I teach in Children's Church on Wed and Sundays. I go to a struggling church with few members in a bad neighborhood. We have the money to keep going---but I cant really figure out where it comes from --things just happen (anominous donors, past members who still tithe...) that help us keep on. Neighborhood kids come on their own. On Wed they come because we serve food. On Sundays they come for whatever reason and we put their bikes in the hallway and remind them to wear shoes next time. They can be hard to deal with--and sometimes when they have a melt down, or choose to be entirely disrespectful I take them home early I think people should realize that children with fathers in prison, or four children who are raised only by the mother are at a huge disadvantage. We have a family of 8 kids who are raised by a grandmother. In this one family a grandmother is raising 8 children of different races--all cousins, brothers and sisters and no real parent but only moms and dads that ocassionally visit. The parents of these children just had a grand ol time screwing whoever they could find and leaving the kids as wasted garbage. Its just sad---but it give me satisfaction to be a part of their lives because they end up so strong when they build their lives around God. The ones that continue to come to church until they are adults do well in life. These children have special needs and huge obstacles....only because they were conceived by casual sex and by irresponsible adults who felt their own children were not important enough to sacrifice for. Morality is simply putting others ahead of your own .self-gratification. People pooh pooh morality because being selfish and feeding your personal desires and pleasures sound nice...but immorality leaves pain and suffering . And thats my rant for the day.
While I appreciate your sacrifices for helping these kids, I can't help but wonder that if the church had supported contraception, sex education, and a more realistic view of the human sex drive, that the number of unwanted kids might not have been reduced. My rant for the day.
Birth control has been free for quite some time...especially for these folks. But I do have one member that would like to head down the street to remind a certain woman of that---she was talking about that today. ( we had a particularly bad evening if you haven't guessed When you have people who are irresponsible and selfish--birth control is too much of a bother to deal with. The fun of the moment is what counts. Worrying about birth control is like paying bills. Who needs that?
Kudos to you for stepping in and doing what you can to help these unfortunate kids. Right now b/c of their youth, they don't realize how you care, but as adults when they remember back, you will have given them good memories...... But one thing you said bothered me - when a child has a meltdown or disrespectful, you take that child home early..... why? To me, that's a punishment they don't deserve b/c their homelife is already so dysfunctional and being in church is like a salvation to them.... and kids are kids - they're going to act up, be disrespectful b/c that's what kids do. And they don't have a parent who's going to teach them about being respectful.....so the children are quite lost. DON'T be offended b/c I don't mean it that way, but wanted to bring that up....m/b there's a better solution for this problem and I tho't, w/summer coming up, m/b take the children to a park to play & m/b picnic? That would be a great way for them to spend their day. Just a thought.........
Well if the child is out of control to the point where you can't teach--then you do what you can do. I took two children home early today--both from the same family. One boy was making a point to be noisy, making loud sounds after repeated warnings--even clapping during the lesson when the other 18 children were trying to listen. When I asked him to go to the hall and sit, he absolutely refused. When I took his hand to lead him there he struggled and if I forced him into the hallway, he would have run through the church. Some lines have to be drawn. Respect has to be taught--and I can't spank these guys What I can do...something that is within my power...is to take him home. And he knew he crossed the line and I talked to his mother and told his mother he crossed the line and I hope he makes better choices next week.. When kids are taken home early---they come back much better behaved (for a while). Its a matter of teaching boundries through consequences. This boy's sister had a melt-down--meaning she started screaming and throwing things hitting children at her table and just really going off. What sets her off is something small---like someone calls her four eyes or says something that she takes personally. this can happen when we are wrapping up. As it gets near 8 her self-control falls apart. So I took her home 15 minutes early...making sure she knew she wasn't in trouble. She was emotionally ragged. And I told her mother she was not in trouble but that it was late and she had a hard time dealing with the kids and the chaos. In order for them to learn they have to have boundries and an understanding of what is acceptable and what isn't. We actually have a little field and played games today...and that does help release some of that energy..
