Dear Editor,
I’m so glad that Jonny Woodbridge mentioned in his article some good reasons for arranging separate activities for children during Sunday services.
Many years ago, my husband and I relocated to a new city with two small boys in tow. Church A had strong links with our previous church in our former home. This had a Sunday school for children before the church service. The whole church then gathered for an hour and a half, which included a long adult sermon. The rationale was that the whole family should worship together.
Whilst a lovely idea in theory, we knew that the net result for us would be the opposite. With two lively boys aged 3 ½ and 18 months, we would be forced to take it in turns to come to church. The prospect of keeping two inquiring and energetic pre-schoolers under control for an hour and a half was more than we could handle. We had enough to manage with the house move and new job. Moreover, we did not want them to associate church with being bored and having to keep quiet!
We first tried Church A for four Sundays, then went to Church B. This had all age services once a month and a well organised Sunday School on the other weeks. You can guess where we landed up. We explained to the minister of Church A our reasons for not continuing with his church and, funnily enough, not long after he introduced children’s groups during the services.
I am so grateful for the many faithful volunteers who taught and cared for our children in their groups as they grew up. When I was an exhausted young mother, the short hour when I was free to listen to God’s word explained without distraction was a tremendous blessing. Long may such arrangements continue!
Yours sincerely,
Catherine Weston
Oxford
