Thanksgiving Meditation...

As it is almost Thanksgiving, I wanted to offer a short meditation on gratitude by the spiritual writer and artist, Julia Cameron. So often we think of gratitude as something that just happens, but what this passage reminds us is that cultivating an 'attitude of gratitude' can actually be a kind of intentional spiritual practice...


From Julia Cameron's "Blessings"...

Blessings Build upon Blessings

I choose to see and build upon the good of every moment. In counting my blessings, I consciously and concretely build a life of gratitude. A life of gratitude is a life built upon optimism, expectation, and attention to the good of every instant as it unfolds. This is not denial of adversity. Rather, the choice to consciously count -- and encounter -- my moment-to-moment good is a spiritual discipline. My trained optimism creates in me a stamina funded in the constant flow of minute but perceptible spiritual nutrients which fuel me, body and soul. I bless my conscious attention to good.


Good words to ponder as we celebrate Thanksgiving...

Chris +

God Protected Daniel...

The story of Daniel in the Lion's den often provokes fond memories among older folks about a particularly rambunctious Sunday School class decades ago. While I don't have this particular memory, many a faithful Christian has played either Daniel or the Lion in a Sunday School reenactment of this classic story, often complete with paper-plate lion's mask and carefully rehearsed roaring!

When we recall this story, we often focus on the Lion, and to a lesser extent on Daniel's willingness to be faithful even when other people persecute him for it. But what about God as a character in this story? After all, it is God's action that keeps this story from having a rather gruesome ending! I think we tend to minimize God's role in this story, because it touches a part of God's identity that makes many of us as adults ambivalent: God as Protector.

While God's role as our protector is an important part of our friendship with God, many adults, and myself at the top of the list, can find it challenging to describe exactly HOW God protects those who are faithful. After all, we know from experience that the kind of protection God offers us almost always isn't of the divine intervention type. When we take risks for God in our life, often there are human consequences that bring suffering and pain, and God does not come to our rescue. As adults we understand God's role as our "protector" in a more spiritual way. A relationship with God protects us in the sense that when we encounter suffering and hardship, God's presence keeps our hearts from being hardened. God protects us from responding to the world's rejection for our faith by becoming bitter, vengeful or self-pitying. God response to suffering is not usually or protect our bodies from harm, but is always to protect our hearts from despair.

Given that outlook on God's role as our protector, I often find feelings of insecurity beginning to creep into my mind as I teach little children that God will protect them - especially when the stories are about preventing physical harm or suffering. But I believe that, despite feeling a little inauthentic when I teach these stories, coming to grips with how I, as an adult, DO believe that God protects us, helps, even if it is a much more nuanced understanding than I can teach to children. Young children aren't able to make the abstract leap that we can make as adults, and so teaching them that part of God's identity is as a protector of those who are faithful is a useful early lesson. As they grow into their teenage years, we will have a responsibility to nuance this distinction in the ways that we understand God's protection as adults -- but that does mean there is harm in teaching children about God's protection in a way that makes sense to them at this age. This is developmentally appropriate faith formation that has integrity, as long as we know as adults how we understand God's role as our protector to be life-giving. Someday we hope our children will know that too -- and our lesson this week is the beginning of that journey.

Good luck on Sunday, and may God's protection be with you in your times of suffering and trial, guarding your heart against despair and rage.

Blessings,
Chris +

David and Goliath

Sooner or later in every Church School curriculum, it comes time to talk about King David. David was the second king of Israel (after Saul) and is probably the most charismatic political leader in the entire Bible. As with most powerful politicians, there's a lot of good with David, and a lot of not-so-good. Far from the cool and calculating Joseph or the faithful and steady Moses, David was full of passion and energy, an artist and a risk-taker, a devoted friend and wandering lover.

The 5th grade this week will explore David and his friendship with Jonathan (an interesting comparison to the "female friendship" of Naomi and Ruth in last week's lesson). However the K-4th grades will be focusing on a much simpler story from David's life BEFORE he became the king: David and Goliath.

