My Sunday was just chocked full of things to write about! Here is the big debate going on with Chris and Me! Mind you, we're not debating against each other, but debating against our upbringing and our old-fashioned way of thinking!
It has always been the old Lutheran way that your children, when old enough to sit by themselves, do not up to communion with parents. Chris and I have stood by that rule for the past couple of years now. Emma and Anna sit in the pew while we go up for communion. Of course, we take Ella up with us since she is not old enough to sit and behave! Pastor now uses oil on the children's foreheads and blesses them when they come up. Many children now go up to communion with their parents (even jr. high kids who are in confirmation). Yesterday, we let the girls go up with us. I know that the struggle that Chris and I are having with this is because we didn't do this growing up and is it just stupid to not let your children go up and have the advantage of having a blessing just because we didn't when we were young?
We both think that it is stupid, but for some reason the old Lutheran comes out in us. I guess we need our family's input on this. Maybe if you all say that it is an OK thing - we'll be OK with it! Let us know what you think! Would you let your kids go up there and have the blessing? Are we bad parents if we deny them the blessing? What does it hurt?
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10 comments:
Do you go to a catholic church now?? They are the only ones I've ever heard of doing the oil blessings!
Aunt Gail
PS: Glad to see you are finally blogging again. I didn't know until Stacy told me. I haven't been checking it, but now I will.
I don't know Karen...this summer during church our pastor was doing a healing type service and you could go up there and he'd put oil on you and pray for you..kim asked if i wanted to go up and i said no and then she said that she'd go up with me but i still said no...i debated upon it for awhile, because in reality, it was a good thing..but since i was not used to anything like that i didn't do it...so i guess i don't really have an answer for you but i know where you are coming from...
kendall
Well that is weird but I suppose that it serves the same purpose as the pastor blessing the children when they are up there without oil....weird but hey if they want to why not? I do not think God will punish them for it!
Kori
Well that is weird but I suppose that it serves the same purpose as the pastor blessing the children when they are up there without oil....weird but hey if they want to why not? I do not think God will punish them for it!
Kori
I'd go for it...what can it hurt. But, if you want I can ask the Lutheran Pharisee himself, Eric!
I totally know that feeling of, "Oh, should I, shouldn't I, what do I do? Why can't it just go the same way so I don't have to wonder what to do!!!" But, then I have to tell myself that it's okay to do something like have my child blessed (though we've never done this before in church). What's it hurt?
We get so set in our ways, like you said!
Glad to see you're blogging again,
Karen. Every blessing,whether it's
something you didn't experience or
not as a child,has to be a GOOD
thing,to my way of thinking. If the
minister is doing it you might ASK
why and explain your reasoning for
asking and I would ask about the
oil. The laying on of hands has
been the traditional way in the past but times change and it is possible that the Synod is chang-
ing too???!!!
My vote is : go for it, you'll never know when those blessings can
help out or be needed!!
Okay, Grandma Budke, I have to say I'm pretty sure Synod is NOT changing. Where would you get such a silly idea?
Trinity and Faith at Lincoln have always done the children's blessings but not with oil. Karen, wasn't your pastor a Catholic before converting? Pastor Schinkel always used to say there was nothing wrong with "crossing" yourself in church and a lot of the Lutheran pastors do that now, but I don't think there's many of us in the pews doing it. Some things are changing, but a lot is staying the same (maybe too much!).
Using the oil comes from the bible. There were several individuals who were blessed with oil poured over them...and I think when David was crowned king they poured oil over his head too. I'd have to check though.
As for the synod, according to some of my friends who keep tabs on it, there's a big friction right...kind of a left-wing/right-wing split between two groups: one who wants to go more liberal and the other who wants to stay rooted in the traditions of the past. My teacher friends in Bloomington have mentioned that there's people scared there will be an eventual split in the LCMS church if the split continues gaining momentum.
Just an fyi!!
Karen I know what your saying about the old Lutheran ways and not having children come to communion with you. When we started going to Our Savior and I saw older kids going up with their parents I wondered why are they doing that. But then I soon realized that was such a good thing for the child to get the blessing -however we do NOT use oil in our church. I agree with your mom - ask the pastor why he has now decided to use the oil. We usually don't have kids go up once they reach like 5th or 6th grade. I think you should take them up with you. I can't imagine Ella letting pastor put oil on her forehead though!!!
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