My journey with Children’s Sabbath began in 2021, when I led my former congregation’s first observance. That initial experience was simple but helped begin a powerful shift. Children and youth stepped into new roles in worship, from reading scripture to offering prayers. Over time, they moved from “helping out” to truly leading, and I watched intergenerational connections take root. The spirit of Children’s Sabbath began to shape how children were seen and heard throughout the entire year.
In 2023, I had the opportunity through seminary to attend the Hall-Proctor Institute for Child Advocacy Ministry at Haley Farm in Clinton, TN. It was worship like never before, alive with freedom songs, prophetic preaching, and children’s voices echoing alongside those of seasoned leaders. Surrounded by everyday saints and holy troublemakers, I witnessed what it looks like when the sacred worth of every child is not just acknowledged but centered. This was a fully embodied worship because alongside it we studied the legacy of children in the Civil Rights Movement, practiced strategies for advocacy, and were reminded that ministry must not remain confined to sanctuaries. True ministry transforms systems, dismantles oppression, and amplifies children’s voices.
That is the same spirit of Children’s Sabbath each October.
Sponsored by the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), Children’s Sabbath invites faith communities to honor, uplift, and advocate for children. It reminds us that children are not just the future of our world, they are its present, full of wisdom, joy, and truths that we too often overlook. In fact, as Dr. Maria Montessori wrote, “If we are among the [people] of good will who yearn for peace, we must lay the foundation for peace ourselves, by working for the social world of the child.” Her words echo the call at the heart of Children’s Sabbath: to listen to, celebrate, protect, and act with children so that their voices are amplified and their worth honored.
At its best, Children’s Sabbath is both celebration and truth-telling. The energy of children infuses worship with life—through art, prayers, song, or laughter. That joy is not trivial. It is holy resistance. In a culture that often dismisses or diminishes children, proclaiming their sacred worth is a bold act of faith. However, Children’s Sabbath also calls us to see reality clearly. Millions of children lack health care, housing, or enough food. Too many face violence, racism, neglect, or systems that silence them. As Rev. Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim reminds us, “No one is born marginalized…people are made marginalized. Not a minority, but minoritized.” Children are not inherently voiceless or powerless; our systems make them so. Children’s Sabbath calls us to refuse to look away. It calls us to confess where the church has failed to respond and to renew our commitment to justice.
Why does Children’s Sabbath matter now?
In our nation, children bear the weight of gun violence in schools, rising poverty and homelessness, and a worsening mental health crisis. Around the world, children are caught in wars, forced migration, the devastation of climate change, and—most heartbreakingly—starvation in lands of plenty. And let’s be clear: children are not silent. They march in the streets, testify at town halls, and organize for climate justice. They cry out for safety in their schools and neighborhoods. Yet too often their courage is met with inaction. Their wisdom is dismissed. Their cries go unanswered.
Children’s Sabbath reminds us that faith in action cannot stop at the sanctuary doors. It calls us to amplify children’s voices and to join them in the holy work of shaping a more just world. As people of faith, we are called to embody God’s justice, compassion, and love… one way we do that is by ensuring every child can live, learn, and grow in safety and love.
So, this October, as UMCG observes what I hope will be the first of many Children’s Sabbaths, my prayer is that it’s filled with joy and laughter, but also with conviction and courage. We are being invited to listen deeply to children’s voices, celebrate their gifts, and commit ourselves to building Beloved Community where every child, every person, can flourish.