The story of David and Goliath is so well known that it has become a fixture in modern English for any conflict in which the odds are terribly lopsided. This is the story of a young, small (even puny!), under-resourced, weak but spirited teenager able to conquer brute force with cunning and agility. While we often think of a strong, muscular, large-fisted David (thanks to Michaelangelo's famous sculpture), I think it is Donatello's 3-D representation that best captures how small and young David was. Donatello's work is an important visual reminder that the odds were indeed, heavily against the young David.

And this leads to two important questions: 1) Why was David willing to engage in such an unfair fight?; and 2) How did he possibly win?

Like Moses before he was called to leadership, David's previous occupation was as a shepherd. He tended the flock and protected them from predators and thieves. Having spent several years developing his instincts as a protector of vulnerable sheep, this act of bravery was in some way an extension of a character trait he had already been developing. If Goliath had not been challenged, he would have taken the Israelites as his slaves. David chose to take responsibility for the safety not just of himself, but of his people. The world of the Old Testament was all about protection, and it was David's willingness to protect those who were defenseless, to consider himself responsible for others, even at great risk, that led to his popularity and fame.

But of course, the weak confront the strong all the time -- and usually the strong win! Part of the reason why this story was put in the Bible is because the underdog pulled it out, against the odds. By making this piece of David's history part of the Biblical account of his coming into kingship, the writers of this book of the Bible were trying to show that God's blessing is always on the side of the weak against the strong. When we teach this story to young children, we often reinforce this theological point by saying that God guided the stone from David's slingshot. This does not mean that the weak will always overcome through force, but it does mean that God honors those who stand up to evil, even if they fail to stop it.

The childhood analogies of Goliath to a bully are reasonable ones, but when teaching this story on Sunday I wouldn't venture too far down that path. The story should not be read as justifying violence against bullies, but rather should remind us of the importance of standing up for others -- especially when it can be done without violence (as it usually can in a school setting!).

Encouraging kids to stand up to evil is an important spiritual lesson. There are always so many reasons not to do it: danger of being hurt, fear that you will not succeed, hope that someone else will do it, not wanting to look uncool to others. Unfortunately, the lesson of today's story is NOT that God will save us from suffering for the sake of protecting the weak or resisting evil. But nevertheless, the ability to stand up to evil is one of the fruits of a strong spiritual life, that grows from confidence that even when we do not succeed in such pursuits, God's blessing remains with us.

Chris +

All Hallow's Eve / All Saint's Day

This coming Sunday, November 1st is All Saints Day, a feast of the church honoring all the saints of the Christian Church. Along with Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, Ascension Day, and Epiphany, it is a Principal Feast of the church -- a cause for major celebration.

Lots of people wonder about the Origins of All Saints Day, and it's vigil All Hallow's Eve (held the night before), or as we now call it Halloween! Below I am pasting a bit of helpful historical information from churchyear.net about the development of this festival. But for us today, I think the most important part of All Saints Day is a reminder that the community of the church exists not just across space, but across time as well. When sing the "Holy, Holy, Holy" at Communion, we are "joining our voices with saints and angels and all the company of heaven" -- reminding ourselves that we are part of a much larger reality beyond the one we experience each day.

From churchyear.net, about the Feasts of All Hallow's Eve/All Saints/All Souls:

Christians have been honoring their saints and martyrs since at least the second century AD. Initially the calendars of saints and martyrs varied from location to location, and many times local churches honored local saints. However, gradually feast days became more universal. The first reference to a general feast celebrating all saints occurs in St Ephrem the Syrian (d. AD 373). St. John Chrysostom (d. AD 407) assigned a day to the feast, the first Sunday after Pentecost, where in the Eastern Churches the feast is celebrated to this day. In the West, this date was probably originally used, and then the feast was moved to May 13th. The current observance (November 1) probably originates from the time of Pope Gregory III (d. AD 741), and was likely first observed on November 1st in Germany. This fact makes the connection of the All Saints Feast with the pagan festival Samhain less likely, since Samhain was an Irish pagan feast, rather than German.

The vigil of the Feast (the eve) has grown up in the English speaking countries as a festival in itself, All Hallows Eve, or Halloween. While many consider Halloween pagan (and in many instances the celebrations are for many), as far as the Church is concerned the date is simply the eve of the feast of All Saints. Many customs of Halloween reflect the Christian belief that on the feast's vigils we mock evil, because as Christians, it has no real power over us. However, for some Halloween is used for evil purposes, in which many Christians dabble unknowingly.

