Kid's Ministry Coffee Break | A Few Minutes of Spiritual Refreshment for Children & Youth Ministers.
Religion & Spirituality:Christianity
"SUCH A TIME AS THIS" Kids Ministry Coffee Break 35: This break is a special response to the recent shootings in New York and Texas. May this message be a source of comfort and peace for you all.
"SUCH A TIME AS THIS" Kids Ministry Coffee Break 35: This break is a special response to the recent shootings in New York and Texas. May this message be a source of comfort and peace for you all. The racially motivated act of hatred in Buffalo was a heartbreaking moment that, unfortunately, we’ve seen many times in this country. Hatred of this sort does not make sense to us as disciples of Jesus Christ. Following in the way of love leaves an enormous chasm between how we understand the world and what happened. And then…Robb Elementary was attacked. Robb Elementary is no more a tragedy than Tops Friendly Market—both places endured devastating casualties to innocent bystanders, but it feels different when children are the victims of such violence. Some of you have had an entirely different emotional response and reaction to what happened in Buffalo, because you’ve experience hatred and have seen the kind of damage that bigotry can cause firsthand. Many of you…probably all of you…are connected with youth or children’s ministry in some way. You have kids in your life whether you are a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, sibling, teacher, volunteer, or adopted family member. The pain we feel from all of this is overwhelming. We are asking lots of “why’s” We are either witnessing or participating in the blame-game—having conversation to determine who all played a part in creating the situation. Some of you find it best to talk, vent, cry, cuss, and curse. Some of you can’t find any words. Please know…it’s all of it okay. It’s okay to feel what you feel and do what you feel led to do. Just feel and do you with love, grace, and compassion. If you feel the urge to blame and yell…your pain is 100% to be respected, but keep in mind that nobody wanted this to happen. Everyone is hurt. I keep reading and re-reading Ecclesiastes 3. There’s a season for everything and a time for every matter under the heavens. This opening line is followed by a list of opposites that list the basic situations we all face in life. One thing to remember from this list is that they are a mixed bag of positive to negative statements within negative to positive statements. Whatever you are feeling, there’s a season for that. Also, there’s a season for your friends feelings…your family’s feelings…your church’s feelings…and your community’s feelings. It will take some time for us to catch our breath and collect our thoughts. It will take time to not hurt. As ministers, we are in need…right now in this moment. We are not needed to have answers…because there aren’t answers. We are needed to be present with people in the pain and confusion they feel. We are needed to create space for them to feel what they feel without judging them or trying to solve this. Just protect them by letting them feel. Let them talk Let them be silent Let them cry Let them growl Let them blame Let them pray Let them be what they need to be…and give them a listening ear. Most of the time, simply listening and creating space for people is about 95% of what they need. Children and youth will also need you—just like they always have. Giving them time, energy, attention, encouragement, support, love, respect…but they will need space to grieve about what has happened. Most kids haven’t been told about exactly what has happened, but they DO know that the adults are different right now. Teachers, parents, and other adults are acting different. They may wonder, “What have I done?” “Did I do something wrong to make people sad?” Kids don’t know what they don’t know. The kids in your life and ministry will need you to connect with them and ask how they are doing. They will need space to say and feel what they need…just like everyone else. …I’m very conscious that you need this space too. So find someone who can give you that space. Hopefully you already have. Keep that up. If you haven’t, reach out to someone you trust and ask them to just listen to yo
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