March 12, 2017

Between setting our clocks ahead an hour and spring break for many families, we had a small group in WorshipArts this morning. But having many or few isn’t the point in WorshipArts, especially during these weeks when we are thinking about helping others see what is “the best part of me.” We’ve explored this together in several different ways as we think about what it means to be Mennonite, as well as what it means to be rooted and grounded. This morning we worked together on a project, a song called “I am God’s Child.” We explored what it means to sing the same and different pitch as the voices around you, and how it feels to sing alone or sing in a group. One astute observer said, “I’ve heard that when we sing together, all our hearts beat together.” I’ll carry that with me until we see each other again next Sunday.

As we continue to talk with the children about their questions about church membership, baptism, and what it means to vote for a pastor, we received this great response from Ruth. I hope the children can see this as an example of affirmation of asking questions and seeking answers together, and the value of their participation in the community we call Rainbow.

On Sunday we also went outside to include our leaves, as well as those collected during worship, in the Remembrance Garden. As one child picked up a leaf to attach to the string, she said, “Hey, I knew this person, too.” As the children read the names on the leaves they were attaching to the string, I had to think that it was a way of adding their voices to remembering those who have gone before.

Have you given much thought to our worship bulletin?  We asked the children, “Why do we have a different bulletin every week?” There were some insightful answers: “So we know what the hymn numbers are.” “It’s Ashton’s job.” We noticed some things about the bulletin, such as the space on the back to draw or write things we want to remember. We noticed that Pastor Ruth always gives a title to her sermon. This week the title was “G-D”. We remembered what Ruth said, about how the name of God is so holy that some people don’t say or write it. One person said we leave out the vowel because it reminds us that G-d is invisible.  We noticed the graphic of the burning bush at the top of the order of worship, drawn by a WorshipArts graduate.

We decided to draw our own burning bushes. Such unique revelations!

Sometime soon we hope to sing the following song in worship. If you live with a WorshipArts kid, ask them to sing it for you:

He saw a bush that did not burn and yet it was aflame.
He stopped to look at it and heard a voice call out his name.
It called, “Moses! Moses!”
“Here I am!”
“Take off your sandals! All around is holy, holy ground!
Take off your sandals! All around is holy, holy, holy ground!”