The Place Of The Infant In The Worshiping Community

Even the youngest children have an important role in the Christian community. Both parents and the church must be conscious of how important their actions are for encouraging the faith and the participation of infants.

Premises About the Role of Infants in the Faith Community (1) The infant has full membership in a covenanting community. At birth the infant becomes a member of the family in which he or she is born. Likewise, baptism is the sign that the infant is born into full membership of the covenanting church community in which his or her parents are members. In the covenanting community, all members of every generation covenant to care and support one another. The infant not only receives this promise, but, as appropriate to his or her development, cares for and supports the other members of the community. All adult members of the covenanting community accept an active role in the nurture and care for the new member and the member's family. The infant, in turn, develops a supporting relationship with older members of the community through the loving, trusting, interacting experiences that occur in the activities of the community. The infant is an equal member among members, who give and receive within the membership. (2) The infant develops faith through participation in the life of the covenanting community. All members of the covenanting community are, in a sense, catechumens. They are learning about their heritage and God's teaching through the gospel, through their involvement in the rituals, in socialization, and in responsibilities undertaken by the covenanting community. Although there may be opportunities for education through specific instruction in a Bible study or in an organized church school class, understanding the faith is developed through intentional catechesis in ritual, social gatherings, meetings, and worship. Understanding the Christian life and faith is gained largely through participation and action. The infant, too, is a catechumen, who learns of faith by experiencing relationships in the community, by actively participating in ritual, by experiencing the objects of ritual, and by playing alongside others in a loving setting. Although young infants cannot speak, they initiate and react to a variety of experiences, each time expanding their understanding of the meaning of faith. (3) The infant is a minister and is ministered to in the multigenerational enculturation of the covenanting community. The covenant community is composed of a collection of individual members, who minister to one another in the development of the faith. Through enculturation, a process whereby level of membership is equal for all as lines between adult and child or student and teacher are erased, all members learn and teach. In a congregation that spans several generations, education includes events wherein all are gathered together to exchange information and provide support for those who need it, and all grow in the faith from the contributions made by members of every age. When age groups and generations are not separated, members of the community develop closer relationships as they minister to one another. The joyful presence of the infant ministers to those around. Because the infant is open and trusting, she or he brings a gift of freshness to other members. Likewise, when the infant is tired, uncomfortable, or restless, she or he is ministered to by caring others in the church family. (4) The infant learns through direct experiences. The newborn infant is in what Piaget calls the sensorimotor period of development; that is, it learns through its senses and physical actions. The infant learns less by watching than by experiencing. The infant learns more from initiating activity than by being "?taught.?" Until eighteen months of age, the infant learns by using the senses and physical abilities to "?try out?" the world. Piaget teaches that through the process of assimilation and accommodation the child expands his or her knowledge with each experience. At church, the infant learns by exploring, hearing, seeing, touching, and smelling the real things around. At first, the infant can associate meaning only with actual objects such as kittens, flowers, the sanctuary, and the organ. Later, the toddler can come to understand that visual symbols represent the objects themselves. The infant learns about worship by attending worship and trying to sing hymns, putting coins in the collection plate, and absorbing the atmosphere in the sanctuary. In Hebrew families, during the years of tribal wandering, infants took part in family rituals. Priests instructed fathers that they were to talk to their infants and explain the observances that were being celebrated. In the home as well as in corporate worship today, the infant should be included in the celebration of ritual. Parents and other adults should talk with young children about the elements in ritual and their meaning. In intergenerational settings, the infant can be assisted by older members to observe the Christian holy days. Infants and toddlers should have a role in events at Christmas, Easter, and other significant occasions celebrated by the church family. Over a period of time continued participation will lead to the development of deeper meaning for the growing child. (5) The role of the infant in the covenanting community is inextricably bound to the relationship of the parents and family within the community. Young families in the church live daily with the problems of the world in which they live and work. Faced with the realities of contemporary living, which may include both parents' working, a one-parent family, parents living and working in different communities, and more recent financial worries caused by inflation, parents of infants need the support of the covenanting community. Because today's parents may move frequently and often are separated from their extended family, the church has an opportunity to extend security to its members through activities formerly provided by a family relationship. Families with infants need help with parenting. Beginning when the parents know a new family member is expected, they can join a parenting program for study, for support from other parents and parenting leaders, and for socialization with other members in the parenting group. When the baby arrives, parenting enters a different phase. Involvement in the parenting program continues, with additional services needed. Hopefully, more churches will establish day-care centers for members of the church community, as well as for the larger community as a means of outreach. Because good day-care programs are desperately needed in the United States, churches should seriously consider using existing facilities to serve their own families and the community with day care. Parent-support activities can be part of the day-care program, providing the infant and family with an extended, comprehensive support base. The family may participate in the church school program for the infant. The church school class is an intergenerational community class where an older sibling, parent, church member, or minister participates with one or two infants in the class. A class leader explains the activities of the session, as well as their purposes for the infant. The concepts of catechesis and enculturation are involved as infants and their facilitators learn from each other. The infant is well acquainted with the facilitator. Take-home materials are sent home with the infant frequently to keep the family informed about the church school program. Parent-Infant Curricula The Curriculum of Christian Heritage. Infants learn about their Christian heritage through involvement in worship and intergenerational observances of Christian celebrations at the church and in the family. Parenting programs can provide information for parents as to how they can help their infant participate in home activities such as reading the Bible, telling stories about the Bible, and discussing child-raising practices and family traditions. The church school curriculum also includes activities related to the Christian heritage. Stories of the Bible are told. The child learns about the Christian heritage through hearing the music of the church and singing simple songs. God's world is part of the heritage of the infant. In the home, at the day-care program, and in the church school, the infant should learn about the gifts of God in the world through experience with such things as animals, plants, and the phenomena of seasonal changes and growth. The Curriculum of Ritual. The infant and family learn about ritual through participation in worship and rites such as baptism and through involvement in intergenerational events in which the rituals of the church are discussed and explored. The infant and family also grow in understanding of ritual through family observances in the home. Prayers, celebration of holidays, remembering baptism and confirmation, and other home observances should provide an active role for the infant. In the church school program, experiences are provided to help the infant expand the understanding of ritual. The infant is taken for example to the sanctuary to touch the water in the baptismal font, play on the organ, and touch the minister's Bible. The infant is told about the purpose and meaning of the paraphernalia of ritual, as well as the functions of the sanctuary. Thus, the child grows in understanding and desire to participate as a natural result of a process begun even before birth, and continued through participation in a holistic experience of the Christian life.