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RE: Kicka, part 3 - 7/1/2008 5:55:35 PM
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SweetLittleErin
Posts: 3508
Joined: 7/20/2005
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Our cut off age for Childrens Church is usually school age. If they can sit through class at school they can sit through an hour long (or less)service quietly.
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~Erin~
Mommy to Isaac, born 7/29, 12 weeks early,
Mommy's Little Miracle Man
A Glimpse Of Pink (My Blog)
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RE: Kicka, part 3 - 7/1/2008 7:33:53 PM
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nicole6598
Posts: 4018
Joined: 11/3/2006
From: Australia
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Our kids go out after worship and communion to Children's church (the teacher usually has a theme for that school term) and it runs until the end of church. You go to it til you finish primary school (age 12) then you sit in church with the adults.
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Proud Aussie, Wife, Mother, Woman!
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RE: Kicka, part 3 - 7/1/2008 8:41:27 PM
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uponeagleswings
Posts: 1850
Joined: 4/12/2005
From: Out here in the desert
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The variety here is very interesting to me. At our church there is Sunday School (separated by age) at the same time as the regular church services- parents drop their kids off for SS then go (or don't go) to church. I'm pretty sure SS goes until at least...6th grade...but they have an actual teaching curriculum that they follow- its not just babysitting. Even so, I find it a little odd that the kids are rarely in with the rest of the congregation unless parents keep them there. I've been to churches where they dismiss the kids after worship- I always thought that was a neat compromise.
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RE: Kicka, part 3 - 7/1/2008 8:47:22 PM
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manda59
Posts: 5751
Joined: 9/22/2005
From: Hampshire, UK
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At our church everyone is in for the first part of the service (30-40 minutes). There's lots of singing, dancing, flag-waving, praying ......... and also the notices. After that time, the children are invited to go out to their groups, plus the young people up to age 14, and our group of Special Needs adults. If any one in these categories wants to stay in the service, that is totally fine too. That leaves the church quieter and ready for a more reflective time, leading up to the message. There is often also an open time for sharing, either before the message or after it. Mums can take their babies out to the creche room at any time, though there are only helpers there after the children have been invited to go to their groups. It all seems to work really well.
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"I love Manda's suggestion to just laugh most of it off.."
Tinkerbell, September 2008
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RE: Kicka, part 3 - 7/1/2008 10:48:57 PM
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lexie
Posts: 3180
Joined: 6/27/2005
From: Toronto
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Our Sunday School isn't divided by age per se but more by the level of the child's understanding. There are three - younger kids, older kids and adults. But the ages of kids are divided. There is a 9 year old in the older kid class, but a 9 year old in the younger kids class. Before it was divided by age and some kids were bored in the younger kids class while others found the lesson over their heads.
Manda - can you explain to me how flag-waving is a part of the service? I have only ever heard the words "flag-waving" but I've never heard what it entails. Thanks!
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I want to be more than an ordinary servant.
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RE: Kicka, part 3 - 7/2/2008 1:38:08 AM
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nicole6598
Posts: 4018
Joined: 11/3/2006
From: Australia
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Lexie I Was going to ask Manda the same thing! We have flag wavers here and I always wonder what they do it for.
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RE: Kicka, part 3 - 7/2/2008 9:01:34 AM
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manda59
Posts: 5751
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From: Hampshire, UK
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quote:
ORIGINAL: lexie
Manda - can you explain to me how flag-waving is a part of the service? I have only ever heard the words "flag-waving" but I've never heard what it entails. Thanks!
Our flags were made by our craft group some years ago and are very attractive. Some are pretty colours, others have fabric with metallic strands and are quite shiny. Some are striped and floaty, another is blue with a cross an a sword on it. They are of various sizes, some are quite large, some are small and child-size.
The flags are placed near the front, and people are free to come and wave one either as part of a dance, or just standing stil or walking round the congregation. The idea is that it is spontaneous, ie not planned or rehearsed, and people can just come and take one and wave it during a song as they feel led, in response to what they are feeling spiritually at the time. One time an elderly lady limped up to the front, took a flag and danced, and it was very moving - she had had polio as a young woman, and was told she'd never walk or dance again, so it was particularly poignant. She did a simple dance that was humble and gentle, but gave the glory to God. Sometimes it's just one or two, other times there's a small band of people doing the flag-waving. Some stand at the front (to the side), some walk round, and some stand at the back. It provides a nice breeze in the summer months too!
I've never been much of a flag-waver myself, but there have been a couple of times when I have done so. The most recent was just a couple of months ago; we had a visiting speaker who was going to be giving a very challenging and powerful message about getting out of our comfort zones and getting serious for God (I knew this because my dh was leading worship that morning, and I'm in his worship team). There was going to be a time of ministry afterwards where people could come forward and get prayed for. Yet during the first part of the service, I sensed a real spiritual heaviness in the atmosphere and knew that action needed to be taken. So, following the prompting of the Spirit (not that willingly, lol), I went and got a flag, the one with the sword and the cross on it, and started walking round the congregation with it, and singing (and silently praying). It was more like marching. As I got to the back of the church, a guy who had come with the visiting speaker nodded at me in agreement. He told me afterwards that something needed to be done to "lift" the heaviness. I believe that what I did then had a spiritual purpose and a spiritual effect, and prepared the way for the speaker.
