Dear Friends,

 As you know, Saint Paul’s Church School schedule is designed around “Family Worship.”  Have you ever wondered why this is so?  Please read on.

A generation ago, the most common arrangement was for the children to be off somewhere in a Sunday School class during the Divine Liturgy.  Although this practice is still found in a few parishes today, it is simply not “Orthodox” to keep children of any age separated from the Divine Liturgy at any time.  Sunday Schools are a very recent “import” into the history of Orthodox Christianity – only about 60 years ago.  Our immigrant grandparents borrowed the idea from their Protestant neighbors, who by definition had an entirely different concept of worship than did the Orthodox.  The unfortunate result is that some people now perceive Sunday Schools as having a greater importance for children than the Divine Liturgy.  In other words, learning about Christ with the intellect began to take the place of the lifetime process of “knowing Christ” mystically through prayer and worship.  

As Orthodox Christians, we receive our infants into the full membership and practice of our Faith – baptized and confirmed, they join in the Communion (or “community”) of the Holy Eucharist – and have done so for the entire 2000 year history of the Church.   Children are fully included in the worshipping Body of the Church – and we, the Body of Christ, meet Him as fully present in the Divine Liturgy - not in classroom textbooks.

The Divine Liturgy is not a purely intellectual or rational experience – even for adults!   It is not necessary that children “understand” everything that is going on.  Do we?  We should let the Divine Liturgy “wash over” our young children, to quote Father Steven at a recent meeting.  The sights, sounds and smells and tastes of our worship become for us an experience of the presence of the Holy Spirit.  These are far more important memories in one’s early religious development than the definition of the words used. 

Our current schedule was implemented about 11 years ago and was already well established when we received a directive from our Diocese to refrain from holding classes during the Divine Liturgy.  Approximately 70% of parishes in the San Francisco Diocese no longer conduct classes during the Liturgy, and the number is growing.

We gave much thought to determining the proper schedule which would be the most Orthodox, and yet still allow some quality time for instruction and community building in the classroom setting.  There were certainly many possible options.  One other Orthodox parish in Orange County, for example, holds Sunday School at 9:15 a.m. with family worship at 10:00.  That’s certainly one possibility, but we didn’t think that was the best solution for Saint Paul’s.   

In some parishes, the children are brought into Church with their classes for some portion of the Liturgy.   But clearly, young children do not develop a sense of piety by sitting next to their friends who are climbing on the pews, or making faces at one another - with a few teachers here and there trying to keep them all quiet.   When behavioral corrections become necessary, one-on-one (parent, grandparent or Godparent ) is the ideal.  Religious piety is ‘caught” not “taught” with children observing adults whom they respect – their parent or grandparent sitting next to them, engaged reverently in prayer and participation in worship.

Admittedly, our current schedule is a compromise in that the children leave the church immediately after Holy Communion.  This is somewhat irreverent at best, but they also miss out on the sermon.  However, it was determined that whatever was compromised by this was most certainly overshadowed by the many advantages:

Some of these practical, objective advantages are:

·        Teachers are always able to prepare spiritually before class, by worshipping in the Divine Liturgy.  They are also able to sit with their own families.

·        Classes always begin with all the students present.  (This is a huge problem in programs where children meet first in class.    The teachers must start the lesson and re-start as students filter in.)  With our schedule, all the students arrive in class at the same time and the lesson begins once – a far more efficient use of precious time.

·        We also provide a snack and juice at the beginning of every class, so the very real issue of low blood sugar (after fasting for Communion) is resolved, and students are able to be more attentive.

·        Children are able to learn to prepare for Holy Communion by being part of the entire worshipping congregation – hearing the Scripture readings, witnessing the processions, learning to recite the Creed, and the Lord’s prayer, kneeling during the consecration, etc.  But since they are dismissed early, it’s just “long enough” for most.

By the end of the first year, about ten years ago, it seemed to already be second nature for many families to be together at the Divine Liturgy, which is as it should be.  Another significant benefit was immediate increased summer attendance at the Liturgy.  Most families who got into the habit of worshipping together each week did not stop coming to Church when Church School classes stopped for the summer.  Our summer attendance by families with young children at St. Paul’s is significant – just ask someone who’s visited us from another parish during the summer.  After 11 years of this format, and nearly one "generation" so to speak, of children being raised entirely in the Divine Liturgy, our high school and post-high school population attending the Liturgy is also noticeably higher.  After high school, graduates who have been in worship their entire childhood are more familiar with, and more comfortable in the Liturgy.  So when they've stopped attending classes after high school, many still naturally continue come to Church on Sunday, whether away at school, or at home, in very much the same degree as they always had.

Finally, if you’re struggling with your own young children during the Liturgy, do not lose heart.  We’ve all been there.  Our children in the 1990s are not wired any differently than children in the 4th or 17th centuries, and somehow they all made it through, too, nurturing their children into mature Christian adults.  It’s a difficult task for the parent, but crucially important for you to find the proper balance: you must somehow immerse your children in our worship as much as possible, but without creating negative sentiments on their part.  In some cases this may involve your stepping out for a time during the service.  Steve and I called this period our “yo-yo years,” since it seemed we were always walking in and out of the narthex with our little ones.   You may also consider moving forward as your child(ren) are able to sit somewhat more quietly near the 4 year old range.  There’s a lot more to see up front – the acolytes, the Priests, etc. 

You may also want to chat with a family whose older children behave well in Church, or whose older teens or young adults are still active in Church life.  I believe that you’ll find that they brought their children to the Divine Liturgy regularly as infants, toddlers, and young children – even if it was a struggle, and even if the children didn’t entirely “understand” everything that was going on.   As with all parenting issues, understanding the “big picture” over time makes the immediate difficulties with young children far more tolerable and worthwhile.

Finally, there is a wonderful book in our bookstore which beautifully addresses this issue: “Children in the Church Today: An Orthodox Perspective” by Sister Magdalen.  In reference to the restlessness of children in church, she considers that it may be partly “due to the fact that they do not have enough excursions, or chances to let off steam, or treats which they feel grateful for – they are given an ascetic rule too strong for them to bear.”   Her main emphasis in the book is that “if children are conceived, born and brought up surrounded by prayer and love, they will grow up as spiritual persons and thus fulfill their human vocation.”  Isn’t this ultimately what we all want for our children?  It’s a beautiful book written with much wisdom. (I’d be happy to loan out a copy if asked.)

So I hope I’ve illustrated that this schedule of ours did not come about haphazardly, but with great attention to the historical, spiritual, social, practical and parental issues at hand, and with great love and concern for your children.  Our Church School program is in place to augment your guidance of your children’s religious and spiritual growth in the most Orthodox way possible.  Everything that takes place in the classroom, no matter how beneficial, is secondary to the practice of our Faith as a worshipping community. 

In the Service of Jesus Christ,

Eve Tibbs