Nancy Drew and the Apostles’ Creed
The best thing that I saw during a long day of church today? During the one service I sat through as a worshiper (anonymous but for the clerical collar), I was most thankful for the 10 year old girl in the pew in front of me. Through most of the service, she was intently focused on The Password of Larkspur Lane, one of my personal favorite Nancy Drew mysteries. After the sermon, as her family stood for the hymn, she streched out on her back across the pew, still reading. Immediatly following the hymn, we launched into the Apostles’ Creed. I looked down and while her eyes were still focused on her book, she had joined us in saying the words of the Creed.
It was one of the best arguments I have ever seen proving that the pattern of liturgy enriches the worship life of children. No one asked her to put down Nancy Drew and stand up. Without thinking, she joined in the familiar words with the congregation, gathered there in that place and time, and in all times and places.