At our church we are always reminding the little kids of the importance of their baptisms -- that when they were baptized they were marked with the cross of Christ forever. When they come up through the Communion line we retrace that cross, and bless them and thank them for being part of the Church.
Today at Bible study our pastor shared the following story: One of our little kiddos got into an altercation with another little girl in daycare, and the other girl clocked this one right in the forehead. The injured party went crying to her mother: "Mommy! She hit me in the cross!"
5 comments:
The best part is that no matter how many times you get hit in the cross, that's the one place you can't be hurt. Nothing anybody can say or do can take away your baptism, the moment when Christ claimed you as his own. Some people will try, even people who are themselves claimed by Christ, but they'll be wrong.
She has been listening, hooray!
In our church when the kiddies come up for communion I say "The body of Christ given for you" and give them a piece of bread. It's the meal of all the baptized, why aren't the kiddies in your church being fed?
In our church we leave it up to parents to decide when their children are "ready" [screeching sound of cognitive dissonance in LC's theological ears] to commune. We've had little kids just big enough to hold out their hands commune; on the other hand most parents seem to follow the RC 7- or 8-year-old model. And some kids wait until they're confirmands. No, it doesn't make any sense. And I think the parents and the "We've never done it that way before" observers in the gallery are largely responsible for this policy.
If the kid has her/his hand out I give them the bread. If they don't have their hand out but they're at the rail with the parents I ask the 'rent if the child communes. When the Sunday School all come up together I just give it to everyone.
I like your "ready" comment/disclaimer. I always ask, "How ready or prepared was the baby to be baptized? We put no conditions on one sacrament but for some reason want to attach conditions to the other."
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