An investigation of children s understandings and perceptions. of Christian worship and weekly school chapel services

An investigation of children s understandings and perceptions of Christian worship and weekly school chapel services in a South Australian country Lutheran Primary School Michelle Codrington - University of South Australia This paper reports on the understandings and perceptions that a group of children attending a Lutheran primary school have about Christian worship and school chapel. The study focused on what a group of children in years one, four and seven understood and perceived in relation to Christian worship, the place of worship, time of worship, worship events, symbolism and a Bible message. The results show that age and experience influenced the meanings the children attached to Christian worship and school chapel. The study suggests that participating in school chapel assists children to develop an understanding of what Christian worship is about and become familiar with the traditions and practices of the worship service. The findings could assist Christian educators (particularly Lutheran) to plan worship services that meet the interests and needs of their students. This information may also help in teaching children about Christian worship. INTRODUCTION In Lutheran primary schools educators create opportunities for children to experience Christian worship on a regular basis, as a class and as a school community. In many Lutheran primary schools members of the school community come together once a week to worship God at a worship service known as chapel. The study investigated the relationships between the children s age and their understandings and perceptions of Christian worship and school chapel. In particular the focus was to find out whether attending worship services and weekly school chapel is beneficial to children s religious development. In this paper the term worship is used to refer to the Lutheran view of Christian worship. According to Lutherans, Christian worship involves responding to God for what they believe God has done and continues to do for them (Trzeciak, 1986; Hoyer, 1967; McGavran, 1964; Hersel, 1963 and Zimmer, 1961). The response may take many forms (e.g. prayer, song or thoughts about God). Past and current research in the field of childhood religious development reveals that there are contradicting views in relation to children s ability to comprehend and understand religious ideas, concepts and beliefs. The literature related to childhood religious development reveals that children s ability to understand the abstract and symbolic nature of worship and the worship service is limited by their age and experience (Csanyi, 1982; Peatling, 1973; Richmand, 1772; Goldman, 1964; Ainsworth, 1961 and Elkind, 1961, all cited in Hyde 1990). Fellow researchers and educators in the field acknowledge this but feel children can benefit from attending worship services (Fyffe, 1997; Sandell, 1991; Rotermund, 1989; Stewart & Berryman, 1989; Stewart, 1989; Kibble, 1985; Astley, 1984; Cavalleti, cited in Stewart, 1989; Gobbel & Gobbel, 1979 and Hersel, 1963). In their view

attending worship services may assist children to develop a sense of awe and reverence towards God, a sense of belonging and identity with other Christians, familiarity with the practice of worship and may give them an opportunity to respond to God at their own level. METHODOLOGY Sample Selection The target population for this study was all children attending Australian Lutheran primary schools. Purposive sampling was used to select a Lutheran Primary School for this study that was a representative of the target population. The sample group consisted of twelve children, two girls and two boys each from years one, four and seven. The subjects were randomly selected to ensure that all children had an equal and independent chance of being selected. Selecting children from years one, four and seven gave a good representation of the age range of children at primary school. An equal number of boys and girls participated in the study to eliminate the effect of gender upon the results. Method and Procedure Semi-structured interviews, observations and questionnaires were used to collect data over a four week period. The field study began by spending half a day in each of the three classrooms, allowing me to introduce myself and work with the children in a "natural setting" eliminating the effect the researcher has upon the participant s behaviour. The participant-as observer technique was used to collect data about the nature of the chapel services and the children s participation in these services. Observations of the first three chapel services focused on the elements of ritual identified by Grimes (1982) and Moore & Habel (1982). These elements were the participant s role in the worship service and the time, place, objects and language (verbal and non-verbal) used in the chapel service. The focus of the observations during the fourth chapel service was the children s participation. Three classroom teachers and myself used a checklist to record observations of the twelve children in the study. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data about the children s understandings and perceptions of worship and chapel. Group interviews were conducted in year level groups after the chapel services. Each year level group participated in three group interviews that were audio taped and lasted for approximately 30-45 minutes. A series of guiding questions were used to focus the discussions and further questioning in a conversational context was used to elicit greater detail into the participant s thoughts. During the first interview the children respond to questions about what worship is, what happens at chapel and the time and place of worship. The second interview focused on the meanings that the children attached to the objects, language and events in chapel. During this discussion the children also completed a "work sheet" to indicate their individual feelings about the events at chapel. The third interview involved talking to the children about their understanding of the Bible message 1 presented at that day s chapel. Prior to this a questionnaire was completed by the pastor who delivered the Bible message at that chapel service. His responses were used to formulate guiding questions for the third discussion. Also during this third discussion the children were asked about changes they would make to their chapel service.

