Ava's Says - The Lord's Prayer Edition

This past Sunday Ava was in motor-mouth mode at church. Bradley had remarked before church that it was Communion Sunday and Ava got all excited about juice and crackers. She said, "Do we get to drink the juice out of the medicine cups, like Pepto Bismol?" Crack me up. But why are the communion cups so small?

I got her out of Children's Church early so she could take communion with us and as we waited she got even more excited; especially when they showed the bread up on the big screen. "I want that piece!" she said (even though we eat the little square crackers). So we took communion with no disasters of any kind.

That night Ava wanted to practice saying the prayer that "the preacher makes us all say out loud." The only part she was firm on was "give us this day our daily bread" because she really likes the bread.

So we started learning the Lord's Prayer and I started out with "Our Father, Who Art in Heaven." Ava interrupted and said, "He is not!" I asked what she meant and she said, "Our Daddy is sitting on the couch!" So I explained to her the meaning of Father and we practiced the Lord's prayer together.

Now I want to say this, our children have both been baptized into our church. I don't want this post to serve as a gripe session for those who have different beliefs. For our family we chose to let communion be a learning experience for Ava so she begins to understand the spiritual traditions and symbolism of Communion. As we got ready to go up, I talked with Ava about what communion really means and about Jesus living in your heart. Do I believe that Ava will have to one day make a proclamation of faith herself, yes I do. But for now, I chose to believe that she is a child and God has her covered. Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Can children take communion?

In The United Methodist Church, children are welcome to take communion. It is up to the parents to decide when their child should begin receiving communion.The official document on baptism, By Water and the Spirit: A United Methodist Understanding of Baptism, says about communion, “Because the table at which we gather belongs to the Lord, it should be open to all who respond to Christ’s love, regardless of age or church membership.”
The United Methodist Book of Worship explains, “All who intend to lead a Christian life, together with their children, are invited to receive the bread and cup.”(From The United Methodist Book of Worship. Copyright © 1992 by The United Methodist Publishing House.)