Recently, I began a group for children called WAM, which stands fo Worship And Music. This group meets between services during adult bible studies and fellowship. When posed with what to offer for children, we chose to combine a variety of requests from families. As the initial leader of this group I also had to consider the gifts I could offer and areas of knowledge that I could use in leading the children, so I came up with the idea of focusing on Worship and how we can use music to worship God. - singing (a variety of songs)
- different types of prayer
- reading, hearing and memorizing scripture
Beyond these foundational elements I choose seasonal concepts (Advent, Lent...) or questions and interests of the children.
A few weeks ago we browsed a bulletin from each worship service and identified familiar words. Next we went back through and circled things that we recognized, but didn't understand. We ended up walking through the bulletin line by line and discussing why we do certain things each week.
We then looked back at what we learned about the prayer technique known as ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication). They discovered that each week's service is a variation on these same ideas! It was so fun to see their faces as they began to uncover the mystery of sunday morning worship! I encouraged them to share their new knowledge and to listen for key words during the following service. One parents on their child eagerness to share their understanding during worship that morning. Being in on the secret is a blessing! I am excited to continue this process and further explore the sacraments and traditions of our faith with the WAM group!
Have you ever wondered why we do some of the things we do on Sundays? Have you ever stopped to read each line of the order of worship? Do you have memories from being a child in church and wondering how everyone knew to say the same words at certain times? Share a question or memory below in the comments!
