When did you first learn to pray? If you went to church as a child, what are your memories of it? I’ve read that most adult Christians were either brought up as churchgoers or had some significant contact with church as children. That’s certainly true for me. Though my family were atheists, we sang a hymn every day at my primary school. In my teens I joined the Guides, and though I wasn’t much good as a Guide, I did go to Church Parade, and that started me going to church. Being interested in Christianity was quite a good way of rebelling against my staunchly atheist family! The hymns I sang at school and my teenage church visits meant that when I finally started going seriously to church many years later my growing faith had a foundation already there.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot in planning our new Family Service. I want the service to be accessible to and enjoyable for children and families who have little experience of church-going, but I also want it to form a foundation for faith to grow. We use the same structure as you would in a Service of the Word, or the part of the Eucharist before Communion: confession and absolution, Bible readings, the Creed, prayers of intercession.
Instead of having a formal liturgy, we use activities and songs, learning things from memory and using actions to help us learn. Instead of a Bible reading and a sermon, we have storytelling of a Bible story and discussion. We learn thing by heart instead of reading them from the page. And it’s designed so that everyone can join in, from the youngest to the oldest.
I’d be interested to know what helped you, as a child, to learn your faith? And what has stayed with you over the years? How can we help the families who bring their children to be baptised to build a foundation for faith, and how can we encourage them to pray, to worship and to live as followers of Christ? I’m sure there is much to be learned by reflecting on our own experiences, even if the culture we live in has dramatically changed.
Please do pray for the families who are bringing their children to be baptised, that this might be the beginning of a journey of faith for them and their child. And do come and see what the Family Service involves – you don’t have to come with a child! Everyone is very welcome, and it’s excellent for baptism families to see that they are being welcomed by everyone at St Mary’s.