This is my daughter Rev. Alana Martin, Minister to The GO Project, since 2007 a national United Church of Canada children and youth program, as she begins to preach about Children’s Sunday last week at Metropolitan United Church in Toronto.
(You can learn more about The GO Project at The GO Project — About Us)
She nailed it. To say I am proud would be a gross understatement. And yes, I am a tiny bit biased. I’ll just get that statement out of the way early.
In her sermon Alana combines some heartfelt testimony about her own experiences growing up in a community of faith with some pretty great research on children’s spirituality and the current state of children and youth ministry in the United Church of Canada. Spoiler alert: we are in a bit of a crisis, and have been for some time.
You can watch the whole 17 minute sermon (at Met they also edit the sermons so you can just watch that part!) at
SERMON "Nurturing Children's Spirituality in the Church of Today" The Reverend Alana Martin
Or, I can summarize it for you.
I claim very little credit for her positive experiences as a child and youth at St. John’s United Church in Halifax. Other than dragging her around to endless church meetings and on Sunday mornings, it was the community that surrounded her, knew her name, checked in with her, mentored her, and provided a safe space for her to grow. She also gives us some pretty hard to hear statistics …
“Based upon United Church of Canada Year Book stats, ministry with children has been declining in the United Church since the 1960s. The highest reported membership in Sunday Schools was just over 757,000 in 1961. By 1980 that number had fallen to 232,000. In 2022, 13,000 newborns, toddlers, school-aged children, and youth under 17 were reported as attending United Churches across the country. That’s a 98% decrease since the 1960’s.”
But it’s not all bad news. The church is one of the very few institutions left that gather intergenerationally. And my own research says that children and youth need the presence of elders, mentors and adults of all ages in their lives. We have a unique opportunity.
Alana gives us some pretty good reasons why the inclusion of children into all aspects of the faith community is a good thing. First and foremost is that children and youth have gifts to offer NOW. Sure, we’ve all heard that “children and youth are the future of the church” … but they also have many gifts to offer the church today. And she also says it’s the whole community’s responsibility to support the ministry of and to children, youth and their families (in all shapes and sizes!) not just one person’s responsibility.
This Sunday, Nov. 24, Bethany United Church will celebrate Children’s Sunday, a chance to celebrate the gifts, ministry and spirituality of children in our midst.
The members of the Sunday School will be joining us for the service, and we will focus our worship service around the story The Quiltmaker’s Gift by Paul Brumbeau. We will look at the themes of generosity and happiness, and also hear about some of the special projects the Sunday School has planned for Advent, including a gift the children have made for youth in need. We will also bless the prayer shawls that are given out on a regular basis as part of Bethany’s pastoral care ministry.
