by the Rev. Imogen Rhodenhiser and Kate Bell
One of the ways that we’re invited to meet Jesus over and over again is in the faces of children. Our devoted Sunday School teachers do this every week; they give of themselves to help grow the faith of our young ones and at the same time receive an encounter with our risen Lord.
This is certainly true as we prepare to perform our spring children’s play next Sunday, May 7, during the 10:00 AM service.
The play, “Meeting Jesus: Our Good Shepherd,” contains rich questions like what does it mean to follow Jesus, what does it mean to encounter Jesus in the Eucharist, and what does gratitude have to do with it all? The play offers a great opportunity for our little ones to share with us the Good News – that Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd who knows the names of all his sheep and gives his life out of love for them all.
Because the play will be performed during the 10:00 AM service, there will be no Sunday School next Sunday. Instead, we invite all families to worship together. The children are encouraged to sit with their friends and to use their hand motions to say the Lord’s Prayer. The joy will be contagious, the love will be plentiful, the energy will be strong, and the Spirit of our Risen Lord will be very present.
The only thing better than the performance of this play are the rehearsals. They have been filled with joy and silliness and bravery and snacks. Our children are so full of curiosity and are endlessly creative. It is our own soul food to witness them growing in their relationship with God and one another.
As with the Eucharistic table, so with the children’s play, there is always room for more participants. If you have a little one (preschool age to 5th grade) who would like to be a part of this special time, head down to the Hospitality Center after the 10:00 AM service today (11:30 AM). We’ll serve some lunch and then dive into our second rehearsal. Our final (and dress) rehearsal is on Saturday, May 6, 2-3:30 PM. We hope to see EWE there.