OUR LAST NIGHT OUT

by Lorna Goldsmith

At the beginning of Lent 2020, my family had made a plan to fully commit to Transfiguration services despite the hour drive to get there. We didn’t realize that a Wednesday night would be our last time out in society. And it was a great night, too, with wonderful speakers and Legos with Bible stories for Bear, our youngest. Then things got weird, and really awful in some ways. Summer hit, and Miss Cindy and the children’s ministry pulled us back in. I cannot believe they put together a virtual VBS, and it was fun! The Christmas Pageant was one for the books, funny and sweet! But the most important thing through this whole pandemic time has been the weekly connection to humans on zoom through Children’s Chapel and Faith Formation.

A few days ago a close friend asked me about our experiences with Transfiguration, and why we are still committed there. (She goes to a really great little Methodist church close to us, that we’ve gone to, but the fit hasn’t been right for our kids.) And here’s what I told her: Yes, I do trust the services at Transfiguration to be beautiful, and to not cater to oppressive or toxic theology. Yes, my husband does feel more at home at Transfiguration than anywhere else we’ve gone in the last decade. But more than anything, it is doing Godly Play (Faith Formation) with our youngest that has strengthened my faith, and made me feel part of a community. As a child, my mother would read scripture to us almost every day. When it was ambiguous, or conflicted with other scripture, she would point it out and have us think about it. She resisted the need to put a neat explanation on it. We would just have to sit with the “not knowing.” The “wondering questions” in Godly Play feel the same, only drawn out, and even more purposeful. I love that children are asked, “where do you see yourself in the story?” or “what do you think we might be able to leave out of this story?” Whatever the kids think of is ok. Their responses are not corrected or shut down. Sometimes they are directed in a beautiful way, but there’s not fearfulness. This allows the children to safely express their concerns or their brilliant and hilarious thoughts without adults reacting and trying to manage their faith into a tidy box.

This space that somehow the Transfiguration Children’s Ministry has created, OVER ZOOM, is so special. I was a fan of the idea when Bear would go into the Montessori style classroom pre-COVID, but it’s even more than I realized. Ritual and wonder invite us in, and I have found that to be true with both Children’s Chapel and Godly Play each Sunday morning. And we were invited in when Bear was in a good mood, and when he was not. Miss Cindy & Miss Delynda and all the teachers and assistants have rolled with it and kept things rolling, unconcerned by fidgety kids or the momentary technical difficulties that arise. The kids also have been helpful (knowing more than the grownups pretty often), and they have been gracious with each other. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to witness love and wonder this last over-a-year now, and I look forward to each and every Sunday morning.