That is an absolutely priceless story. I love Children's time.

Perhaps next week you could play a clip on powerpoint from Ed Wood's PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE so the kids would know a zombie if they ever meet one 8----P

Sometimes the childrens story is the best part of worship and the best learnings for us older fogies comes from the straighforward kids and their questions. Of course now on Easter Sunday when the story of Mary in the garden is told I'll be imaging a zombie saying, "Mary......"

it was a Sunday when we were having soup after the service. But it was also a special litugical day. Learned not to ask too many questions in children's time after that. I asked " what is special about today/" A little guy answered "soup". Then his brother answered'" yeah, that's why we came". So the moral is _ To get people in church - serve soup after the service.

Great story - thanks for sharing Rev. John

Crazyheart - we're having soup next Sunday - wanna come?

We don't have "children's time" at our church. Last Sunday though, I could hear a little person a few rows behind me asking loudly and repeatedly "WHERE is Jesus?" I'm guessing maybe he was from a Roman Catholic tradition, where the crucifix is so prominent in the sanctuary - we, being UC, don't have that! An interesting point of reflection tho. Out of the mouths of babes ....

My friend's little guy asked her why there was a "t" at the front of the church.

I've had some awesome children's stories, but the saddest (anytime adults laugh at a poor unwitting child for saying something important) was this:
I was talking about symbols and what they mean, and I had a few kids who were not church goers - I asked about the image of fire, and what that might mean. With a bit more coaxing, I talked about feeling fire in your heart, like excitement or passion, and one little guy eagerly said "Heartburn!"

I'm prepared for this, and do my best to look after the kid - I look him straight in the eye and hold on to their panicked face, and say "Wow -good answer!" Adults love it but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know it is harmful to little kids.

If you can get your hands on a parachute for Pentacost, you can spread the kids out (works in our sanctuary) and float it up & down to make wind - we shared the wind with all the people in our church and prayed that it would keep going and going all around the world. THe kids loved it - some older folks, not so much.

That is a hilarious story RevJohn. It also shows that the kids are watching innapropriate horror movies unless the children's story was for teens. Maybe you should have a parenting class for the parents so they don't let their kids watch Return of the Living Dead and the like. By the way that is the wrong way to kill a zombie. I think they need to shot several times through the heart with a revolver. Depends on the movie but they are stronger than humans so kicking one ANYWHERE would not do it because they cannot feel pain.

There was a young girl once at our church who was very lively and engaged and the minister or sunday school teacher (cant remember anymore) asked all of the children if they knew what lent was. And this one girl piped up immediatly :That's the stuff you take out of the dryer".

Peace

Joel

Don't play a clip from PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. Play the WHOLE MOVIE! They need to know the truth about GRAVE ROBBERS FROM SPACE before it's too late!

I would call it the wisdom of the truth tellers!

I agree children's time is truth time but it should not be a place to put kids on display. let them know that what ever they say is okay.I once did a children's time that I had prepared for and there wasn't a kid in the joint. When i called the children down to the front not knowing what I was going to do, a man in the back row came and sat and the children's story that morning was owned by everyone.

Klaatu,

Let them keep their innocence before suggesting that
hard hitting documentary "Plan Nine from Outer Space"
which contains such unanswerable truth about adult
life. I think Plato said you should not study philosophy
until you are 30!

Preecy,

I guess the kids wonder why in Church or Sunday
school so much time is dedicated to lint from the dryer.

Sorry, I wasn't thinking. Of course, Plan 9 would be far too devastating for young innocent minds. Let them have a few more years of a false but comforting sense of security before revealing the awful truth to them. Oh, the horror, the horror ...

"We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future ...

Perhaps on your way home, you will pass someone in the dark, and you will never know it, for they will be from outer space. Many scientists believe that another world is watching us this moment. ...

God help us... in the future. "