parents
in my job, i deal with lots of parents. most of them are wonderful and supportive and pour love out onto me. some are pains, some never help and some only find fault.
today the confirmands joined the church. all but three of them, actually. and that is fine. the point of the class is not necessarily TO join the church, but to explore one's faith and what it means for one to be a follower of Christ.
the kids did the whole service, and they did a great job.
after the service, as i'm floating on a cloud, and being so happy that it's done, and that they did such a great job, a fault-finding parent came up to me. i was in the middle of a conversation with another parent, but what does that matter?
the parent was quite "disappointed" and angry that nothing was being done to honor the confirmation class as a whole, that the only kids being recognized were the ones joining the church.
i was caught totally off guard, and had no response.
i thought she understood that confirmation, the actual process of being confirmed, was joining the church.
their child choosing not to join the church at this time, meant they weren't ready to be confirmed.
confirmation is the ceremony of confirming of the baptismal vows you take, or your parents take on your behalf. you are basically saying, i agree with what i said before (at my baptism), and i'm showing that by joining the church.
the class is a place for young people to explore issues of faith, to learn more about the church, and to make an informed decision about what they choose to believe.
some decide to join the church because that is the next step on their faith journey. some decide to wait. maybe they are struggling with big questions, maybe they don't feel like they have anything to give to the church, maybe they want to join a different church.
i asked this parent what they wanted to happen. they didn't offer any ideas, except some sort of recognition. as the teachers and planners of the class, we decided it would be better to not highlight the choice of some to not join, as they were sensitive about it, and didn't want attention drawn to themselves about their choice.
i wasn't about to put those other kids in the spotlight, and potentially chase them out of the church, merely because a PARENT (not the child, the parent) wanted some recognition for their child.
it sort of aggrevates me, because we run into the same problem we always have with parents. they want what they want, not what's best for their children (even though they may think it's what's best for their children).
i like to think that i always have the child's best interests at heart. sometimes parents are unable to see through their own desires to realize that what they want is not what their children want. it makes my job hard, it gives me an upset tummy, but, in my heart, i think i did the right thing.
i hope, at some point, the parent will realize this.
--
today the confirmands joined the church. all but three of them, actually. and that is fine. the point of the class is not necessarily TO join the church, but to explore one's faith and what it means for one to be a follower of Christ.
the kids did the whole service, and they did a great job.
after the service, as i'm floating on a cloud, and being so happy that it's done, and that they did such a great job, a fault-finding parent came up to me. i was in the middle of a conversation with another parent, but what does that matter?
the parent was quite "disappointed" and angry that nothing was being done to honor the confirmation class as a whole, that the only kids being recognized were the ones joining the church.
i was caught totally off guard, and had no response.
i thought she understood that confirmation, the actual process of being confirmed, was joining the church.
their child choosing not to join the church at this time, meant they weren't ready to be confirmed.
confirmation is the ceremony of confirming of the baptismal vows you take, or your parents take on your behalf. you are basically saying, i agree with what i said before (at my baptism), and i'm showing that by joining the church.
the class is a place for young people to explore issues of faith, to learn more about the church, and to make an informed decision about what they choose to believe.
some decide to join the church because that is the next step on their faith journey. some decide to wait. maybe they are struggling with big questions, maybe they don't feel like they have anything to give to the church, maybe they want to join a different church.
i asked this parent what they wanted to happen. they didn't offer any ideas, except some sort of recognition. as the teachers and planners of the class, we decided it would be better to not highlight the choice of some to not join, as they were sensitive about it, and didn't want attention drawn to themselves about their choice.
i wasn't about to put those other kids in the spotlight, and potentially chase them out of the church, merely because a PARENT (not the child, the parent) wanted some recognition for their child.
it sort of aggrevates me, because we run into the same problem we always have with parents. they want what they want, not what's best for their children (even though they may think it's what's best for their children).
i like to think that i always have the child's best interests at heart. sometimes parents are unable to see through their own desires to realize that what they want is not what their children want. it makes my job hard, it gives me an upset tummy, but, in my heart, i think i did the right thing.
i hope, at some point, the parent will realize this.
--
posted by Mrs. Lupo at 1:03 PM
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