Today, I felt inadequate and humble with the children of St. Augustine's Children's Chapel. I just didn't feel like a connection was made like I have felt in the past weeks. The lesson was a difficult one (Luke 18:1-8a), a stewardship season lesson. What do these kids care about giving money to the church? So, my challenge was to make it relevant to them and I don't think I did a good job. We talked about prayer, what it was, what it meant, and that God always answers prayer. Now, sometimes He doesn't answer prayers in the way that we want Him to, or right away, but He does always answer them. I asked them to think about something for which they had prayed and the answer that God gave them. The two answers that I got that stick in my mind the most, and for which I had no cogent reply were:

1) "I prayed to God that my Daddy would be back alive and he wasn't. He didn't answer me."
2) "I prayed for an X-Box and I didn't get one, so God didn't answer me."

I had no idea what to say to either of these kids that would make any sense to them and it just made me realize what a challenge and what an honorable task it is to educated children in the faith. I've got a lot of learning left to do. I wanted to talk to them about these things but I found myself getting caught up in theology. I didn't want to give them an answer that wasn't theologically sound and I wanted to make it simple for them. But the fact of the matter is, it is complicated. Apparently something as central as prayer.

Completely changing subjects - the Lambeth (Eames) Commission Report will be out tomorrow and the seminary classes will all take time to discuss it. Most people are very anxious about this, and with good reason. I almost laughed out loud in church tonight though when the New Testament lesson from 2 Timothy was read: "For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths." I almost laughed out loud because I could just hear, no matter what the Report says, a bunch of people, no matter what side of the issue they're on, pointing to the fact that this Scripture was read the night before as some sort of Providence. Tomorrow will be interesting, no doubt. I was discussing with a colleague tonight over dinner how tired I was getting of the debate. We both agreed, there are far better things for the Church to be doing that arguing about this. But, I suppose, it must be.

-R