Let’s Talk Church
An e-mail dialogue between Pastor Rick Douylliez and our younger disciples – a component of the Let’s Talk Church class offered by First Presbyterian Church, Saint Marys, Georgia A NEW CLASS BEGINS SUNDAY SEPT 26!
Let’s Talk Church is an opportunity for 3rd 4th and 5th graders to learn about worship in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and reflect upon their worship experiences. The class is held every other week during the 11:00 worship service for four weeks in the fall and again for four weeks in the winter for a total of eight class sessions. When they are not in class, the students attend worship with their parents or an assigned adult. Each student has been given a journal to write down their thoughts and feelings along with any questions that arise during worship. Students are also given the text A Children’s Guide to Worship by Ruth Boling to assist them in their learning experience.
The class is taught by Susan Hill, an Elder and member of the Christian Education Committee at First Presbyterian Church. Enjoy some of the dialogue below of our very first class last year...
Maegan Morrow
1. Who picks the music?
The music that we sing each Sunday morning is selected by Ms. Mary Kary Weise. She also selects the music that she will play for the prelude, offertory and postlude. The prelude is the music played sometimes before the service begins. The postlude is what she plays after the service ends. The offertory is the time in which the morning offering is received. The music selected whether it is played or sung is always intended to glorify God.
2. Why do we give an offering?
Many people believe that the offering received each week is how we pay the preacher and the church pays all of its bills, like the electricity, water, insurance etc. That is only partly true. The offering received on Sunday mornings is far more important than that. The money that you place into the offering plate should always be your own personal response for what God has done for you in your life. Sometimes people give all they have at the time because they remember that God gave all he had for us. I hope you can see that it's just not putting money in a plate that's passed around. It is a very personal decision between you and God.
3. What is your favorite part of the service?
That's a hard question because I like everything about worship. You will notice that our worship service is divided into 3 parts. We gather. We Listen. We Respond. In each of these three parts there are special times for me. I love to see people gathering and preparing for worship even when it gets noisy. I love to expereince those few moments of silence in our service where we can listen for God. We can even listen for God as Ms. Mary Kay plays the prelude sometimes. And finally, I love seeing people respond to God, like giving an offering, or passing the peace of Christ at the end of our time together.
Mikey Packard
1. Who chooses the Bible verses?
Pastor Rick always chooses the Bible verses. I like to use a system called "The Lectionary" which assigns 4 or 5 different Bible passages each week but I still get to choose which one I think would make a great sermon. I do a lot of praying about which verses would be best and then I start working on my sermon. It sometimes takes me all week to finish it. I'm pretty slow sometimes.
2. Why do you ring the big bell?
Bells have been used by churches ever since they were first built. One of the main reasons they were used was to call the people to worship. That is still the reason we use the bell today although we ring it after the worship service also. We also ring it at 10:45 a.m. to signify the end of Sunday School. Did you know that in Great Britain during World War II all of the church bells were silenced? They could not ring them at all except if enemy troops had invaded the town. Ringing the church bells during war times was an alarm for the people to take cover and protect themselves and their families. Aren't you glad we don't have to use our bell for that reason?
Peyton Clark
1. How do you choose the sermon each week?
I read a lot and find a part of the Bible that I think would make a good sermon. Then I pray about it. After praying I start writing some thoughts down on paper on Monday or Tuesday. By Thursday, I am almost ready to put all my thoughts together and write the sermon. Sometimes I don't finish it until Saturday night. The hardest part sometimes is deciding on the sermon title.
2. Why are there different cloths on the pulpit each week?
All of the pulpit cloths and colors have a special meaning. They don't usually change every week. It just seems like it sometimes. The pulpit cloth colors are white, purple, green and red. Purple is the color we use right before Christmas and Easter. When Jesus was alive purple was a color that was only used by kings and queens because it cost a lot of money to dye the material to make the white cloth purple. Only the rich people could afford purple cloth. We use purple today to show that Jesus is our King. White is used to show the goodness of Jesus and the new life he offers us. Red is used to remind us of the blood of Jesus and Green is used to remind us of the gift of nature.
