New Around the Mission

Sacred Field Trips Help Children See God Everywhere

July 13, 2011

As the sun struck the stained glass windows of the old cathedral, a hush fell on the group of children and adults standing beneath them. Emily Cool Greener, Children’s Ministry Leader at Church of the Redeemer in Highland Park, Illinois, says she literally gasped with delight.

“The colors were dazzling and sparkling on the kids’ faces and their eyes got wide and lit up. I felt so deeply that the presence of God was with us; Jesus was shining on us,” she says.

Transcendent moments are part of Emily’s vision for the Sacred Field Trips she started last summer and led at Church of the Redeemer again June 13-16. The four “mini pilgrimages” are both an outreach to the community and a faith-forming experience for children and families at Redeemer.

Emily planned the trips to teach children of all ages that God is present everywhere and we can learn about Him in every kind of place. Twenty-four children and 14 adults traveled to several locations around the Chicago-land area, including their own church building. Monday’s trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden centered on seeking the Lord in His beautiful creation. Tuesday’s trip to Wagner Farm taught children that we are God’s creatures and part of our job is to care for the creatures He’s given us. Cleaning around the church and making care packages for the elderly on Wednesday established service as central to our calling as believers, and Thursday’s trip to the Chapel of the Holy Spirit at Techny Towers, a Baroque-style cathedral, allowed children to encounter God in a beautiful and dramatic place of worship much different than their own.

Emily felt God’s presence in the cathedral, but also as the children scrubbed windows, splashed in a fountain and petted farm animals.

“To them, everything is full of wonder and awe,” she says. “If we can embrace that curiosity and sense of awe and wonder in our everyday lives, that opens a door for the Holy Spirit to speak to us.”

More than half the children were first-time visitors to the church, but Emily saw community forged among new and old, big and small. “They got to know each other and felt comfortable exploring together. I saw older kids with a magnifying glass taking a little kid and saying, ‘Come look at this rock or ant.’”

Afterward, parents told her that the field trips helped them think more intentionally in their daily lives, even while running errands.

“They are now considering, ‘How can I help my child to remember that always and everywhere God is with us?’” Emily says. “As we journey together, we can help children learn how to be intentional about the way they seek the Lord.”

For information on starting Sacred Field Trips at your church, email Emily Cool Greener or visit Sacred Field Trips.

Posted By: Cynthia P. Brust
Categories: Discipleship