During Children’s Time on Sunday, jars of peanut butter and boxes of baking mix were lifted overhead in the pews. The children scattered throughout the sanctuary gathering them up and bringing them forward. These contributions for Crosslines Christmas Store are destined to help someone in need this holiday season.
In WorshipArts we closed our eyes and tried to think about a time when we really, really wanted something that we didn’t have. Maybe a time when we really, really wished something would happen – but didn’t know how to make it so. What does it feel like to want? Can we even imagine need? (One child recognized that his desires were shaped by the things that others already seemed to have.)
In her first ever sermon, Renee spoke about – and shared her own personal lament. “What did that sound like?” I asked the children. “I think she was talking to God,” one responded. I wondered, aloud, how children lament?
And then we sang, briefly introducing the first stanza of this beautiful anthem we hope to learn in the coming weeks.
Stars are for those who lift their eyes. We stand on a cloudless night and look and look up at a million, million stars. So distant, so distant and so bright. I wonder if the towering trees and mountains tall and white are reaching up, as our thoughts do, toward God who gives us light…
In days and nights of want … and of plenty, I hope these children will continue to:
Lift their hearts in empathy
Lifts their hands in service
And Lift their eyes to the heavens.
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