These are some of my first memories of church.
First of all, I can remember giving a brief talk in church when I was just four or five years old. I was standing on a pew during the service, right next to our pastor. I spoke to the children in the church, saying that "I hope you had a happy time in Sunday School today!"
My parents and younger sister and I attended church almost every week as I remember. I recall my fourth grade Sunday School class meeting in the basement of the Whitefish Bay Methodist Church. One of our main tasks that year was to memorize the books of the Bible in order. I was so pleased when I learned them correctly! I think that I still could repeat them pretty accurately. It does make it easier and quicker to find a Bible passage.
After my time in fourth grade our family moved to Wauwatosa where we joined the Elm Grove Methodist Church. Most of the young people attended Elm Grove and Brookfield schools. Nancy, a good friend of mine from Wauwatosa, joined me in Sunday School, youth choir, and MYF youth group. It was fun having a whole new group of kids to get to know, and having Nancy there made me feel more comfortable. Both of my parents cared a great deal about church, and they both were always very active in its work, similar to Norm and me.
What are some of your first memories in church? Did you have any moments or experiences that made a significant impression on you?
- Sue
I have tried and tried my entire life to learn all the books of the Bible in order and I STILL cannot do it. Even with all that seminary education. Kind of embarrassing...
ReplyDeleteI remember my Sunday School classes like they were yesterday. We had a really gifted children's musician in our church, so we would spend half the time doing crafts and the other half learning songs together. One of my fondest memories is that I once found a garter snake in my driveway on Saturday afternoon, put it in a little terrarium, and brought it to church with me on Sunday! It went to church, Sunday School, and coffee hour, and I know that at the time it seemed like a perfectly normal gesture to me. I wonder what everyone else was thinking!
Joanna, I've got you covered. I've got a chant, with jumping jacks and everything! We'll see if our SS kids get to try it out this year.
DeleteOh good!! I have seriously been trying forever. Often, I do this: http://www.sporcle.com/games/g/biblebooksold
Deleteand
http://www.sporcle.com/games/g/biblebooksnew
And I know a song!
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swprVLtxNhU
Oops, I meant to post that as my own account, but I guess I slipped into the church account. ^^ That was me, Pastor Joanna!
ReplyDeleteI have so many vivid memories of church when I was young- the water table in the three-year-old Sunday School room, laying in the church balcony looking at the Christmas decorations in the dark sanctuary while my parents were in a meeting, playing sardines/hide-and-seek in the dark in youth group, getting left in Des Moines after a confirmation outing (oops!), and singing in the children's choir. We spent a lot of time at church, and my brother and I kind of felt like we owned the place. Our parents always let us roam while they were talking to people during coffee hour, rehearsing for choir, etc. because they knew that the rest of the church members would keep an eye on us. Having "free reign" of such a big building as an elementary school kid was great! Thanks for the post, Sue. I'm having fun reliving all of those experiences in my mind right now! :)
ReplyDeleteOne of my earliest (and fondest) memories in church involved my childhood friend, Martin, and I playing a game that I will call "Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down." We would be sitting with our families in pews a few rows from each other and indicate whether we wanted to stare at each other from over the pew or below it by putting our thumbs up or down. I can vividly remember Martin grinning back at me from below a kneeler in Sacred Heart Catholic Church while our parents benignly ignored us. While I've learned to pay better attention over the years (somewhat), this experience has always reminded me that church should be a place of joy rather than inhibition but finding ways to display that joy as a mature adult can be difficult. If church isn't a place where we can express our true selves, then what is?
ReplyDeleteI have so many fond memories growing up in church, and I agree with Erin that one of the best experiences was being allowed to roam the church unsupervised. It was during one of these explorations in my church growing up that I discovered a hole in the floor that was covered up with carpet. I sanctioned the space as my secret time capsule, and would fill it full of goodies I found around the church. I also have memories of singing around the campfire and catching crawdads at church camp.
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