A questionnaire was administered to the school principal and one of the school s pastors to gather information about the school s worship practices and beliefs about children in worship. Data Analysis Observation notes and the completed questionnaire were analysed in relation to the role of worship within the school. As the raw data was collected from the group interviews it was collated into tables. The table format allowed the children s responses from each year level to be easily compared. Data from the interviews and observations were compiled and coded into emerging patterns and categories. The categories include the meanings children attached to: Christian worship; the place of worship; time of worship; worship events; symbolism and a Bible message. Using these broad categories the data was analysed by looking for similarities and differences in relation to the children s understandings and perceptions of worship and chapel within each year level and across the three groups. SCHOOL SETTING The school setting is described providing background information for the discussion of the findings. The research was carried out in a South Australian country Lutheran Primary school, where approximately 62 percent of students attending are from supporting Lutheran congregations. Christian Studies is one of the school s specialty areas. Worship was a valued and important part of the school, because worship is another means by which students can come to know God through His Word. The school s views on worship support that of the Lutheran Church of Australia (Lutheran Church of Australia, 1997 and 1996). Every week on Wednesday morning members of the school community come together to worship God at worship service known as chapel. Chapel is conducted within a cleared double classroom and lasts for approximately twenty to thirty minutes. The students are seated on the floor in year level groups facing a small mobile altar. Teachers, school staff and about thirty parents and their pre-school children, together with the students grandparents are seated on chairs to the side and back of the students. The principal and a pastor from one of the local Lutheran congregations are seated by the altar. The principal welcomes worshippers and announces the order of service according to the printed liturgy. The chapel service generally takes the form of invocation, song, Psalm or responsive reading, a Bible message presented by the pastor, offering, class prayer, song and concluding with a blessing. DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS The findings are discussed in relation to the meanings that the children attached to: Christian worship; the Place of Worship; Time of Worship; Worship Events; Symbolism and A Bible Message Christian Worship Christian worship involves a human response to God (Lutheran Church of Australia, 1998b). The children participating in this study revealed that for them, worship involves acknowledging God for what they believe God has done and continues to do for them. For example, the year one children said that We worship back to him [God] because He gives us things. This suggests that participating in worship services assists children to comprehend that worship involves responding to God for what they believe God has done and continues to do for them.

The children in this study had developed notions of the traditions and practices that constitute a Lutheran worship service. This suggests that participating in school chapel assists children to construct an understanding of what worship is about and to become familiar with the traditions and practices of the worship service. The children indicated that they felt chapel and worship was special. The children in year one had the idea that chapel was special but were unable expand on this. The year fours said that chapel is a special time because you get to listen to God and is a special time because we think of God. For the year sevens chapel was a special time to be with God. It seems that with age children develop a concept of why the worship service is a special time for Lutherans. It appears that attending school chapel encourages children to develop a sense of awe and reverence towards God, a feeling or sense that there is something special and almighty about God (Kleinig, 1998 and Hersel, 1963). This study found that the children in year one viewed the worship service primary in terms of its physical aspects and what they do (e.g. candles, singing and prayer). This supports the findings of Marschall (1999), Haystead (1995), Mereness (1995), Marschall (1992) and Goldman (1964). This study and past research has found that with age there is a reduced focus on the physical aspect of the service and a greater emphasis on the spiritual aspects of the services. A significant finding is that the children in year four and seven felt the spiritual effects of attending chapel. They indicated that they felt close to God and had feelings of forgiveness during chapel. Past research has found that children and adolescents rarely commented on the spiritual aspect of attending worship services (Haystead, 1995; Marschall, 1992; and Goldman 1964). This study found children of 9.2 and 12.8 years of age see the worship service as a means of receiving God s forgiveness and feeling close to God. For the year seven (adolescent) children worshipping as a community of believers was of great importance. Fyffe (1997) and Goldman (1964) also found that adolescents valued worshipping as a community. This suggests that fellowship and identification with other Christians is significant for adolescents. Place of Worship The place of worship was important to the children. Each year level group said that people could worship at church and chapel.however, the children were aware that the act of worship is not confined or bound to a specific place. They knew that people could worship anywhere, in the car and outside. The year one children could not say why people could worship anywhere. Those in year four and seven explained that people could worship anywhere because God is everywhere, He is all around us, we know God is there and He never leaves us. These comments required the children to think abstractly and believe or trust that God is always present. Knowing and trusting that God is always with them is a significant step in a child s religious development. The children reported that the place of chapel within the school was determined by the size of the room. They all stated that chapel was in this room because it was big enough for all of the school to come together. The children in year four and year seven thought that the appearance of the place of worship was important, and adding banners would make the worship area more colourful. This indicates that the children are aware of the appearance of the worship place.

