Kiddos Cont'd....

Thanks everybody for your input and thoughts towards these things. I'm excited to work towards a solution. So here's my attempt in doing so.
In an effort to corral our children a little more effectively, I thought maybe I would suggest a few roles. I'm not exactly sure how it should take shape, so please consider this an 'open forum' type of suggestion.
There are obviously many needs, and true to the flavor of the emerging movement, I would like to spread these opportunities wide. So I'm hoping that we can commission these (or something like them) so that the tasks involved would be pretty minimal and infrequent. We'll see, tell me what you think:

Organizer - someone to take hold of the schedule for the group. This person should be organized by nature (hence the very clever title), and make use of our contact list, email, maybe even get something on our blog that we could all check.

Sitter - someone(s) for the little little ones. Let's say under 3. This position rotates every group meeting.

Teacher - this could also be rotating, for the kids over 3 but under 12. This person would be in partnership with the 'Writer', and would deliver to these kids a mini-lesson.

Writer - helps write/create lessons for the Teacher. This could also be rotating and would require creativity above all else. Would help the Teacher make use of the current setting, the Schroeder's home, and object lessons/parables etc. I'm not the person for this position, so what I write further on this would be in vain.

The thought here is that people would miss the 'adult' conversation as infrequently as possible. I would think at this point it would be safe to say that it is mandatory to help at some capacity if you're bringing children, and open to anybody else as well.

It's funny how similar this looks to a typical Sunday school setup. And maybe that's a good thing, who knows.

So let's discuss this online and tomorrow if you can come. Suggest alternative or additional roles, and maybe help me rename them.

BTW - chapter 6 is inspiring. You can jump right into it if you were behind, and I would highly suggest doing so. Good stuff.

more about the chillens

I don't have kids, but I do share everyone's concern about how to raise them up in a spiritually healthy way without relying on Sunday school to do so.

I frequent a blog by Kathy Escobar who left a traditional church setting for a smaller group of Christians, and she recently posted some thoughts on kids and nontraditional groups. I encourage you to read the post as well as the comments. She asks the hard questions that I have heard many of you asking:

will they survive the lack of “knowns” that we used to hold on to so dearly? what will it mean for them to be raised in a wacky eclectic “community” instead of the typical church structure that delivers the kinds of programs that we used to thrive on? how has our cynicism affected them? does Jesus supersede language & systems? what will their faith journey really look like?

Ooooh.....Aaaaah

Oh, what a pretty new page for which to look upon!

Everybody please give a round of applause to Mr. Adam Bamford. Adam, take a bow.

Seriously, I know this takes quite a bit of that precious 'time' commodity were all running out of. So thanks Bam. A good game is coming your way.

sunday mornings

I just wanted everyone to know that you are more than welcome to join us any Sunday in Tempe to feed the hungry.

A few years ago, my neighbor Paula invited me to join her and others from her church as they met at a park for "outreach". Basically, we'd all bring food and someone would bring donated eggs that we'd scramble over a camping stove. Clint, a former homeless man/drug dealer/addict, would share a sermon, and we'd serve the food. Since then, we've moved to other sites including a long stint at the Salvation Army, and now we are located at 2051 E. Apache at a working man's halfway house.

Basically, the format's still the same. We show up anywhere between 8:15 and 8:45(? Adam, help me out here), Clint shares his message to whomever wants to hear, then we serve eggs, potatoes, and hot dogs. Clint has wrangled Starbucks pastry donations, and I think he makes the coffee and punch himself. The whole thing is his baby; a dream of reaching out to people with whom he really identifies.

It's not super organized; there's plenty of chances to get to know the homeless and the hungry. You can sit and talk, you can serve, you can do dishes, clean up trash...the opportunities are endless. I don't need to know if you are coming or not, and you don't have to come every single week. For awhile we were shorthanded, but currently we're doing okay, so anyone else is icing on the cake.

I've always felt safe, and other volunteers have brought their young children. The biggest dangers are scraped knees and explaining why that man smells like gin.