They Hear Him
Building Atriums for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is not easy, simple, or quick.
So since I did not have a new material for this week (first week back in the Atrium since we took time off for Advent/Christmas), I decided to turn to other sources for inspiration that would still work with the ethos of CGS.
The Book of Occasional Services came to the rescue for that. It's a new year and there, surprisingly, is a Service for New Years Eve! With a few tweaks it was ready for a more Morning Prayer setting than Evening Prayer, and we brought out candles and each kid got their own candle. I passed out Bibles with Scripture passages marked and said "Wait till I call on you."
Then I said we're having a Celebration of the New Year. The kids all looked at me like I'd lost my mind. Did I mention I and my fellow catechist were combining Atriums 2 and 3 together for this celebration? That's kids ages 6-13 and quite a few siblings who are more about rough-housing than paying attention.
But I've notice with these kids that if we hand them candles and read Scripture and facilitate a space for prayer and mediation they'll usually stare into the flames and listen to the Scripture reading.
So here we are reading Scripture and I'm praying after each reading (we read: Ecclesiastes 3:15, Ecclesiastes 12:1-8, Ecclesiasticus [Sirach] 43:1-22, Hebrews 3:1-15, and Revelation 21:1-14; 22-24), and as the minutes stretch on the kids continue to listen and continue to engage with the readings. They don't poke at each other and don't pinch or annoy their siblings.
At the very end after all the readings and after all the prayers I ask,
"Was there a particular passage that stood out to you?"
"God has a time for everything," one boy replied. "He's thought of everything."
"There will be no sun in the new heavens and earth," another boy said. "God's glory is enough."
"The seasons obey God," one girl said. "Everything, even the icicles, are there because God put them there."
That last one was quite apt seeing as we had all driven to church through snow and unplowed roads!
And as I listened to the kids give their answers I realized that I worry a lot. I worry that I'm not creating a good space for the kids to listen to God, I worry that I'm not a good catechist, I worry that the kids' minds are wandering and I worry about what sort of world these little disciples are encountering every day.
I worry that because I'm not quick enough to create the new presentation materials that some how the kids are missing out.
And while I'm definitely looking forward to the new presentation I have for Atrium 3 next week (the first moment of the Plan of God!) I realize (remember) that it's not me. It never is me. It's always Jesus. It's Him who meets his disciples, it's Him who works in their hearts, it's Him who points out something in the Bible passages because He knows the hearts and longings of each of the children and He knows what they need to hear.
All I do is facilitate the space so that they have that opportunity to hear. To hear from the Good Shepherd. In the end they'll stay in the Church because they hear the voice of God. They will know He's real and will know He's good and kind and that all things are in His hands. They will know this because I and their parents and their brothers and sisters in the church made sure they had the space to hear God on their own terms. In their own way.
So since I did not have a new material for this week (first week back in the Atrium since we took time off for Advent/Christmas), I decided to turn to other sources for inspiration that would still work with the ethos of CGS.
The Book of Occasional Services came to the rescue for that. It's a new year and there, surprisingly, is a Service for New Years Eve! With a few tweaks it was ready for a more Morning Prayer setting than Evening Prayer, and we brought out candles and each kid got their own candle. I passed out Bibles with Scripture passages marked and said "Wait till I call on you."
Then I said we're having a Celebration of the New Year. The kids all looked at me like I'd lost my mind. Did I mention I and my fellow catechist were combining Atriums 2 and 3 together for this celebration? That's kids ages 6-13 and quite a few siblings who are more about rough-housing than paying attention.
But I've notice with these kids that if we hand them candles and read Scripture and facilitate a space for prayer and mediation they'll usually stare into the flames and listen to the Scripture reading.
So here we are reading Scripture and I'm praying after each reading (we read: Ecclesiastes 3:15, Ecclesiastes 12:1-8, Ecclesiasticus [Sirach] 43:1-22, Hebrews 3:1-15, and Revelation 21:1-14; 22-24), and as the minutes stretch on the kids continue to listen and continue to engage with the readings. They don't poke at each other and don't pinch or annoy their siblings.
At the very end after all the readings and after all the prayers I ask,
"Was there a particular passage that stood out to you?"
"God has a time for everything," one boy replied. "He's thought of everything."
"There will be no sun in the new heavens and earth," another boy said. "God's glory is enough."
"The seasons obey God," one girl said. "Everything, even the icicles, are there because God put them there."
That last one was quite apt seeing as we had all driven to church through snow and unplowed roads!
And as I listened to the kids give their answers I realized that I worry a lot. I worry that I'm not creating a good space for the kids to listen to God, I worry that I'm not a good catechist, I worry that the kids' minds are wandering and I worry about what sort of world these little disciples are encountering every day.
I worry that because I'm not quick enough to create the new presentation materials that some how the kids are missing out.
And while I'm definitely looking forward to the new presentation I have for Atrium 3 next week (the first moment of the Plan of God!) I realize (remember) that it's not me. It never is me. It's always Jesus. It's Him who meets his disciples, it's Him who works in their hearts, it's Him who points out something in the Bible passages because He knows the hearts and longings of each of the children and He knows what they need to hear.
All I do is facilitate the space so that they have that opportunity to hear. To hear from the Good Shepherd. In the end they'll stay in the Church because they hear the voice of God. They will know He's real and will know He's good and kind and that all things are in His hands. They will know this because I and their parents and their brothers and sisters in the church made sure they had the space to hear God on their own terms. In their own way.
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