Church Never Ends

It's that time of May to enjoy all the "end of the year" events. Just today our church preschool and kindergarten chapel program for parents was celebrated. The children sang, the parents & grandparents took pictures and video, and by the end of the program as we all said the Lord's Prayer two of the restless boys were thumping each other on the foreheads.

"Our Father"

Child 1 thumps child 2 in the forehead.

"Who art in heaven"

Child 2 thumps child 1 in forehead.

Repeat the actions throughout each phrase of the prayer as the chapel ends in dramatic fashion.

Being my day off I had the privilege of taking my triumphant 5 year old home. He was still singing some of the songs from chapel as we traveled home.

Then he shared what I thought was a profound theological insight.

Cooper told me "Church never ends."

Well, this clergy dad was blown away by the depth of the thought. My mind swirled with the sense of eternity in the statement, the work of the Kingdom in the present and future, and the way we are drawn into something more than ritual and routine as we express a living, active relationship and faith.

His church kindergarten experience and year in chapel had gone into some deep water! I thought about the power of that thought, the idea that we shouldn't be tied to a location, or a day, or an hour, or certain personalities, but that our faith ought to go on into all of our days and ways.

I was dizzy in the moment!

Yet, I was curious what he was thinking. So, I asked "What do you mean?"

Cooper restated "Church never ends."

I persisted, "OK, explain that to me."

He was getting a little flustered with my lack of comprehension.

"Church never ends." he said again.

And then he followed it up.

"I don't like that." he said, as I almost pulled off the road without thought!

"What?!" I asked as I tried to stay in the lane and not wreck.

"You know," he said, "school gets out, other things end for the summer, but church never ends."

"I like to sleep in sometimes."