March 2013 - St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Kingsville, MD

Tickets go on sale for this year’s middle school production,
Hydrangea Albright: Comedy or Tragedy Tuesday,
March 5 in the school lobby. Our middle school students
will perform at two shows on Friday and Saturday,
March 15 and 16 at 7 p.m. in the Parish Hall. Tickets are
$7 for adults, $5 for students, and free for children 3 years
old and under. Come for an entertaining evening of
comedy (or will it be a tragedy?) and support our school’s
drama program.
Bonus Shopping!
March 2013
Please see Giant Customer
Service during your next
shopping trip in order to
re-register. St. Paul’s School
ID code is 01093.
Safeway and ShopRite shoppers
can register online at
escrip.com. Click “sign-up” and
enter group ID #6572251. Enter
your information and your Safeway and/or ShopRite card
numbers. You have the option to provide additional information
in the next two sections. Click next until you reach
the confirmation screen.
If you have a Target charge
card, you can register it
online for our school to receive bonuses. Visit target.com
and look for “the REDcard” at the bottom of the page.
Click on card benefits to register.
The Child Who Cries in Church
The phrase “The Child who Cries in
Church Dies in Church” will never be
as popular as “The Family that Prays
Together Stays Together.” It probably
will not be embossed onto artwork at
your local Christian bookstore. It likely
will never even find its way onto the
top of some organization’s letterhead.
But it is equally as true as the much more popular phrase
above. Oh yes, there are exceptions to every man-made axiom,
but the general wisdom is true. And what is the wisdom here?
It is this: people brought to church in infancy are more likely
to still be there in their maturity.
Wisdom says, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even
when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
I think way too many people assume that this wisdom only
becomes applicable once a child has the mental and vocal faculties
needed to understand the content of our faith. That is not
true. It is relevant from day one of life. All research reveals
that even the youngest of children are learning all the time.
The beginning of their training is gained by observation of the
habits of those who care for them.
Many young moms and dad worry about bringing their infants
to church because despite their best efforts, the child may
break out into loud cries. And when this practical fear is combined
with the satanic lie that infants cannot really benefit for
being in church anyways, often young parents and their infants
remain willfully away for a time from Christ and His church.
And sadly, those willful choices often become permanent habits
for parent and child alike. All the while Satan chuckles at
how he can use one or two disapproving looks in the pews
combined with a simple misunderstanding to remove people
from Christ and His church...
So young moms and dads, bring your infants into the Lord’s
house. Doing so trains them in the way that they should go.
When they are old, they will not depart from it. And next time
someone gives you that look when your baby is not as quiet as
they remember their own being years ago, go up to them after
and say, “The Child Who Cries in Church Dies in Church.”
They certainly will not know how to respond. The chuckle can
be yours that day.
Source: The above is an edited version of the March 29, 2011
posting on the blog Meditations of My Heart. The blogger is
Rev. Philip Hoppe, pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
(LCMS), Ellsworth, KS.
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