Sharing a part of being 'friends with God'

What the children of the MC Canada assembly took away from an adult-dominated conference

While their parents listened to budget statements and asset-liability ratios at this year's Mennonite Church Canada assembly in Calgary, Alta., their children watched a skit and made up their own, created crafts and sang songs with actionsall to learn about friendship with God.

One ofthe ways that the children learned about friendship with God was through sharing.

According to John Olfert, director of Camp Valaqua in Alberta, this is because "a big part of being a friend is sharing." This was illustrated through a skit done by the Kids Assembly leaders to show how, when Jesus fed 5,000 people, it was a miracle that was made possible by the sharing of a couple of hungry people who offered their loaves and fish to Jesus.

Along with sharing with God, the participating children said that they like to share toys and books with their peers, among other things. They demonstrated this in the skits put on by their respective age groups.

"We learned about being kind and sharing," Mackenzie Miller, a part of the preschool group, said.

Noah Klassen, who is in Grade 4, said that he learned "how to be a good friend."

Stephanie Jorritsma of Edmonton, Alta., who co-led the pre-school group, believes that Kids Assembly is an important part of a child's life. "[Children] are the future church," she said. "If they aren't here [at the assembly] now, they won't understand [the church] later," she said.

When it came down to it, the best part of the Kids Assembly was "playing games," pre-schooler Jonah Dyck said, as many others of various age groups echoed his opinion.

[Sidebar]

Children both young and older were treated to a variety of activities during this year's assembly in Calgary, Alta.

[Author Affiliation]

STORY AND PHOTOS BY RACHEL BERGEN

National Correspondent