To me, a flag-waver is like being a "standard bearer" - one who would go in front of the troops, raise the standard and inspire the troops, as a visible reminder of who they are serving and for whom they are fighting.
From Wiki:
quote:
A standard-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem called an ensign or standard, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a formal, visual symbol of a state, prince, military unit, etc.
_____________________________
"I love Manda's suggestion to just laugh most of it off.."
Tinkerbell, September 2008
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RE: Kicka, part 3 - 7/2/2008 3:09:52 PM
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SweetLittleErin
Posts: 3508
Joined: 7/20/2005
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I'm an NIV girl. Our pastor uses KJV. Though I personally have been known to go to several different translations to study something. It really gives new perspective to look at a scripture from different angles. And when it gets really hard to understand, I pull out my Good News Bible translation, its REALLY in modern English. I dont like it for general usage, but it is cool to reference.
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~Erin~
Mommy to Isaac, born 7/29, 12 weeks early,
Mommy's Little Miracle Man
A Glimpse Of Pink (My Blog)
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RE: Kicka, part 3 - 7/2/2008 3:46:04 PM
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TwinCityGirl
Posts: 965
Joined: 4/12/2005
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I must be a boring churchgoer.....I don't even like to CLAP in church. I don't like clapping along with songs. Feels like summer camp TO ME.
I just like to go in, sit down, sing a hymn, have some stuff, sing another hymn, offering, hymn, get up and leave. (See? Boring. But I *like* it.)
I do not care for 45 or 50 minutes of praise music. I really don't.
I know many, many people including friends of mine who like the exact opposite as me. The differences (or being different) doesn't bother me. I just like what I like. I personally don't feel I am worshiping "less" because I am not clapping, dancing or twirling. BUT THAT'S ME.
(Notice I am being nice about this because I have a differing opinion than some.  I am NOT trying to say anything others do is wrong, just that I like what I like.)
I miss the hymns. We sing about one hymn each Sunday, otherwise it's all praise music. I don't even dislike praise music, I just don't like it as part of my church service (at least not as all the music), and I don't like singing it for 45 minutes.  Remember, ladies, I grew up in hymns-only -- praise music was saved for summer camp so that is what it still reminds me of.
Also, whenever my husband and I have gone to hear bands (secular), say in bars or whatnot, I never clap there or at concerts either. Not a clappy person, I guess. 
Jeanie
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RE: Kicka, part 3 - 7/2/2008 4:10:33 PM
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Mrs.Wifey
Posts: 5092
Joined: 4/12/2005
From: The Gorgeous plains of Colorado
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We don't have Sunday school for adults, the kids go during the adult service and are actually taught, it's not just babysitting. Parents are supposed to have a time of renewal and a chance to be fed without the distraction of kids and without their kids distracting anyone else. We have about 20-25 minutes of Worship, then the offering and announcements, then the sermon, prayer and a closing worship song.
We are Vineyard, but amazingly we don't have ANY flags. Thank goodness, I find them to be horribly distracting during worship. Dancing I don't mind though, but the flags bug me.
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Ryanne
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RE: Kicka, part 3 - 7/2/2008 4:25:09 PM
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laughinggirl
Posts: 339
Joined: 8/2/2005
From: Dallas, TX
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quote:
ORIGINAL: TwinCityGirl
I just like to go in, sit down, sing a hymn, have some stuff, sing another hymn, offering, hymn, get up and leave. (See? Boring. But I *like* it.)
...
I just like what I like. I personally don't feel I am worshiping "less" because I am not clapping, dancing or twirling. BUT THAT'S ME.
Me, too. 
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Bethany's Blog
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RE: Kicka, part 3 - 7/2/2008 4:33:01 PM
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Mrs.Wifey
Posts: 5092
Joined: 4/12/2005
From: The Gorgeous plains of Colorado
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Is "have some stuff" where your sermon is?
How do ya'll churches/pastor teach?
We do a book at a time, broken down by verse or sometimes we will do a series on a certain topic. Last year we did about 6 months on getting to know Jesus and who He was. It was really neat to study specifically about Jesus' life and the events that took place.
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Ryanne
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RE: Kicka, part 3 - 7/2/2008 8:19:52 PM
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OneOfHisJewels
Posts: 2544
Joined: 8/9/2007
From: California
Status: online
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Our church has Sunday School at 10:00 am, and services at 11:00 am and 6:00 pm. Sunday School is divided into preschoool, primray, 4th-6th age range, sometimes there are jr. high and high school classes, and sometimes not. Church is for all ages, although there is a nursery provided for little babies -about 2 years. Ages about 3 and up stay in the services with their parents, and do very well too. The parents do often let them color/draw quietly, though. Also morning and night service are 2 different sermons, 2 different sets of hymns, etc., so members go to both.
Our service consists of scripture readings, hymns, reciting chatechism in the a.m, and the Westminster confession of the faith in the p.m.,pastoral prayer, opening announcements (in the beginning), the sermon, and a benediction at the end, and that's about it. We have no special music or choirs or tongues or dancing or flags or anything like that. We use the New American Standard version of the Bible. We also baptize babies, but we do not believe Baptism saves the baby, rather it is a sign of the baby being born into a Covenant family, a promise of the parents to raise the children in the Lord.
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"We basically use what I have seen referred to as "get off your butt" parenting. It employs more interaction, more redirection, more prevention, and usually less spanking."
-Mrs. Wifey
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