“…thinking about children…”

by the Right Reverend Thomas Clark Ely, Bishop of Vermont
Mountain Echo
January 2005

Dear Children of God:
I am thinking about children as I sit down to write my column for this edition of the Mountain Echo. I suppose that is because Christmas is coming and it will be our granddaughter Elisabeth’s first Christmas, and best of all we will spend it together! I’m also thinking about children because Ann and I have been deciding on our year-end charitable giving, and ministries with children figure prominently in so many of those gifts, both close to home and around the world in places like the Holy Land, El Salvador and Africa. The needs of so many of the world’s children tear at my heart and, I suspect, at yours as well. I am so thankful for all the many ways the people of our diocese respond to those needs, giving personally of your time, your presence and your money.

I am also thinking about children because on my desk at the office I have a wonderful picture taken at the acolyte festival we had at the cathedral back in October. The picture is the one that appeared in last month’s edition of the Mountain Echo, with all the acolytes and me in our vestments. There are a few other adults in the picture, and many wonderful adult acolytes serve in our parishes. But mostly it is children and teenagers who serve with me at the altar each Sunday, and I treasure those encounters and am grateful for their ministries. I especially love watching the response (especially the eyes) of young acolytes when I ask one of them to hold my crosier or miter. Children have a unique way of entering into the mystery of liturgy.

Then, the Christmas edition of the Sewanee Theological Review arrived in the mail and the entire edition is devoted to the theme, “Children and the Kingdom: Theological Reflections on Childhood.” Essays include: “Children and Theology,” “The Child as Consumer: A North American Problem of Ambivalence Concerning the Spirituality of Childhood in Late Capitalist Consumer Culture,” “Where Was God? Spiritual Question of Sexually Abused Children,” and a Sermon entitled, “ To Such Belong the Kingdom.” Some heavy reading perhaps, but it all sounds interesting!

I am also thinking about children because the Rock Point Summer Conferences Committee has been hard at work planning for the future and how we can build upon the strong history of our summer ministry with children and provide a safe, healthy, fun and rewarding experience of Christian community for them in the years ahead. Being with the campers and the adults who are part of this important ministry in our diocese is a high point of my summer, and I guess I’m doing some early-winter thinking about this coming summer already. I hope you are too, especially about how the children from your family and church can be part of this summer’s exciting program.

Mostly, I guess I’m thinking about children because I am thinking about Jesus, the baby. The baby who becomes the child, the teenager, and the grownup, and the journey that is part of each person’s life, including my own and that of my own children. It is a complex journey to be sure, but along the way there are some remarkable moments. I know that many people have influenced my life, especially as a child. Two of them died earlier this year and I’m not sure I ever thanked them enough for all they meant to me. Maybe, I could never thank them enough, but I know the journey would not have been the same without them.

What I also know is that Jesus was on to something important when he talked about children and the Kingdom of God. It was not about being childish, but child-like in our approach to God, and I am always grateful when a child reminds me of what that is about. My intention is always to pay close attention, but I know that so many other things can and do get in the way. I’ll try to work on that more next year.

In the meantime, I’ll keep thinking about children and the wonderful story that many of us heard Bishop Margaret Payne tell at the Convention banquet in November. I really can’t tell the story the way she did, but it was about the day she found her four-year old son lying under the Christmas tree among all the presents and looking up at the decorated tree. When she inquired about what he was doing, he replied, “I’m imagining what it’s like to be a present!” I might try that this year.

Playfully yours,
+Thomas