Various customs have developed related to Halloween. In the Middle Ages, poor people in the community begged for "soul cakes," and upon receiving these doughnuts, they would agree to pray for departed souls. This is the root of our modern day "trick-or-treat." The custom of masks and costumes developed to mock evil and perhaps confuse the evil spirits by dressing as one of their own. Some Christians visit cemeteries on Halloween, not to practice evil, but to commemorate departed relatives and friends, with picnics and the last flowers of the year. The day after All Saints day is called All Soul's Day, a day to remember and offer prayers up on behalf of all of the faithful departed. In many cultures it seems the two days share many customs.

Special Resources for Class this Sunday!

Because it is "Commitment Sunday" this week, we will have special Stewardship Handouts for all K-5th classes since it is Commitment Sunday. Please consider using this resource to make the connection between the risky faithfulness of Ruth's commitment to God, and the risky faithfulness of our own stewardship commitments.

Also, here is a link to a great maze/word-puzzle handout about Naomi and Ruth that you could use for this Sunday's class:
Naomi and Ruth Word Search

Ruth & Naomi: Holy Friends -- Sunday, October 25th

Today's Bible lesson for K-5th grades tells the story of Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah. It's one of the few stories of women in the Old Testament in which women are not portrayed as passive victims, but are active models of faithfulness. It is unfortunate that these women's names are not as well known by children as are Noah, Moses, and other role models of faithfulness. Through teaching this story each year at St. Andrew's, we hope to change that reality!

As the curriculum notes at the start of this lesson, these three women lived in a tough age, "when those who worshiped the Lord were unfaithful." This is an interesting description -- that some who worship might yet be unfaithful. It's a reminder that our faith is about much more than what we do on Sunday mornings, our faith is about what we do Monday through Saturday. Even if we get Sunday 100% "right" that matters far less than living all our days aware of God's presence among us. To put it more simply, being Christian is about our choices, not just our voices.

In the case of Naomi, Ruth and Orpah (rhymes with Orca, i.e. a killer whale), they were fast with hard choices. Their husbands dead, the women had to find a community that could support them in which to live. This was a life or death decision -- women could not live independently during that time. They could not work to support themselves and they needed protection (and, frankly, so did men in that rough age). Naomi, mother in law to both Ruth and Orpah, decided that each of the three should return to their own hometowns. This would be the one community on whom they KNEW they could depend to take them in.

Now Ruth and Orpah were of a different race than Naomi and her two sons (who had been husbands to Ruth and Orpah), and the two daughters in law had not practiced the Hebrew faith prior to the marriages. Returning home meant abandoning the One God, and returning to the Moabite faith of their clan. While separating would make it more likely that they would be taken in by the communities that raised them, it also was, in some sense, a rejection of a life with God -- as well as a life with each other. Though torn, Orpah sees the wisdom in this hard choice and chooses to leave Naomi and Ruth and go back to her hometown.

Ruth, however, makes a different choice. She clings to Naomi, giving a beautiful and impassioned speech: "Where you go, I will go: where you lodge, I will lodge; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God." No doubt, Ruth's is a strong story of female friendship being more powerful than the patriarchal social forces that seek to separate them. Ruth is taking on a very vulnerable position here. She chooses to go to Naomi's community, who has no responsibility to care for her, to help her re-establish a life. It is not a safe choice, it's a risky one. Her economic and personal well-being are not assured.

But Ruth risks this vulnerability not only because she loves Naomi, but because she loves God. Her loyalty is not just to her friend, but to her friend's God, who has become her own. Of course, it is not unusual for a person's relationship with God to be bound up in relationships with other people. And in fact, in moments when it is hard to take a risk for God, the support found in human friendships often makes it easier to make the harder, but more faithful choice. That's why the friendship between Naomi and Ruth is a holy friendship. It is a friendship that helps Ruth become even more faithful in making life choices. She is an example of holy living in an age when even the most "observant" worshipers of God made unholy choices.

