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Dear Friends,
Children are a gift from God and, therefore, should be our most precious treasure. Yet when we read about the many atrocities that are happening to children in our world today, of thousands of children dying from hunger and malnutrition each day, thousands more living in squalid poverty and filth, and thousands more suffering as victims of neglect and abuse, we question whether our society and our world value children at all.
In addition to the neglect and abuse of children that confront us daily from our television screens, movies, and newspapers, it is apparent that there is another form of poverty impacting our children in our society and around the world. Although this form is harder to detect and identify, its force is seen in the lives of both affluent and impoverished children. This poverty is spiritual poverty—that void in the child’s life of not knowing that she or he is divinely created and infinitely loved by God; that lack of spiritual grounding that gives life meaning and hope.
One factor that contributes to this spiritual poverty is that in recent years we have spent a great deal of time, energy and money dealing with adult issues. We have been concerned with our inner self and our inner child, we have spent years trying to "find ourselves", and how to meet our unmet needs. We have paid a great deal of attention to maximizing our own development, to exploring our own potential and spent countless hours with therapists, counselors and life coaches seeking our strengths. As important as these are, unfortunately, our self pre-occupation has resulted in the neglect of the child in our midst.
Leonard Sweet in his book Faithquakes says that we as a nation have been obsessed in recent years with the "inner child" and "personal growth". He says that it is time for the "outer child", the actual child in our home, our society and the world to be lauded as well. He continues by saying that it is time now for the child "to be treated as a responsible and highly valued member of our society and the church".
For centuries the home was seen as the primary source for nurturing the child in the spiritual life. Learning the scripture, training in the life of prayer, and instruction in moral and spiritual values were a vital part of the home life of almost every child. In the last several decades, however, the emphasis has changed and the church has come to be seen for Christian training, while the home has taken a secondary role.
In this issue of the PAX Newsletter, we celebrate the youth ministry at St. Francis. We have listed the calendar of events for the COOP Youth Group. This group includes the youth of three Episcopal parishes in San Francisco: All Saints, St Aidan's and St. Francis. The group was established by one of our members, Jim Dycuus. Also, beginning in March on Sunday mornings, we will be offering a Youth Confirmation Class at St. Francis. The title of the curriculum is My Faith, My Life and will be facilitated by our seminarian, Anne Emry, assisted by the parents of the youth and myself. There will be an opportunity for those seeking confirmation to be confirmed at Grace Cathedral on Saturday June 12, 2010.
St. Francis really knows that NOW is the time for the child "to be treated as a responsible and highly valued member of our society and the church".
Blessings,
Mark