I had the pleasure of being with the folks at Riviera UMC in Redondo Beach, California last weekend. We had a workshop attended by several churches in the Los Angeles area and a big celebration of children on Sunday morning. The service was joyful (see the hundreds of balloons they let fly in the sanctuary!) and poignant (I couldn’t help shedding tears of thanks as everyone in the sanctuary connected to a long blue cloth that came down the aisle and wound around a beautiful font where two children from the same family were baptized) and convicting (as we prayed for children everywhere and dedicated ourselves again to their care with resources for the Children’s Defense Fundwww.childrensdefensefund.org ). That afternoon, in the sanctuary still filled with balloons, there was a memorial Celebration of Life service for a woman who lived a long and fabulous life… another “birth-day” celebration for sure! And a reminder that we are always God’s children, whether young or old, alive in this time or passed on to “newer” life!

Adding to this wonderful weekend was the chance to arrive a couple of days early in LA and see my once-upon-a-time step-daughter’s new baby…

Download this prayer used at this Children’s Sabbath service:
Download prayer_for_children.pdf