From the Archives: "Worship as a Way of Life: Forming Young People Liturgically"

Each month, our blog features articles from the archives of Liturgy. Our goal is to share the wisdom from decades past so that we might celebrate the work and insights of these excellent ministers and scholars.

Suzanne Burke, an editor of worship resources at Augburg Fortress Publishing in Minneapolis, Minnesota, asks how to help form children in faith in “Worship As a Way of Life: Forming Young People Liturgically.” Her answer: Involve them from the beginning in worship. Bring them every week because “worship teaches and worship forms us spiritually.” She makes her case with examples from the inclusion of children young and medium-aged who take part in various aspects of the liturgical pattern. Without children present, the body of Christ is deprived of singularly important people whose responses to worship are gifts to the entire assembly. Not only does she offer specific ways to involve children in leading worship but she discusses how the very placement and use of worship objects (Advent wreath, burying the Alleluia for Lent, giving a candle at baptism, etc.) school the worshippers in the liturgical year. Children notice banner colors, extra decorations, the arrangement of furniture in seasonal shapes and thereby learn the pattern to the year. –– Melinda Quivik

Selected Quotes from

“Worship as a Way of Life: Forming Young People Liturgically”

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How might those of us responsible for leading the church’s prayer foster opportunities for our young people to encounter the living God in worship so that they might be formed and strengthened in their baptismal identity as children of God? First, help young people understand themselves as doers of the liturgy. Second, use the rhythm and rituals of the liturgical seasons to teach young people what time it is. Third, recognize that the deep structure of worship itself lifts up what is central. Lastly, emphasize the potential for spiritual formation in the home.

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Sunday-morning scheduling that encourages parents to drop their children off at Sunday church school while the adults go to worship may be convenient for parents or seen as the least disruptive solution for congregations with multiple Sunday morning services, but such an arrangement eliminates the potential for spiritual formation inherent in the community gathered around word and meal.

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Ultimately it is the doing, rather than watching, of worship that forms us most deeply. Involve young people in ritual action; teach them the gestures, movements, and dialogue of the drama enacted by Christians of all times and places.

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Train young people to bear the cross, the processional candles, the book, and the gifts of bread and wine into the assembly.

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Find any excuse you can to talk about baptism as a daily rebirth. Tell children especially that no matter what else happens in their lives, their baptismal identity is forever. Gather them around the font and invite them to use a wet finger to trace the sign of the cross on their foreheads.

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Recognize that faith communities will not always be able to see the fruits of their efforts. Especially if young people are receiving little or no Christian formation at home, one hour of worship on Sunday morning and perhaps an hour-long Sunday school or confirmation class cannot close the gap-only narrow it. Be patient and keep providing opportunities for faith to take root.

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Suzanne K. Burke is the senior editor of congregational resources at Augsburg Fortress Publishers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and a Godly Play Trainer.

Burke, Suzanne K. “Worship as a Way of Life: Forming Young People Liturgically,” Liturgy 16, no. 4 (2001): 35–42, https://doi.org/10.1080/0458063X.2001.10392518.

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