The other day, someone told me that we shouldn't have children in worship. This person and I had a short conversation, and the main reason this person didn't think children should be in church came down to this: they are distracting.
Hmmm...so let me get this right, being undistracting qualifies who should be in church and who should be "kept out." Don't misunderstand me, in any large group gathering where the communal focus is worshipping God and seeking contact with the divine presence, being distracting is not a good thing. But a problem arises when we try to apply this principle to Sunday morning...because if kids aren't allowed in because they are distracting, then we have to keep the elderly out too.
So I blurted out, "Well, if the kids can't come in because they are distracting, then Mr. _____ can't either."
The person I was chatting with looked alarmed. "What do you mean? He has been a faithful member of this church for over sixty years?"
So I explained, "Of course he should be in worship...but not a Sunday goes by when his hearing aid doesn't feedback at earsplitting volumes and he says in far too loud a voice to whoever is siting next him, 'I can't hear anything...what is he saying?' Sometimes he drops the hearing aid and has to ask someone else to help him find it...or he announces he has to get up and go to the restroom...or his phone goes off and he either answers answers it or he asks someone to turn it off for him because he doesn't know how to!"
In short, the elderly are just as, if not more, distracting than children...and I still want to see them in church. I want to see the children as well. The fact that both are distracting is superflouos: the young will learn not only that all are welcome in the church, but the elderly should be held with respect and offered dignity.
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