Zander ran by with a giant box on his head. Miles had a blanket with all his stuffies lined up in a row. Eddie was in the corner listening to his audiobook and a little girl ran up to show me her pipecleaner covered in eyes. The room was an absolute mess.
I had a loose plan. Do crafts. Make homemade pizza for dinner. Watch a movie with our stuffies.
I invited the Sunday school group for a Friday night out at church. A time to play and deepen friendships. A time to just be a kid and know that church is a place where you can be fully yourself and be loved and accepted just as you are.
I was supposed to get there early at 3:30 to set up, but I was running behind and didn't get there until a few minutes before 4. Parents started trickling in to drop off their littles. This night wasn't just for the kids to feel what it means to be church, but it was also a night for parents. A free Friday night date night to go out or stay home or do whatever feels great to do without kids. Hugs and kisses and excited parents scooted out the door as kids quickly lost themselves in play.
First things first, set up a base. Each kid brought some favorite stuffies and a blanket to lay on top watch the movie later. Each one carefully set up their space. Laying out stuffies, blanket, pillow. The carpet was dotted with favorite colors and cartoon characters. The room was large but all the little spaces were close together. Each child clearly had their own space, that clearly showed their personality. But zoomed out it looked almost like a single patchwork quilt.
My plan was to let them just play freely but I had a variety of activities if they got bored or needed more direction. I never needed to intervene. They played. Sometimes in pairs. Sometimes as a group. Some kids laid on their blankets and read for a bit.
I got out a box of craft supplies. A jumble of felt pieces and popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners and googly eyes. Have at it. I didn't need to give them ideas. They just made stuff. Pipe cleaners covered in eyes. Jewelry. Mosaics made out of felt scraps held together by popsicle sticks.
It was effortless. It felt free. Kids free to create and play. Free to join in or rest alone. It felt like a group of cousins at a family reunion. It felt like what church is supposed to be.
We made and ate pizza. We watched a movie and as parents arrived we sang happy birthday to one of the girls and passed out cupcakes. Parents jumped in to clean the room and happy chatting along them as kids finished up whatever they were doing. A mom joined me in the kitchen to help clean up the food and finish up the cupcakes. And in 10 minutes, you would have never known the room had just been covered in snack wrappers and craft supplies with blankets and stuffed animals littering the floor.
It was a happy night. An effortless easy night. And all I could think is, this is what church is meant to be. A place we were come together, bringing our full creative wonderful selves. A place where we can rest and play and be known and loved. A place where we live life together.
Teaching Sunday school feeds me. God speaks so often through those wonderful small people. Tonight again, I found God at Sunday school, on a Friday.
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