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Anne Falk

Hope Springs from Kids in Church

On a snowy Wednesday afternoon at half past two, kids began to arrive for choir practice. Aside from the fact that it’s about the middle of the week and with a very unlikely weather, it was unusual for kids to spend time for church. They could have chosen to go home straight from school and spent some spare time doing childish stuff.

But they came to practice songs for the church service. These kids are unintentionally deviating from the trend of secularization in this country. According to the inputs from the orientation week, Sweden is the world’s most secularized country and proof of which is a very high percentage of people not attending church services as of the present. This indeed is posing a big problem for Svenska Kyrkan (Church of Sweden) in the near future.

But with this kind of practice in my host congregation at St. Mikael Parish in Vårby gård , I don’t see a bleak future a few years from now. These kids, who are given responsibilities in church while being nurtured in their faith through some creative Sunday school activities, will soon grow into mature individuals. It may be different in other parishes here in Sweden but their practice here in this specific parish is worth emulating.

Educating the teenagers and the matured members could be a hard task. But kids are easy to influence especially when they see older people who are setting the example. When kids come to church for church services, art-related activates and choir practices, comes an opportunity for church workers to share not just about religion, church involvement, fellowship with neighbors but more likely, about faith in God, the very basic thing that every Christian should bear.

This is an indication of hope. In a country where church attendance and participation is not common, there is still hope for the Church of Sweden few years from now because of the kids who are attending the service and the Sunday school almost every week in this parish.

Last Sunday, I was amazed and surprised to see kids attending the church service on their own. These kids are filled with the willingness to attend church and this normally springs from their responsibilities during the Sunday Mass. When kids would not serve as members of the choir, they assist in the liturgical processions, offertory, and the communion rites.

I felt like home seeing the children participate in the conduct of the service. Back home, I have a children’s choir singing for the Mass every Sunday. It feels so good that I share the same mission and passion with my host parish.

Engaging the kids into the service and giving them responsibilities could be one of the best ways to prepare for the future of the church.

Years from now, these kids who are willing to take responsibility in church services will soon mature. Surely, they will find a way to be in church on Sundays to bring their kids and let them experience what they used to do when they were young. And the cycle continues.

Hope lives as long as kids are willing to learn about God in Sunday school. Hope lives as long as you see kids participating actively in the services. Hope lives as long as you see several kids participate in song practices and other learning activities. Hope lives as long as you hear kids sing loudly the hymns during the service. Hope lives for the Church of Sweden as long as you see kids come on Sundays.  Hope springs from Kids in Church.

//Klein F. Emperado is one of the exchange students in the exchange programme ”Young in the World Wide Chuch” 2014. During three months he will be spending time in Sweden, sharing life, faith and every day life. Klein is a Mass Communications graduate from Silliman University, Dumaguete, Philippines and also he works as Editorial Assistant for the said university. In the exchange he represents the Philippine Independent Church/Iglesia Filipina Independiente. His line of ministry is focused mainly on Liturgy and Music for the Diocese of Negros Oriental and Siquijor.

// Klein F. Emperado är en av deltagarna i utbytesprogrammet Ung i den världsvida kyrkan 2014. Under tre månader delar han vardag, tro och liv med människor här i Sverige. Under sin första månad spenderar han tid i St Mikaels församling i Stockholms stift. Klein har tagit examen i masskommunikation vid Silliman University, Dumaguete, Filippinerna och han jobbar idag som redaktörsassistent för nämnda universitet. I utbytesprogrammet representerar han den Filippinska oberoende kyrkan (Iglesia Filipina Independiente). Hans stora intresse och inriktning innom kyrkan är främst liturgi och musik för stiftet i Negros Oriental och Siquijor.

 

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