This lesson is PERFECTLY timed in our church calendar to come up this Sunday for two reasons. First, is that next Sunday is All Saints Day -- when we celebrate all holy women and holy men: people who have been "holy friends" to others, helping them make faithful choices even when it is hard. In the Episcopal tradition, we use All Saints Day to celebrate not just the "official" saints of the church, but also all the holy people in our own lives who have helped us live more faithfully. I bet we can all think of a few real mentors and friends who have helped us live out our faith not just in our voices, but in our life choices, too.

The second reason this lesson is well timed, is that THIS Sunday is "St. Andrew's Connects" -- a stewardship-season event that celebrates our care for each other and our financial stewardship of this community. Similar to how Naomi's friendship enables Ruth to take a faithful risk, by reaching out to connect with each other at this time of year we hope to encourage all parish families to take the risk of making a financial pledge this year. Perhaps the confidence we draw from the care we have for each other will enable us to risk being even more generous and joyful givers than we already are. When we remember the many ways in which God's presence is made known to us, especially through our relationships at St. Andrew's, it makes taking the risk of pledging a little easier to accomplish. And when we're willing to take that risk, we really are living our faith in our choices, not just in our voices.

Have a great class this week!


Chris +

Joshua Fought the Battle...

As much as I'm conflicted about this Sunday's Bible story (see post below), it is the basis for one of my favorite pieces of Gospel music! Here's an arrangement by the Moses Hogan Chorale that I have loved for almost 15 years now...

Joshua at Jericho: Sunday, October 18th

This Sunday's Church School lesson for K-5th graders is the story of Joshua leading the Hebrew people out of the wilderness and into the promised land at the town of Jericho. It is, in some ways the final conclusion to the stories about Moses that our classes explored over the past month or so. Moses began the great procession of God's people, out of slavery in Egypt and into the wilderness of the Sinai peninsula -- where they wandered for two generations as a community without a home. All they had to go on during that time was God's promise that if they followed faithfully, God would bring them to a land where they could establish communities of justice, peace, and dignity (so unlike the communities they had left in Egypt). In Joshua's arrival at Jericho, God's promise is finally fulfilled after nearly 40 years.

Now, the story of the Hebrew people's arrival in the Jordan Valley is fraught with difficulties. The belief that God destined this land for the Hebrew people has caused no end of international turmoil -- especially since the establishment of the political state of Israel in the years following the Holocaust of the 20th century. Some believe that the experience of the 20th century in Israel/Palestine parallels at least somewhat the narratives of Joshua's conquest of an already settled land as God's recompense for one group's own suffering of oppression/persecution. The belief in a divine right to the land, as well as divine sanction to use violence in carrying out this prophecy, finds a significant amount of its justification in this familiar Bible story (among other sources as well). And having personally traveled to present day Jericho and elsewhere in the Jordan Valley, witnessing the oppression and violence that engulfs that region today, it's hard to read this story without feeling deeply conflicted about its place in the canon of familiar Bible stories that we teach to children.

Do you remember "Choose your Own Adventure Books" from being a pre-teen? I used to love these books because the reader was involved in determining exactly how the story worked out by making a series of choices at critical plot moments: "If you think Sara should follow the wizard's voice, turn to page 26; but if you think she should stick to the path by the river, turn to page 42."

I sometimes wonder if children who hear the first part of the story of the Hebrew people could write a better ending to this story than the one in today's the Bible story. Could they come up with a more peaceful ending, an ending in which God's promises of a land for the Hebrew people were kept without resorting to violent conquest, an ending that wouldn't have led to the conflict that region now experiences today? What would such an ending look like? Maybe this Sunday, you can give your class the chance to dream of alternate endings to this story.

One way you could teach this story is to review the history of the people of Israel (slavery in Egypt, Moses' leading them into the wilderness, life being hard in the wilderness for 40 years, the need for a permanent land where they would not be oppressed), and then introduce them to Joshua, a child who had not been a slave in Egypt, but had been born and grown up in the wilderness. God called Joshua, as a young man, to lead the people into the permanent land that God had promised. But there's a problem. There were other people living there. Joshua had an army of people, and believed he had God on his side. Then stop telling the story and imagine with the kids what might have happened next.

