Dear Peace-makers,
For the last several weeks, we’ve focused on gratitude. I have before me a list of people for whom we are immensely grateful. What a delightful, energetic, intelligent, creative and faithful group of children, youth, and young adults we have at Peace. We have the privilege of spending time with these younger people and sharing our lives and learning with them. Our college students are not often with us, but we remember them in prayer and look forward to their visits.
Let’s devote ourselves this Advent and Christmas to praying for our young people. Pray for them by name. Speak to them at church. Offer to provide devoted supervision to our youth and children during fellowship time and/or as we pack up from 12:00-12:30. (We’re currently setting up a rota of adults to do this. Email back if you’ll participate.) Volunteer to assist in a lively learning class or with youth fellowship. (Speak to Tricia about this.) Know that it takes a village or better, a whole church family, to raise children well. We, as a congregation, communicate the love of God to them by the depth of our care. Those of you who were at Peace in the first year at of worship at SCF (MCC) will remember that Reid S. encouraged his parents to return to Peace because he said, "They respect me there." Let’s make sure all children and youth at Peace feel respected, valued, and most of all, loved.
To make sure our children and youth are being respected, valued, and loved, let’s provide adequate supervision every time we are together. It would be great to be able to relax a little with the kids, but our current context does not allow the kind of freedom we might enjoy in our own building. So we must be vigilant. Let’s accompany children who must leave during worship for an emergency bathroom break. Let’s observe the children who are outside or in the halls during fellowship time. Let’s take this as an opportunity to ensure that calmness, kindness and forgiveness are being practiced by the kids in their occasional moments of conflict and rambunctiousness. Let’s model the kind of peacemaking among ourselves that we hope they will emulate.
And one day in the not too distant future, let’s provide a church building and recreational areas on Lorraine Road, where we can all grow together in Christ’s love and enjoy God’s goodness with freedom and responsibility.
Your Pastors,
Elizabeth and Tricia
