well, I did it and it was a disaster.........

[Joshua G.]

I've come to the conclusion that the way I am serving God IS by bringing my children, especially at this time (my wife is on the 40-day post-birth sabbatical (how do you call that in English?). It's no fun for me - I'm not getting what I feel I need - but I figure that that's the lesson I need to get. So I stand in the back, keeping an eye on one kid drawing at the table used for the post-Eucharistic tea and prosphora, one on the kid in the back entry area (again, forget how that is in English) and one on my teenage son who flits back and forth.
But I guess it's not really about me - or at least, it shouldn't be...

I like that a lot Rus. thanks.

I don't know what that stuff is called in English... I think I would use the phrases you did or in my parish I assume that my priest would just use the Greek or Russian word for it as we don most specialized things and concepts.

Question: In Russia, do you find the young children in general to pretty much stay in their place and not yell or talk too much or do they tend to wander around quite a bit? What's seems to be "acceptable" there and what woudl get you dirty looks from the babushkas?

Joshua

 

[rainbowbright]

with pews, my children mostly stay in place, but it does make it harder when they decided they're going to be naughty and try to run away from me and run through every single pew and turn around and run the other way when I catch up to them. And can I tell you how many candles I've stolen just to get them to stop shouting? I think the Church should just send me a bill because I probably owe about $500 in candles the last four years since becoming Orthodox.

 

[Joshua G.]

lol

 

[GarnetRose]

The children are the Church's future. We have a little toddler that sings along with the rest of us. He cannot pronounce the words, only some of them, makes up most of them, but he stays on tune well enough that we can recognize what he is singing. It is so cute, and he sings as loudly as he can, too.

 

[rusmeister]

I like that a lot Rus. thanks.

I don't know what that stuff is called in English... I think I would use the phrases you did or in my parish I assume that my priest would just use the Greek or Russian word for it as we don most specialized things and concepts.

Question: In Russia, do you find the young children in general to pretty much stay in their place and not yell or talk too much or do they tend to wander around quite a bit? What's seems to be "acceptable" there and what woudl get you dirty looks from the babushkas?

Joshua

I'd say it probably varies from church to church. In ours, certainly there are a fair amount of those who run around; although it is discouraged, it is seen as more important that the children be there. The most popular activities are sitting on back stairs (to the belfry) or otherwise playing in the back part or sitting at the tea table and drawing. Some like to take candles and blow them out, whether they are burned down or not...

 

[Joshua G.]

thanks Rus.

 

[cobweb]

If it makes you feel any better, mine were absolute terrors this morning.

My 6 year old came running into the liturgy (we're a mission, but he came though our equivalent of the deacon door.) loudly announcing that his older brother is hungry.

They wouldn't stay still... at all. They were constantly poking and generally bothering each other even though I seperated them several times. One got spanked and brought back in only for both of them to immediately put each other in a headlock and throw themselves loudly on the floor.

The abbess told me during coffee hour that I look tired and asked if they were like that all of the time. ...Talk about keeping you humble. That stung a bit.

 

[Blackknight]

Ah, the joys of parenting. My kids were actually pretty good yesterday but I still feel like I'm a burden and a distraction for people there. My son never wants to stay by me and my daughter always wants to talk to her friends or make noise some other way, they're getting better the more that we go though.

Fr. D told me that my ministry is with the family, to raise my kids as Orthodox. He even said something about them making noise during a sermon once and how it was a great way to teach us patience and humility.