For older kids, try breaking them into groups and asking each group to come up with a story or even a skit about what might have happened next. Or you could have each group come up with two alternate endings (a choose your own adventure!). Younger children could wonder about this together, thinking about how Joshua might have managed to settle in the land peacefully. What would he have had to do in order to live peacefully in Jericho rather than conquer it? Share space. Get to know the people who live there already. Respect people with different customs. Talk about disagreements rather than fight about them. So often it seems easier to just take what you want and beat up the guy who has it now (particular if you've been beaten up in the past), but children tend to have a harder time justifying this kind of behavior than adults do. One of our jobs as teachers is to protect those gentle instincts.

I wonder if Joshua might have made a different choice about how he brought his people into the land if he'd known about the legacy of violent conquest that, over 3,000 years later, still persists. I wonder if he, or those who wrote his story down in the Bible, would have heard God's call to Joshua in a different way...

Have a great class!

Blessings,
Chris +

Moses' life in animated form!

Thanks to Church School teacher Karin Breedis for passing this on:

This animated remake of "The Ten Commandments" in animated form is meant to introduce kids to the story of Moses -- a great way to connect the various stories of Moses life into one narrative.

Plus check out the link to the music video below the preview!





Here's a link to a cool music video from this film!


http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1157300505/

Away on retreat next week

I just wanted to let you know that I will be on retreat next week from Monday, September 28th through through Friday, October 2nd. Each year I take a week of time for a spiritual retreat at a monastery, a practice that really helps create space and time for intentional living. If you need Church School assistance next week, please contact Susan Jackson Roer at the church, or any member of the Church School Committee.

Parish "Book Night" Potluck!

Last night we had a "Parish Potluck Book Night" discussing William Paul Young's book, "The Shack" and how it challenges our understanding of and relationship with God. The thirty or so of us who attended had a wonderful evening listening to passages from the book, hearing reflections, and then having discussion with each other. We had such fun that there was universal agreement to do this again -- in late winter with a different book. So, if you have suggestions for another parish-wide reading book, please post them here or send them to me via email by November 1st!

Chris

Standing Up for What's Right (Sun. Sept. 27th)

This Sunday, K-5th graders in church school will be exploring Moses' encounter with Pharaoh that leads to the liberation of the Hebrew people from their oppression in Egypt (Exodus 10-14) It's a very accessible story for kids -- lots of action, clearly defined good versus evil, cosmic elements of divine intervention, miracles involving the parting of the sea. These are wonderful details that help children remember this story, one of our faith traditions most important memories of God's liberating power.

But I think sometimes in all our songs about the various plagues and choruses of "let my people go", we forget that what made this incredible moment of liberation possible, was Moses' willingness to stand up for what was right, even to people who were more powerful than he was. Where did this shy, silent type get the strength and courage to risk his own safety for the sake of values he knew to be right and holy? Perhaps it was from his mother, that courageous woman who risked disobeying the law to save his life, as we learned about in last week's Church School story. Or perhaps it was from the encounter deep in the wilderness at the burning bush, when God called Moses to stop hiding out, laying low, and to use the moral strength he had been given for a purpose. Or perhaps it was when Aaron, his brother and friend, agreed to assist him, to be his friend even if it meant he would be risking his life, too. Maybe it was some of all of them, but whatever it was, Moses made the choice to stand up for what was right.

Kids today don't have many public role models when it comes to standing up for what is right, even if it costs you something. It's often so much easier to select role models because they are successful, or beautiful, or rich, or talented. Even when we look up to celebrities who are doing good works around the world, we are still so often as enthralled with their celebrity as we are with their charity or works for justice. Their calling out injustice in the world is important and good, but it is not the kind of personal risk-taking for justice that our world so badly needs. That is what this story is about: this possibility of moral courage and the good to which it can lead.

Moral courage is about standing up to things that are wrong, hurtful, or evil; about standing on the side of the vulnerable, even becoming vulnerable to challenge injustice. This does not have to be a global struggle -- in fact, moral courage is most fully expressed in our local communities and environments (because the closer the relationships, the more that is at risk for the sake of doing the right thing). I wonder where our kids see unfairness in their lives? What seems unfair to them? Not just unpleasant (like having to eat vegetables), but actually unfair. If they chose to stand up against this unfairness, what might happen to them? Are they willing to do it?

