I am a youth director and am honestly curious. What would have made Sunday School more fun for you? I want to be able to make it fun for the kids that come to my church (while hopefully they still learn something).
I can relate to little Bug. Thankfully, once I was a teenager, my mother was cool with me not going if I didn’t feel like it, but she still wanted me to go if I could.
Now, to answer your question, Curious (hang on, it’s a long one).
Sunday School never did anything for me except turn me away from wanting to be there. I was told that most of my friends were going to hell (because they were gay, Jewish, not Christian) and that I wasn’t supposed to hang around nonChristians because they might cause me to turn from god. I was also told that things I loved, like classic rock, were sinful and I should be listening to Christian rock instead, because “it’s the same thing, but with a god-centred message”. When they shunned my brother because he was a scraggle-haired teenage sound technician who asked questions they couldn’t answer (or cited, chapter and verse, things that countered what he was being told), well, that was the last straw for me. I had already migrated to not going to Sunday School and just teaching the little ones (god made the world is so much simpler than trying to defend your gay family members every week), so I did my last gig with the children’s choir I directed, went to study abroad, and when I came home, never went back to church. I couldn’t stand the hypocrisy of the people trying to teach me, I couldn’t stand the limited world view that they were trying to get me to believe, and I could never straighten out how a religion based on love could shun so many people (Jesus chilled with an unpopular crowd, didn’t he? -even the tax man!). Plus, I hated praise music- that didn’t really help either.
I don’t know how your church runs things, but had I found people who admitted that they didn’t know everything, admitted (and talked about) when they made a mistake and didn’t condemn us for the same things, accepted that people are people and we are all going to screw up, and didn’t shun anyone for self expression…well, that would have been amazing. I didn’t need more preachy programs that served only the people in our doors. I wanted a human church that actually followed that love thing Jesus talks about and went out and served the community in a St Francis kind of way- teach the gospel to all the world and, if necessary, use words. Soup kitchens, shelters, park clean ups…anything, would have been nice.
And less praise music. Not everything old is bad or needs to be jazzed up. Sometimes, Victory in Jesus, sang like it’s actually a victory song, is all a body needs.
Now, I walk into a church and I feel like I’m going to catch fire or something.
We always had “bulletins” with the day’s agenda in it and a picture of the church on the front. I would always draw stick figures shooting at each and pushing each other off of the church onto spikes and stuff.
Man, I wish I’d had something to draw with to doodle during church. My mom didn’t like me doing anything other than “paying attention”. And if I didn’t behave, I had to sit in a chair facing the wall when we got home. I hear you on this one, though.
Church was so boring, I stopped going in recent years. But there were a few rare occasions I would go.
Most of the time, I’m sitting at home on my ass.
I had memories of falling asleep in church, only to be suddenly woken by the loud, off key, screeching singing of the people in the pews. It was a traumatic experience.
I can’t wait until I’m considered old enough to decide not to go to church. (two years) Ive been ferried back and forth between baptist and presbyterian churches, and THEY ALL SMELL A DIFFERENT KIND OF WEIRD.
Augh.
I actually have an interesting chrurch, complete with our ‘Genesis’ services (the name of the room they’re in), which is headed by our 20-something pastor and full of crazy teenagers. Our church missed the memo that the Lutherans are supposed to be the depressed ones. ^.^
Age 12 – Dad said, “Do you want to go to church with Mom and Grandma, or cut firewood with me?” My thoughtful reply, “Well dad, it’s 10 below outside… Let me get my boots.”
Too bad. Now I go to a pretty rockin’ church, but when I was little I went to a different one. Oh man, it was so boring. I remember that’s when my brother taught me to draw a airplane on the bulletin.(I’m an artist now) :3
The first and last time I saw the interior of the church on a school trip behalf of cultural diversity in the fifth grade. But anyway, I understand a little beetle. And there was people kissing a coffin.
Merry meet Potato. The freedoms of a Wiccan childhood were awesome compared to constricted expectations within organized religions. I have no need to spend my life, on my knees, begging for forgiveness for something I did not do.
Way to go bug.
I use to covertly make origami out of the mandatory ‘donation’ dollar. Folded in half and then folding the end over makes it square. Swans, cootie catchers, boxes, frogs, over a dozen types of airplanes, rings, roses, cranes… I wish I still remembered how to make them.
Wow, flashback. I know exactly what you’re talking about. It was fun to put the envelopes back with all the doodles on them.
The only thing that made it worse was sunday school.
I am a youth director and am honestly curious. What would have made Sunday School more fun for you? I want to be able to make it fun for the kids that come to my church (while hopefully they still learn something).
I can relate to little Bug. Thankfully, once I was a teenager, my mother was cool with me not going if I didn’t feel like it, but she still wanted me to go if I could.
Now, to answer your question, Curious (hang on, it’s a long one).
