Freedom Schools: An Essential Theological Task
By Dr. Virginia A. Lee
Associate Professor of Christian Education and Director of Deacon Studies In my reading related to child advocacy over the last decade, I have found many quotes I love. My favorite quote is: “I’m not a mother, but I have children.” This quote is from Mercy Oduyoye, a Ghanaian Methodist woman, acknowledged most often as the “mother of African women’s theologies.” When I first read these words in Marcia Bunge’s book, The Child in Christian Thought, they resonated with me. The quote expressed my own philosophy and theology about caring for children, and it echoes phrases I have often expressed. After seminary, I took a ministry position at Reveille UMC Church in Richmond, Virginia as the minister of age-level ministries and mission. That meant I was responsible for children and youth ministries. On trips, like retreats and mission trips, I would often be in public places with a lot of children or youth surrounding me. On many occasions, someone would look at the children closest to me and say, “Are those your children?” And I remember that the first time I was asked that, I did not hesitate. I looked around and said, with a gesture, “They are all my children.” And I meant that! At that time and still today, I take seriously the vows I make at the baptism of a child. In the UM baptismal liturgy, the congregation is asked: “Will you nurture one another in the Christian faith and life and include these persons (this child or these children) now before you in your care?
I have a responsibility for them; they are children of the community. As many of my students know and get tired of hearing me say, our children are not the church of tomorrow; they are the church of today! While adults certainly have things to teach and share with children, children also have gifts and graces to share with the church. But it is not just the children in my church or my denomination or other denominations for whom I am responsible, it is all children. All children are children of God, created in the image of God, and therefore, are my responsibility. ALL children are our children! In my first teaching position in theological education, I often used information from a research project conducted by Search Institute on “Effective Christian Education.” While acknowledging that it was hard to quantify faith, they measured mature faith along vertical and horizontal axes. The vertical axis related to actions that reflected “love of God,” and the horizontal axis related to actions that reflected “love of neighbor.” Mature faith was faith that reflected both love of God and love of neighbor. (This scriptural reference is from Matthew 12:30-31.) This research resonated with me because I had come to recognize in my graduate work and in my ministry as an educator in a congregation that my theology of Christian education was providing opportunities for persons to love God and love neighbor, actions that are foundational for United Methodist theology.
As the congregation responds: “With God’s help we will proclaim the good news and live according to the example of Christ. We will surround these persons (children) with a community of love and forgiveness, that they may grow in their service to others. We will pray for them, that they may be true disciples who walk in the way that leads to life” (From The United Methodist Hymnal).
AWARE MAGAZINE | WINTER 2023 5