Throughout the Bible, God promises to be with those who are vulnerable: youngest children, widows and orphans, prisoners and those who are sick. And God especially promises to be with those who CHOOSE to become vulnerable, to speak up for those whom the world has made vulnerable (through poverty, through disease, through oppression). In fact, God is not just with but IN those who take this kind of risk, because that is the same risk God took in Jesus: to become vulnerable for the sake of those who had no choice except to be vulnerable. When we stand up for the bullied kid or the last one picked for the team; when we share our lunch with a kid whose family couldn't afford to send dessert; when we refuse to enjoy special privileges because not everyone can participate; we are allowing Christ within us to shine, and the liberating power of God to come into and transform the world. This is how Moses, sustained by God's presence with him, brought freedom where there was injustice, and how we, working with God in us, can do the same in our communities.

Chris

Blessing of the Backpacks (this Sunday!)

Just a reminder, don't forget to bring backpacks and lunch boxes for the annual "Blessing of the Backpacks" at Church on Sunday. We'll do the blessing right after the announcements, once kids come in from Church School!

Baby Moses (Sunday, September 20th)

This Sunday, K-4th graders will be learning about the story of Moses' birth (5th grade is skipping ahead to the burning bush!). It's the beginning of several weeks on Moses, and perhaps a good way to start is to try and think together about the various things we know about Moses. If you brainstormed and made a list with the class, I wonder if anyone would say anything about his birth.

We tend to forget about Moses' birth story because the other events in his life (burning bush, confronting Pharaoh, crossing the Red Sea, the 10 commandments, manna in the wilderness, the Golden Calf, all seem so much more important. But all of these these stories, and indeed the liberation of all the Hebrew slaves from their oppression, almost didn't happen because Moses almost didn't survive his birth.

Pharaoh's fear of the people he was oppressing caused him to become violent and demand the death of all male Hebrew children -- an attempt to maintain political control with limited resources. It was the faith of the women around him, his mother, the mid-wife, and their companions, that gave them the courage to disobey an unfair law to save Moses' life. It's not just a coincidence that these women in choosing to struggle against oppression to save the life of the baby Moses allowed the greatest story of liberation ever recorded -- the Hebrew slaves escaping Egypt -- to happen. With God, our small acts of risk-taking for the sake of justice and reconciliation, can become magnified, leading to "thy kingdom come" (the kingdom of justice, liberation, peace, and reconciliation).

For older children, this can lead to a conversation about knowing when to follow the rules and when there is a higher purpose served by breaking them is an important conversation to have. I bet there is a wide range of opinions over what rules are ok to break and under what circumstances! What makes it ok to break a rule? Does it matter if we're breaking a rule to help someone in need versus to get something for ourselves? Does it matter what we imagine God would think of our actions?

Another lesson in this story, especially for younger children, is that when we are most vulnerable and scared, God provides for our protection. When I was a young child, say 8 or 9, I felt most vulnerable at large events (like baseball games or going to the movies) when my mother or father would get up and go to the bathroom or to get a soda, and leave me alone to wait for their return. This story is a comforting reminder that even when we are at our most vulnerable, God's hope is that other people will care for us -- recognizing our vulnerability not as our own fault, or as some kind of failure, but as a shared feature of what it means to be human. How else could an Egyptian princess feel moved to take a Hebrew slave as her own child? We often think of princesses as being concerned with jewels and dresses, and we want our own lives to be like theirs. But how can our kids be more like THIS kind of princess, caring, compassionate, taking care of those in need? (In class, you could even make a crown and take turns wearing it as you think of ideas for how you could care for someone in need the way this princess did!).

Whichever activities you select, as you begin and end your class with prayer together, be sure to pray for all children who don't have parents, and to give thanks for the parents of our kids, who care for them more than anyone else, except God!

Have a great class,
Chris

Being Friends with God (Sun. 9/13/09)

Dear Friends,

This Sunday will be the start of St. Andrew's Church School program! The Church School Committee, and Susan and Steve Killeen have been working hard to get all the curriculum, classrooms, and other materials set to begin the year. Please be sure to thank them as you see them around this month.


A few brief logistical reminders for Sunday:
1) Take attendance! (Toddler Room, please record names by hand.)

2) Collect registration forms from parents
(just because they are on the list does NOT mean we have their form).

3) Plan to attend the Teacher Training from 11:30 to 12:30 in room 2
(lunch and childcare provided.)

