From Ashleigh Rhodes, Co-Director of Religious Life
My kids have been home from school for almost two weeks now. All of our routines disappeared overnight – school, Girl Scouts, church. All the days have blurred together. Combined with the concern for friends and family and uncertainty about the future, the sense of unreality has been pervasive.
I wasn’t sure how “church at home” would go, but I wanted to try, in the hope of keeping some of our old routine.
The last couple of weeks have gone surprisingly well, as someone trying to “do church” with a two year old, a six year old, and a nine year old. We’ve even done the digital “coffee hour.” We used the nice china, had herbal tea, and cookies.
Last Sunday we collected a candle for a chalice, a lighter, and set up our own bowl of “stones” – including a purple dinosaur eraser, a couple of leaves, a seed, a glass star, and a piece of a geode. The kids really liked helping me assemble an altar, and choosing things to go in our bowl. Since we were at home, my six year old could be in charge of holding the bowl for her younger sister, just like she had seen adults do in church.
I decided on an order for us to do the pieces of the service, and added a story. We listened to the piano piece, and placed stones, and shared with each other. Then watched the other pieces of the service. I read a story called “The Magic Vase” from the UU Tapestry of Faith curricula that felt appropriate right now.
It wasn’t perfect – at one point I couldn’t figure out how to find one of the songs on YouTube, since I only had the link on my phone, so they got bored while I was looking. By the end of all of it they were just ready to be done – next time I’ll keep it a bit shorter.
However, it meant a lot to me to “do church” with my family, and for Sunday to feel a little different than all the other days.
I hope, regardless of whether you have kids at home, that you’ll find ways to adapt what’s being shared each Sunday for the needs and attention span of your family. Do what works for you, and let us know how we can help.
If you are interested in having your family read the chalice lighting one week, please reach out to Rev. Mitra at programming@stjohnsuu.org.
Sending warm thoughts from my home to yours ~ Ashleigh