they aren’t worried because they still have thousands of people in their small
group ministry, learning about God, eating together, praying together and
living life together. Being together in following Jesus is more important than
worship.
As
I said, we don’t have quite as many children here on Sunday morning but the
children are here in the Professional Development Day program and in the
Vacation Bible School programs and the Messy Church program. This year at VBS
we had the most enrollment ever since I’ve been here and many of the children
were there for the first time. But not for the last time. Many were interested
in the PD Day programs. And from the PD Day programs many of attended one of
the two Messy Church events I led last Spring. This year we are having a Messy
Church worship once a month and I expect to have even more. This is because
during those days of VBS or those PD Days there is time for the children to get
to know each other and be known, to know that they are loved and cared for, by
me, by the other children and by God. The time spent together learning about
God, eating, praying, playing and living.
Now
for my Perler Bead story. Perler Beads are messy things that are hard to get
together but when you do get them together it is beautiful. Kind of like
people. So when we were on our last day, Friday afternoon, we were doing this
Perler Bead craft and one of the girls had a little cat doll with her, talking
to it and playing with it while doing the craft. Well soon one of the other
kids made a little Perler Bead mat for the cat doll to lay on. Another kid made
a water and food dish for the cat. The cat even got a little Perler Bead toy
mouse to play with. I don’t think any of those children had met each other
before this week, certainly they didn’t meet each other before this year, but
they knew each other well enough to delight in doing something special for each
other. Doing something together.
This
is what I see in children’s ministry. And I don’t want the adults to be left
out. Not that I’m going to make you do Perler Beads together. But I want you to
be able to know each other and be known. I will be calling a meeting soon of
people interested in this kind of a ministry. If you are interested, please let
me know because I can’t do it alone. But we can do it together, with God’s
help. Amen.