Time of Worship Rituals occur at specific moments (Grimes, 1982 and Moore & Habel, 1982), at particular times of the day, seasons (e.g. Christmas) and stages of people s lives (e.g. Initiation). The ritual of school chapel takes place at 8:45 every Wednesday morning, before lessons begin. All the children indicated that chapel could occur at any time, suggesting an awareness that the time of worship is not bound to special times, but to Christ (Lutheran Church of Australia, 1998b, p10). However, the children also had ideas about why chapel is conducted at a specific time. For example, the year one children said that chapel was on Wednesday morning because it is a church day, the day that Jesus was born, the day Jesus died and Christmas day is on Wednesday. These comments suggest that the children are beginning to develop their own ideas about the important times of worship within the Lutheran tradition. For the children in year four and seven chapel was carried out at a specific time for organisational and spiritual reasons. The children felt that chapel was in the morning so that they were more likely to sit still and listen because in the morning you are not so chatty and in the afternoon you may be wriggly. It is significant that the year fours indicated that having chapel in the morning helped them to think about God during the day. It may be concluded from this that children relate what happens in chapel to their daily life. The year seven children saw that chapel was in the morning so parents can come when they drop off their children. Having a designated time for chapel was important to the children. The year ones said that they had a specific time of worship so we don t forget to pray and [are] reminded of God. Similarly, the year four s comments revealed that having chapel ensured that they made time to worship God. Chapel gave them a special time when you can do it [worship] and can relax and listen to God s Word. This suggests that these children are aware that human beings need "structures" to help them focus their thoughts on God (Lutheran Church of Australia, 1998b). Worship Events The school chapel consists of a sequence of worship events that are linked with Lutheran beliefs. The worship events at chapel take the form of lighting the candles, invocation, song, Psalm, Creedal Song, Bible message, offering, class prayer, song, Luther s Morning Prayer, Blessing and concludes with blowing out the candles. All the children indicated that music and singing were important parts of chapel. For the year one children singing at chapel is special to God, because God knows that we are singing to Him and it [the songs] has special words He likes these words. The year four children said that they sing at chapel to praise God for what God has given us and to give God our [their] happiness. Unlike the younger children, observations revealed that the year sevens were reluctant to join in singing during chapel although singing made them feel happy if the song had a "catchy and exciting tune". Marschall (1999; 1992) and Goldman (1964) also found that children of all ages enjoy the musical aspect of the worship service. Songs are a means by which children of all ages can acknowledge God and engage in the worship service. All of the children said that the Bible message is when they learn about Jesus and listen to God s Word. The year ones said that the Bible was used in chapel because it is about Jesus and that s what chapel time is about. A child explained that if we just had any book and we didn t have the one to learn about Jesus we wouldn t know anything about Jesus. For the

year four children the Bible was seen as the truth, the children all agreed that the Bible describes what really happened. This is significant because Lutherans accept the Bible as the authority that decides what they are to believe and how they should live (Lutheran Church of Australia). All of the children except one child enjoyed giving an offering of money during chapel. Giving money was seen as helping and caring for others. This fits with Lutheran understanding about serving others. Lutherans believe that God s love equips and motivates Christians to serve and care for others (Dohnt, Jaaniste, Maczkowiack & Weckert, 1998). The children in year one had difficulty clarifying the meanings they attached to lighting the candles, the invocation, the Psalm, the prayers and blessing. For example, they simply stated that the candles are lit to begin chapel because they are special to us and give us light (so the room is not dark). An ability to think abstractly is required to understand the language and symbolism involved in these events. Unlike the year one children, the year fours and sevens were able to attach meanings to these worship events. For example, for the year four children the invocation means that you want to get ready for God to come into your heart during the service and that we are going to praise the Lord. The children in year seven reported that prayer was talking to God and was a part of chapel because we know God is listening. The children proposed that they would like to become more actively involved in their chapel service. For example, standing up to do accompanying actions to a song and be involved in presenting the Bible message. Observations revealed that the children were largely inactive during chapel, except for the occasional "action song" and gestures associated with prayer. These findings are consistent with those of Fyffe (1997), implying that educators need to create more opportunities for their students to take an active role in chapel. Symbolism It is of significance that the children were able to attach symbolic meanings to the objects used in chapel. They recognised that the objects used in chapel represented a religious idea or belief. However, the children were not always able to expand upon the meaning they attached to the worship objects. For example, the children in year seven said the candles show that Jesus lights our path but they were unable to clarify what this meant. Some of the symbolic meanings the children attached to the objects were similar to those of adults, while others were unique to the children. For example, for the year four children the flowers on the altar reminded them of Jesus death and resurrection. These children explained that Jesus is like a flower because flowers are alive, die and come back just like Jesus was a live, died and then rose again. Past research has found that before the ages of 11 to 14 children have a limited ability to understand the symbolic nature of religion (Nye, Keys & Carlson, 1981; Cater, 1976; Morley, 1975; Tanuwidjaja, 1974; Peatling, 1973; Kingan, 1969 and Ainsworth, 1961, all cited in Hyde, 1990; Goldman, 1964 and Hersel, 1963). This study found that children s age and experiences influenced their ability to comprehend the symbolic objects used in worship. The meanings the year one children attached to the worship objects were related the physical characteristics and were interpreted literally. For example, the year ones stated that the cross on the altar is wooden because Jesus died on a wooden cross. The meanings the year four children attached to the worship objects were beginning to move away from physical descriptions and literal interpretations, towards more abstract interpretations. The understandings held by the year sevens were mainly abstract.

