Sometimes it is necessary to think ahead, so I’ve been trying to make plans for September. This year brings an observance that isn’t in our liturgical calendar, and yet cannot be ignored: 9/11. Not only is this year’s date the 10th anniversary of that horrific event, it’s also a Sunday. What to do?
Thinking of how Trinity might observe this occasion brought up memories, of course. My daughter, Emily, was just in preschool at the time. I remember watching live coverage that morning, with Emily oblivious to what was on the screen. I remember dropping her off at the preschool that day, with the teachers all trying to keep up with the unfolding tragedy on small TV’s, keeping them carefully out of sight from the children, and that protection continued in the weeks ahead. It was easy to know what to share with Emily thent—nothing. She was too young to understand or to be effected by these events the way the rest of us were. Protection came easy.
But that simple answer doesn’t last long. We can’t protect our children forever from the evil and pain of the world, nor should parents try to do so. We don’t want our children to be naïve and vulnerable, offering childlike trust when trust is not deserved. Protecting them from the difficulties of the world also insures that our children will grow up self-centered and selfish—with no awareness of their own blessings or compassion for the problems of others. But on the other hand we don’t want them to grow up frightened and overwhelmed.
We know we have to tell them the truth, and fortunately Christianity can handle the truth! This world is a place of joys and sorrows. There are people to trust and people to fear. Evil is real. Be careful. But the whole truth includes the part about God’s presence and plan for redemption. There are good things and good people, inspired to do the right thing. There are reasons for hope and ways they can help. Here at Trinity we’ve shared hope with our children mostly by encouraging their participation. The Sunday School sponsors an orphan from the Buntu Community in Uganda by collecting an offering each Sunday. We have helped our children volunteer for Interfaith Community Services, even creating a service-oriented Vacation Bible School (which was actually criticized in the wider community for asking children to care!). The Youth Group has participated in the 30-Hour Famine to raise money and awareness about poverty. All these activities help form our children into the bearers of light and hope they should be.
So that’s a beginning. We have vowed to assist our children in resisting evil (and whenever they fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord). That’s part of the Baptismal Covenant. So how do we do it? How do you teach your children about the realities of evil and hope? What do you remember of the lessons of 9/11? Any thoughts?
I dare you to be the first to share!
2 Responses
Protection does come easy. That is why it is a natural human reaction of evil. The real question is: At what point do we start to expose our children to the evils of the world? I agree they must not be kept in the dark for their entire formative years as they will grow up naïve and frightened of most everything in the world. They would not be able see the good that they could accomplish on their own.
How do we teach our children about the realities of evil and hope? Through our examples; through the examples of those we introduce our children to; through leading them down the right path. It is very important that our future leaders, our future pastors, our future bakers, and our future caretakers know that evil exists and learn how to combat it with hope and understanding. The best way for them to learn how to do this is for us to teach them.
9/11/01 – for me, a day that will live in infamy. I was driving to work listening to the DSC Show which is normally a fun and entertaining show. This day that was not the case. They were talking about a report on tv that was talking about an aircraft that had just ran into the World Trade Center in NY. By the time I got into work, they were talking about a second aircraft running into the WTC.
When I got into work, the first thing I did was turn on the news to see what was happening. The pictures I saw were horrific. Then came reports of the aircraft into Pentagon and the last plane in Pennsylvania. As the reports kept coming in and the story unfolded, all I could think about was how the world as we knew it had just ended and a whole new way of living was about to begin.
One of the things I use to help teach our children is to honor the memory of all those brave citizens of the world that passed in that horrific event. Some of this done through my military connection and some is through civic events. All this helps to keep alive the memory of the events of that day.
Ken White
I think that Ken said it quite well. For me it's an issue of leadership, and I feel that the essence of leadership is setting examples and bringing out the strengths, genius, and brilliance of others. One of the poignant examples that I tried to set for my children was in also in praying for the perpetrators of 9/11 and eschewing an “us vs. them” attitude. Additionally, I tried to subtly prompt them to discuss their feelings in a free and natural way. I feel that the Episcopal Church definitely rose to the occasion and were an integral part of making 9/11 a maturing experience for my children.
Bill Murray