Subject: Babies and young children a distraction? |
Bible Note: Dear JVH0212, Very good point! I agree with you that children should sit with their parents. I did not mention that in my reply to Nolan's question. After the 3 year nursery incarceration, er, time period, children are in the service with their family. Believe me, those first few weeks are uncomfortable for the kids, the parents, and all the innocent bystanders :-) However, the kids do settle down to be (fairly) responsible members of the congregation after a few 'encouragements'on their part, and embarrassments on their parent's part :-) My personal conviction is that children should not be segregated by age group. They have enough of that in schoool. Family time together before the Lord is precious, and should be cherished. We have Sunday school before our morning sevices. One reason is that in space-starved Japan, few churches have a separate room for segregated services. Another is that the basic concepts of Christian life should not be so terribly different that you must 'tailor' the contents of worship to various age groups. (i.e. in my church we sing a variety of songs of praise. It's good for kids to sing 'old' hymns, and good for the 'geriatrics' to sing more lively music :-) Again, how much time together does the average family have? Treasure it! Thank you, friend for sharing your thoughts with us. And thanks all for hearing mine. In Christ Jesus, charis |