Children's Sunday

On. Nov. 16, we celebrate Children’s Sunday, and Brian Taylor, Brian Osborne and Arnie Crittenden – Bluesky Day – will be present to offer their musical gifts! Bluesky Day has carefully chosen the songs they’ll sing: “Teach Your Children,” for example, by Graham Nash, and the old favourite, “All Things Bright and Beautiful.” In honour of Remembrance Day that has just passed, they’ll sing “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” and “The Strangest Dream.” How blessed are we to have regular visits from outstanding musicians!

Everyone who attends the service is invited to bring a picture, either of themselves as a child, or children who are or have been important in their lives. There will be a point in the service where we will offer a blessing to the children.

Parts of the service have been gratefully taken from a resource entitled “In God’s Own Image,” prepared by the brilliant liturgist, the Rev. Dr. Miriam Spies. We’ll look at passages from both Deuteronomy (“so that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land”) and also Matthew (“unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”) Clearly, our sacred texts honour the lives of children, so why is it that 20% of Canada’s children live in poverty?

These are the things we will wrestle with on Sunday…

In the meantime, read Deuteronomy 11:18-21 and Matthew 18:1–5, 19:13–15, and ponder the following:

1.       Jesus said about children, “for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” What do you think he meant?

2.       How do you account for the amount of child poverty in our country?

Image: Alexander Grey, pexels.com