Ok, I understand and of course, kids need boundaries in order to learn about ....everything. Sounds like you're doing a good job and has patience w/little kids, whereas many of their parents don't have the patience a child needs........ So many of these kids have emotional problems, due to their circumstances and sounds like the little girl has them.... Reading your 1st post, I kept thinking of the kids playing in a park as their 'Sunday school'..so I mentioned it. Keep up the good work - God bless you........
Casual sex supported by the media and pro-abortion activists, coupled with government reward for fatherless families and minority 'entitlement' programs are the reason for broken families and gang proliferation. Gangs serve as the father figure where none is present.
Abortion is legal, and Americans abort an average of 1.2 million of the unborn annually. I find it laughable the Libs like to point out the lack of sex education as to the problem of single parent homes. The problem is the Welfare state which enables people to have children fully supported by tax payers and not the mother or father. Children have become a meal ticket to a government check. Believe me, they would just as soon abort if money wasn't involved. It has nothing to do with sex education, children are part of the welfare racket.
Hmm, somehow, if churches teach contraception, everybody will get the message, and there are no more teen pregnancies, yet that doesn't seem to be the case, as the churches teach sexual morality and fidelity, and that's not obeyed.......
It's unfair to the kids who can control themselves to allow the misbehavior to continue. Part of the problem is that these kids aren't being taught boundaries by their parents/grandparent/etc. CKW is just trying to establish boundaries, and give the kids not causing trouble a respite from the troublemakers.
really making sure the young know about and have easy access to birth control is the number one way to prevent having children one doesn't want or plan to have .
one of my daughter friends has 4 kids, crazy I know, we try to help watch them from time to time, 3 of them, great kids, one is a monster, all raised the same, in fact the monster has a twin, also a nice kid, so sometimes it's not the parents fault, sometimes it is just the luck of the draw ,
That's right. Sometimes it's not the parents fault. They do the best they can w/what they have and do love the child, but the kid is wired a certain way, I guess.......
The saving grace is that in this neighborhood gangs aren't an issue. It's more meth.... And drugs that they turn too. I've been going to this churc for 25 years and seen neighborhood kids grow to adulthood and it's almost like they will do exceptionally well or end up dead or in prison or on drugs waiting to be dead or imprisoned.. not a whole lot of in between.
Well, gangs are notorious for distributing illegal drugs and (IMO) the illegality of certain drugs causes those same drugs to be highly dangerous because what is in them and potency is totally unknown. Add to that the illegality which exacerbates criminal gang violence and you have what you see in Baltimore and many other places. I don't know what the answer is but it's a real mess.
the drug dealers are the ones with the money, regardless if they are the well dress drug dealers or the lowly gangster drug dealers... legalize drugs and people stop hanging with these types of folks and seeing their lifestyle as a valid choice, the more you crack down on drug dealers, the more gangish their replacements become, catch 22 .
Drugs are an escape, a pleasure and fits in with the concept of immorality. Meaning--if you legalized drugs you will still have parents hanging out on meth, while collecting welfare checks.
the war on drugs as you point out is not working as the addiction exists legal or not, your just making criminals of those that are not addicts with prohibition you have a lot of drunks as parents too, prohibition of alcohol would not change that.... it would just make criminals of those that drink responsibly I am all for treatment for addicts of alcohol and drugs .
The war on drugs is not working for THESE parents. Choosing drugs, being unlawful is a choice. What I am saying is that legalizing drugs is not going to keep THESE parents from partaking. And there is no such thing as "responsible" meth usage. Society as a whole benefits in my opinion...when society (our laws) set boundries. Drugs aren't beneficial--they shouldn't be legal. Its a boundry we shouldn't cross.
you just said that making them illegal did not help, but they should be illegal, making them illegal only makes criminals of those that do not abuse, same was true of Alcohol prohibition now crimes committed while on drugs should still be crimes... including child abuse, public intoxication, disturbing the peace, ect..... just like with alcohol .
I said making drugs illegal or legal is of no matter for some people. They will abuse. Making drugs legal is not going to stop these parents, aunts and people within this neighborhood stop abusing. Making drugs legal certainly doesn't help people stay off drugs and sets a standard that drugs are ok, which means MORE meth addicts. Meth is not something to fool with....its not pot. It can destroy you for life in a short time.
