Question #40: Children & Church
6 Comments Published by Bryce Ashlin-Mayo on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 8:48 PM.
This last Sunday I had the opportunity to go to a local Gurdwara (Sikh place of worship) and attend their worship service with my Inter-cultural class. It was fascinating on so many levels and I learned a lot. You can learn a lot of things from a classroom or a book, but nothing beats learning by experience and this was no exception. The Sikh community was incredibly welcoming and gave us a full tour as well as hosted us for lunch.
One of the highlight for me was seeing the children run around freely and unencumbered in the midst of their worship. Even during the prayers (which was a highly respectful time), kids were just being kids and it was acceptable and embraced. Children were frequently running back and forth from father to mother, grandmother to grandfather (men and women sit on different sides of the room) without it being a distraction or annoyance to anyone. This is one of those things I wish was more evident in Christian churches as kids were just being kids, even in the midst of their worship and teaching.
What would it look like for our Christian worship services to be more family friendly and naturally relaxed around children? What makes it so tense when a child cries or a child gets antsy? Why do we feel awkward or embarrassed when this happens ?
One of the highlight for me was seeing the children run around freely and unencumbered in the midst of their worship. Even during the prayers (which was a highly respectful time), kids were just being kids and it was acceptable and embraced. Children were frequently running back and forth from father to mother, grandmother to grandfather (men and women sit on different sides of the room) without it being a distraction or annoyance to anyone. This is one of those things I wish was more evident in Christian churches as kids were just being kids, even in the midst of their worship and teaching.
What would it look like for our Christian worship services to be more family friendly and naturally relaxed around children? What makes it so tense when a child cries or a child gets antsy? Why do we feel awkward or embarrassed when this happens ?
Labels: questions
Question #39: Community
0 Comments Published by Bryce Ashlin-Mayo on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 2:52 PM.
I think we are often oblivious to the pervasive individualism in our society and culture. We go about our lives and don't realize how much or world-view is affected by our very individual perspective. Interesting, it hasn't always been like this, as I have been reminded of recently in my studies. For example, did you know that in medieval times people didn't sign their artwork - there was no thought of individualistic ownership or copyright? Did you know that in the Ancient Near East, the perspective of life-after-death was a communal one; they believed that they would simply live on in the memory of their community? Those are just two examples that has led me to the question:Have we, in our culture saturated with individualism, lost sight of a communal perspective on life, theology, ministry, art, worship, reading, prayer, preaching, family, life, work, school, etc.? Are we blind to an important community perspective? How would that perspective affect us?
Labels: questions
Question #38: Silence
2 Comments Published by Bryce Ashlin-Mayo on Thursday, March 27, 2008 at 9:44 PM.
Have you noticed that the "minute of silence" has gotten shorter and shorter over the last several years - we even call them "moments" of silence now. There seems to be a weird cultural allergic reaction to silence that permeates almost every activity (individual and corporate). This simple observation leads to the following question:Why are we so uncomfortable with Silence? Do you take time to purposely "fast" from noise? Do you Sabbath from active sounds?
Labels: questions
Question #37: Barriers to a Multicultural Church
0 Comments Published by Bryce Ashlin-Mayo on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 3:43 PM.
What are some of the barriers to multiculturalism in the Church and what can we do about them?
Labels: questions
Question #36: The Church and Social Justice
0 Comments Published by Bryce Ashlin-Mayo on Monday, March 24, 2008 at 8:19 PM.
The following question stems from my trip to the downtown east-side of Vancouver (it is the poorest neighborhood in Canada) and an informal meeting with the leader of a secular social advocacy group. The guy was fascinating and, although he has some different ideas and means to social change, he made the statement that the churches were doing commendable deeds by handing out food and clothing. He even went so far to say that they were doing such a good job that people could always find something to eat in the Downtown Eastside. However, he also commented that the churches were doing nothing to solve the problem, they were just treating the symptoms of it.His comments got me thinking...
What is the extent of the churches role in society with social justice? Do we only treat the symptoms or do we fight for beating the disease?
I am a strong proponent of separation of Church and State but I admit, he got me thinking. Do we as the Church just stop at addressing the symptoms of hunger and not deal with the disease of our cultural, social and government systems that have cause the problem the the first place? Where to we stop in our fight for justice?
I am not sure of the answers but I have definitely started to ask the questions.
Labels: questions
Major Update: The Most…
4 Comments Published by Bryce Ashlin-Mayo on Saturday, March 22, 2008 at 9:06 AM.
It has been a while since I have posted and thanks for being patient. I have been sick over the last week, which has led me to focus on only what I needed to do in order to survive. But I am better now and have a lot to update you on, including:
I will be back Monday continuing the question a day series.
- The Most Exciting: As on June 1st, I will be the Lead Pastor of Parkview Alliance
Church in Vermilion, AB. We are really excited about our next ministry and our new church family. Thanks to everyone who has been praying for us as we discerned God’s direction. - The Next Most Exciting: We purchased a home in Vermilion that is in a great location and is big enough for our family – this is a huge answer to prayer.
- The Most Challenging: School is crazy busy but I am on the homestretch with 6 weeks left in the semester. I think I have something like 100 pages of papers to write and I am not sure how they are all going to get done. Better said, I am not sure how good they are going to be.
- The Most Experiential: My trip to Vancouver (The
Vancouver School of Theology) for the Canadian Theological Student’s Conference. I meet tons of new people from across the country and from diverse denominational backgrounds. Among the highlights for me were: conversing with people, the trip and tour of a Catholic Monastery in Mission, BC, our trip to Downtown East-side Vancouver (we toured two different churches and heard them describe their unique approach to their ministry, we had lunch with some street people, and we visited some organizations in the area as we walked around in small groups), going to the historic Vancouver meeting of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Residential Schools (it was profound on so many levels). In all, it was busy, relational, experiential, challenging and profound. I am so thankful I was given the opportunity to go and represent my seminary at this ecumenical event.
- The Most Frivolous: We now have TiVo and it is awesome!!! It has revolutionized the way we watch TV.
I will be back Monday continuing the question a day series.
I have been meaning to write a post since my trip to Vancouver (which was awesome) but I have been sicker than a dog for the last few days (today included). I haven't forgot about the blogging world but at this point I am just focusing on what I have to do to survive.
