wfn.org | Disciples gather to plan and coordinate Children's ministries

[wshuffit@oc.disciples.org]

 From nobody@wfn.org  Tue Jan  9 00:00:00 2001
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: Clifford L. Willis
Date: January 9, 2001
on the Web: http://www.disciples.org
E-mail: CWillis@oc.disciples.org

01a-2

	INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- Nearly 300 persons gathered at Christian Theological
Seminary here Jan. 5-7 to exchange information and experiences concerning
Christian ministry "to, for and with children." 

	Children Welcome! was an outgrowth of a 1999 resolution of the General
Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Resolution 9930,
Promoting the Safety and Nurture of All Children, called on the Division of
Homeland Ministries to convene a churchwide task force "to formulate a
comprehensive and long-range strategy for ‘Welcoming Each Child in the Name
of Jesus.'" The weekend planning and training event was the first major
step toward that end. 

	Thirty-four "discovery groups" and several plenary sessions covered an
extensive range of topics including Christian life in diverse family
settings, pastoral care for children, Christian education, children's
spiritual formation and sacramental life, poverty and children's rights
advocacy. 

	Organizers say the conference broke new ground in the life of the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). "Disciples have never had such a
conference," said the Rev. Jane Lawrence, vice president, Center for
Education and Mission, Homeland Ministries. "Disciples have never had a
unified plan to look at ministry to, for and with children. Our hope was
that a group of people, across the life of the church could sit down and
give serious thought and prayer to how the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ) can be most effective with children." 

	In opening remarks to the conference General Minister and President
Richard L. Hamm called for "child-friendly" Disciples congregations "in
which adults actually talk to and relate to children." In a child-friendly
congregation, "the spiritual formation of children is seen as a priority,"
said the GMP. 

	Saundra Bryant, director, All People's Christian Center, Los Angeles,
characterized the church as a warrior -- charged with the protection and
nurture of children and youth. Poverty, ignorance, hopelessness, violence,
racism, and classism are among the enemies. "We must speak to the enemies
of our children," she said. 

	She challenged the common notion that "children are our future." Instead,
she suggested, today's adults are our children's future. "We have a
responsibility to love our youth and children into the future," Bryant
said. 

	The Rev. Kaye Edwards, director of family and children's ministries,
Homeland Ministries, was the key organizer of Children Welcome! "I think
the networking that's going on here is one of the most important things,"
she said. "We're hoping that people can take the design and go back to
their region or community and organize similar events." 

	According to Edwards, it is vital that adults realize that "children have
a relationship with God. What we need to do as adults is help them deepen
that relationship that's already there instead of assuming they don't know
anything," she said. 

	One person in each seminar was assigned to record the major items of group
discussion. The reports of those "reflectors" will be included in a
comprehensive report on Children Welcome! to the General Synod/Assembly
this summer. 

	An important feature of the event was the involvement of children in every
aspect, according to the Rev. Jane Lawrence. She says hearing what children
have to say about a world that is in many ways hostile to children is vital
to empowering them to have an effect on North American culture. "If we
listen to their voices, we might be able to change the climate," she said. 
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