The Mission of the Christian Formation Committee of St. John's is to develop members into faithful Christians in the Body of Christ through worship, the knowledge of scripture, the Book of Common Prayer, creeds, and church history.

Adopted by the Christian Formation Committee on June 26, 2000

-Nurture of the child-

Children are a heritage from the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is a gift. -Psalm 127:4

 The Church is called:

• to receive, nurture and treasure each child as a gift from God;
• to proclaim the Gospel to children, in ways that empower them to receive and respond to God's love;
• to give high priority to the quality of planning for children and the preparation and support of those who minister with them;
• to include children, in fulfillment of the Baptismal Covenant, as members and full participants in the Eucharistic community and in the church's common life of prayer, witness and service.

(2)

-Ministry to the child-

 Then Jesus took the children in his arms, placed his hands on each of them and blessed them. -Mark 10:16

The Church is called:

• to love, shelter, protect and defend children within its own community and in the world, especially those who are abused, neglected or in danger;
• to nurture and support families in caring for their children, acting in their children's best interest, and recognizing and fostering their children's spirituality and unique gifts;
• to embrace children who seek Christian nurture independently of their parents' participation in the church;
• to advocate for the integrity of childhood and the dignity of all children at every level of our religious, civic and political structures.

(3)

-Ministry of the child-

 A child shall lead them. -Isaiah 11:6

The Church is called:

• to receive children's special gifts as signs of the Reign of God;
• to foster community beyond the family unit, in which children, youth and adults know each other by name, minister to each other, and are partners together in serving Christ in the world;
• to appreciate children's abilities and readiness to represent Christ and his church, to bear witness to him wherever they may be, and according to gifts given them, to carry on Christ's work of reconciliation in the world, and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the church.

(Ministry of the Laity pg. 855 BCP)

We pray for children who sneak Popsicles before supper, who erase holes in math workbooks, who can never find their shoes. And we pray for those who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire, who can’t bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers, who never ‘counted potatoes,’ who are born in places we wouldn’t be caught dead, who never go the circus, who live in an X-rated world. We pray for children who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions, who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money. And we pray for those who never get dessert, who have no safe blanket to drag behind them, who watch their parents watch them die, who can’t find any bread to steal, who don’t have any rooms to clean up, whose pictures aren’t on anybody’s dresser, whose monsters are real. We pray for children who spend all their allowance before Tuesday, who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food, who like ghost stories, who shove dirty clothes under the bed, and never rinse out the tub, who get visits for the tooth fairy, who don’t like to be kissed in front of the carpool, who squirm in church or temple and scream in the phone, whose tears we sometimes laugh at and whose smiles can make us cry. And we pray for those whose nightmares come in the daytime, who will eat anything, who have never seen a dentist, who aren’t spoiled by anybody, who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep, who live and move, but have no being. We pray for children who want to be carried and for those who must be, for those we never give up on and for those who don’t get a second chance. For those we smother...and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it. We pray for all our children."

Written by Ina J. Hughs.

I invite you to join in praying this prayer for all our children.

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