Engrafting our Children

So, how does this united Family begin? How do we create this united family of Christ in our congregation-- and how do we teach our children to be an active part of this family? Once again, it's the role of the whole congregation. I will say this until I'm blue in the face, a child's own faith and spiritual formation is not only dependent upon parents. I am a prime example.  My parent's did a beautiful and wonderful job of incorporating faith and teaching me what it looks like to have a Christ-like attitude. But, as I started to claim my own faith, and become more interested- my "friend" group started broadening and today, some of my very closest friends are in their 40s and 50s. These are the men and women who encouraged and loved me (and continue to do so)  as I was growing up in the church. Because of these adults who I keep in touch with on a weekly basis, I am confident in who Christ created me to be. These adults lived into their baptismal vows and nurtured my faith, answered the tough questions and even comforted me in very dark periods of my life. 

John Calvin uses the image of grafting trees as an image that has been carved onto my heart as how we are to welcome children into the Body of Christ. I had no idea what grafting was, I'm not a gardner, nor do I pretend to be. One of my 40-something year old best friends is a master gardner, thankfully. I picked her brain as to why this is the image chosen for Baptism. Why does John Calvin want people to view baptism as engrafting our children into the life of faith? 

Buckle up. You're going to blown away and amazed by this imagery, I surely was. I'm going to try to keep this short and sweet. But, I am giddy while writing, so apologies if my words do not do this image justice.

When trying to mature trees, gardener’s use grafting as insurance that this small little tree will be able live and will resist any disease. Saplings are grafted because they lack something of their own- and need a more nutritious rootstock to give it what it needs to produce fruit. Because of their lack of maturity, they cannot yet produce anything on their own. When you graft a young sapling to a large tree, that already has a deep root system, the fruit that the whole tree system produces, changes. Once a sapling has been engrafted into a bigger tree, the fruit will remained changed, it will not produce what it used to. The sapling portion of the tree is now dependent upon the larger tree, and the larger tree is now dependent on the sapling to bring in the different characteristic of the fruit.

Now the image of a child being engrafted into a congregation comes back into focus. When a child is engrafted into the life of the church, it means that they are gradually bound to the church universal and its deep root stock. The child cannot have a faith of their own—the church supplies the child with someone or something they needs in order to survive. The roots of the individual child and the congregation are intertwined and the individual is changed by the congregation because of the community’s wisdom, encouragement and nurture. In the same way, because God makes us all with different gifts and abilities, the church is changed by knowing and loving the child. When the child puts his\her talents and love to service, the church is changed; the fruit is different. 


ISN'T THAT AWESOME?! Chew on that this week... I know it's a lot to think about and take in. Be encouraged to know that the church is not the same since you've been a part of it. The church produces a different fruit because YOU have been engrafted into the congregation! You are an important part of this congregation, and so is your child. My job is going to be reassuring all of you that YOU are important and your role in weaving these children into the church is vital. It cannot be done without you! 

Please let me know how I can assist you and serve your family. I would love to be a conversation partner with you as you process and try to find your role in Family and Children's Ministries- this is proof that everyone has a role, regardless of age or knowledge. I'll leave you this image of a tree being grafted:

Elizabeth