A service for squirmers? Trinity Lutheran Church of Manhattan, New York, N.Y. Trinity Lutheran of Manhattan, which draws about 100 people to worship each week, is a little church in the country’s biggest city.
The church also reaches out to those in the margins. Trinity operates a homeless shelter for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered teens. “A lot of the youth who are kicked out of their families in other parts of the U.S. find their way to New York,” Neumark said. “They think they’ll get a job and housing, and that doesn’t always happen.” Trinity recently began a “squirmers service” for people in the community with young children. The 35-minute service, which includes communion, is patterned after traditional children’s sermons and lets toddlers havehands-on experiences in worship, such as walking in the processional. “It was a way for parents who haven’t been in church for a while to feel comfortable about coming back,” she said. Small churches shouldn’t be discouraged by their size, Neumark said, adding: “Jesus started with a very little group of disciples—he didn’t choose some big huge group that had everything together and had all kinds of resources. He gave them what they needed to get going, and God continues to give us what we need to get going.” |
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