4) Please remember to photograph each child and teacher with the camera in your room.

5) Don't forget to say an opening and closing prayer with the kids.


Friendship with God
The loose theme of our Church School year is "Friendship with God," and the special first Sunday activities relate to that theme. It's easy for our practice of Christianity to become conflated with doing the right thing (and particularly easy when we have to explain a faith based in mystery to children!). While doing the right thing is an important part of our faith, our good actions are the result of our faith, not the thing itself. At the core of spirituality is developing and nurturing a friendship with God: spending time with God, feeling loved by God, offering love back to God, experience God's presence in your life as affirming rather than condemning. And at the core of Christianity is finding that friendship with God through our friendship with Jesus. In church we have many good names for Jesus: Lord, Savior, Son of God...but we often forget to call Jesus our friend, our brother, our fellow human being. Becoming better friends with Jesus, means knowing him more fully -- not just as fully divine, but also as fully human, full of empathy and therefore able to be our friend.

The lessons that Susan has wonderfully designed for our elementary school classrooms begin to introduce the idea of friendship with Jesus. I encourage you, as you teach on Sunday, to explore that theme with your classes as fully as you can. What makes a good friend? What things to you like best about your friends? What would it have been like to have been Jesus' friend back when he was on earth? What kind of friend would Jesus have been? Would he have been funny or silly? What would it be like if Jesus was your friend today, in Wellesley?!? (guess what, he is!!!). If you invited him over for a play date, what would you do? No doubt there will be times to return to this theme throughout the year, and this week's lesson offers this theme as a gift to our kids.

And as you prepare to teach this Sunday, you might think for a moment about your own friendship with God. Does knowing God enhance your enjoyment and appreciation of life? If so, how? If not, what is getting in the way of that? Maybe there are parts of your relationship that have yet to be discovered. Do you trust each other -- that is, not only do you trust God, but do you think that God trusts you? As a wise preacher once said, "God's grace is freely given to us, to give us freedom." Our friendship with God is a free gift offered to help us feel more free, not more constrained. What a present indeed.

Well, we're off and running! Thanks for your dedication to taking on this ministry, and my prayer for you is that through the experience of teaching in this community, your friendship with God will grow deeper over the course of this year.



Many blessings,
Chris

Welcome to Andy's Tree House!

This blog is offered as a spiritual resource to all who find their way into Andy's Treehouse. It primarily serves the Church School teachers and families of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Wellesley, MA. My hope is that the Tree House will be a creative and informal place to reflect on and build community around St. Andrew's Church School. So come by early and often!!

Some of what you might find here in the months ahead includes:
- Weekly reflections on the Bible Stories being taught in Church School...
- Announcements about upcoming special events and gatherings...
- Photos of various church school events, performances, classes, and activities...
- Random musings about the spirituality of childhood from time to time...

Why a Tree House???
Though I never had a tree house growing up, I always imagined tree houses (and forts, bunkers, etc.) as special places for children -- places for exploration, for imagination, and for creative play. These are not just important parts of childhood. They are also important spiritual tools with which to engage our adult faith and our theological understandings! When Jesus said, "Unless you become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven" I think it was these qualities: exploration, imagination, creative play, and, of course, trust, that he was encouraging us to develop as adults. And what better place could there be to do that than a Tree House?!?

Who is St. Andy???
Since I started working with the many wonderful children and teenagers at St. Andrew's Church, I have had in my mind the idea that the patron of our community isn't just the dutiful, humble, earnest fisherman who obeyed Jesus' call on the shores of Galilee. Our patron is also the boy whose childhood enabled him to become that mature, thoughtful, faithful man. But we know little about what St. Andrew's childhood might have been like, other than to know that it produced a faithful man, who sought out a friendship with Jesus. I wonder what kind of childhood Andy might have had, that prepared him to be the disciple Andrew we know so well. "St. Andy" is my fictional imaginings of what his childhood might have been. Perhaps some creative writing will emerge here in future postings chronicling his adventures...

I hope you will check this site often -- espceially after Labor Day, when the program year kicks off! If you are part of the St. Andrew's community, feel free to send me feedback about this site anytime via email.

Blessings on the journey,

Chris