"We Will, with God's Help

One of my very favorite moments during the Baptism service is when the congregation is asked, "Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support these persons in their life in Christ?" And we answer back, "We will with God's help." When we take part in a baptism as members of the Christian family, we become responsible for forming the faith of that new Christian in our parish family. As the service then moves to the part where the baby or children or family walk down the aisle and are greeted by the congregation, we tend to focus on how cute the baby is and not think so much about what we have just promised to do.

But long after the baby has gone home and changed out of the christening gown, we remain charged with the responsibility of helping that child of Christ grow into a mature faith. It is an awesome responsibility - and one that is also full of fun and wonder along the way. None of us really believe that we are mature enough in the faith ourselves to form the faith of others - and who among us really is? But the Holy Spirit rests on each of us and works through us whether or not we have theological educations and completely understand what we profess to believe ourselves.

We must nurture our faith and give the Holy Spirit something to work with. Attending Bible study, reflecting on the weekly lessons, daily prayer and meditation, talking with our partner or another member of the Church are all ways in which we can invite the Holy Spirit to help our faith grow. But that is not enough. No matter where we are in our faith journey, we are also called to share what ever we know and have experienced. Whether we are two or ninety-two, a Christian has been touched by God's love in Jesus and can share that with others.

The Church School is one place where we make manifest our promise to"support these persons in their life in Christ." To pass on our faith to the next generation requires adults who are living out their baptismal promise in an intentional and specific way by committing to teach. At Christ Church, we are blessed with many adults who do just this the seventeen Sundays a year that Church School meets. Some of them are very experienced Christians who are easy about sharing their faith and comfortable with questions. Many of them arrive on Sunday with curriculum materials clutched to their chests, hope in their hearts and a prayer on their lips. And no matter what they know or don't, the Holy Spirit works through them, and our children learn that not only do they matter to God, they matter to these adults who take the time to be with them on Sunday mornings. After almost twenty years as a professional Christian educator, I have come to believe that this is the only Church School lesson that really matters - if they leave here on Sunday morning knowing that God loves them and so do we, we have been faithful to our vow to support them in their life in Christ. The tools for living out that love come along through constant exposure to the great stories of the Bible, from participation at worship, from sharing laughter and fellowship with others who are hungry for the Good News of God in Christ and who are trying to figure out what it all means together. A Church School teacher needs only a willingness to be a channel of the Holy Spirit. We all know more than we think we do and teaching Church School lessons is a good way to figure out what we already know and fill in some of the blanks of what we don't.

So - here is my invitation to you to prayerfully consider joining the Church School teaching team and support our young Christians in their lives in Christ this fall. We still have spots that only YOU can fill. I will guarantee that you will have fun, learn more about your own faith and meet some pretty awesome Christians there. And really, where else in your life can you play with glitter glue and model magic?

Faithfully,

Elizabeth