3. Why do we have Children's Church?
Children sometimes can learn better when they are with other children. Children also learn in different ways that most grown ups are not used to. Some children need to see things in order to understand better Other children need to do things in order to understand better. And, adults can usually sit for longer periods of time and listen without getting distracted.
4. What is the meaning of the Holy Cow in the bulletin?
In a country called India they believe that the cow is a "holy" animal protected by God. They do not eat hamburgers there. In India when a cow crosses the road in front of a car the people will say out loud "Look out!Holy Cow!" In America we say "Holy Cow" when we are surprised by something. We use the name for our weekly newsletter to get people's attention. I like it because I think it's kind of funny to say "Okay everybody read your Holy Cow to see what's happening this week at the church!" It gets their attention!
Trevon Packard
1. What do you mean "Jesus descended into hell?"
Today we think of hell as being a place where bad people go when they die and we know Jesus does not deserve to go there. But what we also know is that the Greek word for hell "Sheol" means "the place of the dead." So it is okay to say Jesus went to "the place of the dead" or hell. The important thing is he didn't stay there! He was resurrected and now lives in heaven with God.
2. Why does Ms. Elizabeth help me sometimes in the pulpit?
Ms. Elizabeth is studying to be a Commissioned Lay Pastor. That means she is like my assistant or helper. She is learning other things also that you don't see. She is learning how to visit people when they are sick. She is learning how to study the Bible so that she can teach others and even preach sometimes. Pastors need helpers and Ms. Elizabeth is a good one!
3. Why do we have candles lit?
Candles when they are lit give off light. Jesus said "I am the light of the world." The candles remind us of Jesus. Jesus also told us that we are the light of the world too! So, the candles remind us that we are to take the light of Jesus into the world with us! During the season of Advent which is right before Christmas we light a special candle every week to count down the days and weeks until Christmas. At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus - the light of the world. That's also why we string lights all over town and on Christmas trees. Did you know that the first Christmas tree had real candles on it?
Tyler Kinson
1. Why do you wear a robe sometimes?
The history of wearing robes during worship dates way back to the third and fourth centuries. That was a long long time ago! The reasons we still wear robes sometimes is because first, when people are in robes in front of others, it makes them look different and more attention is given to them. It is a sign of respect and honor. As one person told me not long ago it ALSO covers up a lot of ugly clothes like Florida Gator ties! Robes are also worn to make those singing or presenting something in worship to look alike. Sometimes if a choir for instance had all different colors on, it might be very distracting to those listening for God's Holy Word through the music. They might be more interested in somebody's sweater or dress than truly concentrating and focusing on worship. Pastor Rick sometimes decides however to NOT wear a robe simply because it is too HOT to wear it and it makes me real uncomfortable.
2. Next, why do you wear a scarf and is there a special name for it?
The scarf that I wear with the robe is called a "stole." The stole is usually worn by those who have been given a special job in the church. It also has been worn by church leaders since about the fourth century. For pastors such as myself, when I became the pastor of this church, my family gave me a set of stoles (four of them) to wear. When I celebrated my tenth anniversary here at the church, your Mom and Dad and others gave me a special stole to wear that had the dates of my service to the church on it. Sometimes, even when people go on mission trips we give them a stole to wear to remind them of their special call to serve others in need. Jacob was given a stole to wear a year ago when he represented our church at a meeting in California.
3. Do you think we should add anything to the service?
Not really but you really made me think about it and in doing so, I have these thoughts that I will share with you. Sometimes I think that some of our other friends who worship a little different than us (like the Baptists) have the right idea of making sure that people know they are welcome to join the church at any time. I think that every now and then we need to talk about joining the church during worship and have people make a decision to do that. I also think that we should let people know that God can heal us at any time and that it isn't just our bodies that need healing. Our minds and souls as well need to be healed and sometimes made to be more open so that we can use all of our 5 senses to experience God. Can you think of how you use your 5 senses to get closer to God? Now I am asking you a question. Feel free to write me back.
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