Sunday School never did anything for me except turn me away from wanting to be there. I was told that most of my friends were going to hell (because they were gay, Jewish, not Christian) and that I wasn’t supposed to hang around nonChristians because they might cause me to turn from god. I was also told that things I loved, like classic rock, were sinful and I should be listening to Christian rock instead, because “it’s the same thing, but with a god-centred message”. When they shunned my brother because he was a scraggle-haired teenage sound technician who asked questions they couldn’t answer (or cited, chapter and verse, things that countered what he was being told), well, that was the last straw for me. I had already migrated to not going to Sunday School and just teaching the little ones (god made the world is so much simpler than trying to defend your gay family members every week), so I did my last gig with the children’s choir I directed, went to study abroad, and when I came home, never went back to church. I couldn’t stand the hypocrisy of the people trying to teach me, I couldn’t stand the limited world view that they were trying to get me to believe, and I could never straighten out how a religion based on love could shun so many people (Jesus chilled with an unpopular crowd, didn’t he? -even the tax man!). Plus, I hated praise music- that didn’t really help either.
I don’t know how your church runs things, but had I found people who admitted that they didn’t know everything, admitted (and talked about) when they made a mistake and didn’t condemn us for the same things, accepted that people are people and we are all going to screw up, and didn’t shun anyone for self expression…well, that would have been amazing. I didn’t need more preachy programs that served only the people in our doors. I wanted a human church that actually followed that love thing Jesus talks about and went out and served the community in a St Francis kind of way- teach the gospel to all the world and, if necessary, use words. Soup kitchens, shelters, park clean ups…anything, would have been nice.
And less praise music. Not everything old is bad or needs to be jazzed up. Sometimes, Victory in Jesus, sang like it’s actually a victory song, is all a body needs.
Now, I walk into a church and I feel like I’m going to catch fire or something.
My god, I don’t think I’ve even been able to use the phrase “TL;DR” with such certainty and force.
Anna, it sounds like you would have loved the church I grew up in. (Also, I agree: less praise music. Yuck.)
We always had “bulletins” with the day’s agenda in it and a picture of the church on the front. I would always draw stick figures shooting at each and pushing each other off of the church onto spikes and stuff.
Man, I wish I’d had something to draw with to doodle during church. My mom didn’t like me doing anything other than “paying attention”. And if I didn’t behave, I had to sit in a chair facing the wall when we got home. I hear you on this one, though.
Church was so boring, I stopped going in recent years. But there were a few rare occasions I would go.
Most of the time, I’m sitting at home on my ass.
Little Bug looks awfully cute in his Sunday best. Well … as cute as a hell-raising heathen can look.
Did you have padded pews or not padded pews? That was the real deal breaker.
This is definitely true more often than not. Especially for kids. I also doodled on the envelopes. That was a saving grace for childhood.
Ah church… I get dragged on Easter and Christmas, but other than that, I can mostly get out of it…
I had memories of falling asleep in church, only to be suddenly woken by the loud, off key, screeching singing of the people in the pews. It was a traumatic experience.
I can’t wait until I’m considered old enough to decide not to go to church. (two years) Ive been ferried back and forth between baptist and presbyterian churches, and THEY ALL SMELL A DIFFERENT KIND OF WEIRD.
This is painfully true. I would go to church with my friends and would doodle all over the envelopes.
Augh.
I actually have an interesting chrurch, complete with our ‘Genesis’ services (the name of the room they’re in), which is headed by our 20-something pastor and full of crazy teenagers. Our church missed the memo that the Lutherans are supposed to be the depressed ones. ^.^
I still doodle all over the bulletins, though.
Yay Lutherans! (I am one too).
I absolutely love the irony of the first panel, I had to stop myself from laughing out loud at work
Did you have padded pews or not padded pews? That was the real deal breaker.
I love the first panel – perfect!
Age 12 – Dad said, “Do you want to go to church with Mom and Grandma, or cut firewood with me?” My thoughtful reply, “Well dad, it’s 10 below outside… Let me get my boots.”
Too bad. Now I go to a pretty rockin’ church, but when I was little I went to a different one. Oh man, it was so boring. I remember that’s when my brother taught me to draw a airplane on the bulletin.(I’m an artist now) :3
“Help me, Jesus!”
How deliciously ironic.
this needs to be a bumper sticker.
The first and last time I saw the interior of the church on a school trip behalf of cultural diversity in the fifth grade. But anyway, I understand a little beetle. And there was people kissing a coffin.
Haha, as soon as I step inside the church my mind goes on a comma for the hour 1/2 that the mass goes on. It’s amazing. No other place can do that.
never had this problem i was raised by wiccans
Merry meet Potato. The freedoms of a Wiccan childhood were awesome compared to constricted expectations within organized religions. I have no need to spend my life, on my knees, begging for forgiveness for something I did not do.
Way to go bug.
lol I love this one.
I use to covertly make origami out of the mandatory ‘donation’ dollar. Folded in half and then folding the end over makes it square. Swans, cootie catchers, boxes, frogs, over a dozen types of airplanes, rings, roses, cranes… I wish I still remembered how to make them.