It is significant to note that the children had greater difficulty interpreting the religious language used in chapel than the objects. All of the children used religious language in context, but there were age-related differences in the children s ability to clarify what the language meant. The year one children had considerable difficulty comprehending the religious language used in chapel, while the children in year four and seven had fewer difficulties. The conclusion drawn from this is that with age children are able to understand more abstract and complex religious language. A Bible Message The Bible message is a part of the chapel service. The Bible message is when the pastor explains the Bible text upon which the chapel service is based. Each year level group was asked about their understanding of the Bible message presented at one of the chapel services. The Bible message was based on The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, from Matthew 20:1-16. The pastor retold this parable using a local church vineyard as the setting and the school children as the characters in the story. All the children could recall the details of the pastor s story suggesting that the content of the story was appropriate for children in years one, four and seven. From the Bible message the pastor hoped that the children would understand that God was generous with His love and be reminded that because God is generous with His love they can count on Him. Differences can be seen in relation to the "spiritual meaning" each year level group attached to the Bible message. For the year one children the Bible message simply told them that God loves them and gives them things. Knowing that God loves them and provides for them is a vital part of children s religious development. The children in year four and year seven gained a more in depth and abstract understanding of the Bible message. For these children the Bible message told them that God loves all people the same regardless of how much "work" they do. The following comments from the children s discussion revealed this. The children in year four said: 1. God s generous because He likes everyone the same amount and He has made a deal that he will save us. 2. He, um has got a special place in heaven and it s not like people who work more get two (special places) because He is fair to everyone. 3. He will always remember us and keep watch over us. Always. He won t turn His back on us, say this person did more or less. The children in year seven said: 1. We should be happy with what we get given 2. God gives us the same amount. 3. God loves everyone the same Children from each group interpreted a "spiritual" implication from the Bible message at their own level. All of the children learnt something about what God does for them. These findings reveal that all the children in the study were able to construct their own understandings and perceptions of the Bible message that were beneficial to their religious development. The findings suggest that with age children formulate more abstract and personal interpretations of religious ideas and beliefs.

CONCLUSIONS The study indicates that children s understandings and perceptions of worship and school chapel services develop and change with age, refuting Goldman s (1964) conclusion that children s "incorrect" religious ideas remain fixed and regarded as truth (Gobbel & Gobbel, 1986). The study proposes that children s early experiences with worship and religion provide the foundation for understanding religious concept, beliefs and ideas later in life. Lindsay (1998, cited in Von Kreisler, 1998) and Hersel (1963) believe that young children s experiences with religion are the building blocks for understanding religious concepts and beliefs later in life. A key conclusion is that children s interpretations of worship and religion do not remain fixed or regarded as truth, rather they change and expand with age. As expected, the ideas and views held by the older children were more complex, abstract and personal than those of the younger children. The ideas of the year ones were concrete orientated and at times "confused". The study found that children of 9.2 and 12.8 years of age related religious concepts and beliefs to their life and experience. The study proposes that children s ability to understand Christian worship and school chapel is limited by their age (cognitive ability) and experiences. This conclusion supports the findings of Nye, Keys & Carlson (1981, cited in Hyde, 1990), Cater (1976, cited in Hyde, 1990), Morley (1975, cited in Hyde, 1990), Tanuwidjaja (1974, cited in Hyde, 1990), Peatling (1973, cited in Hyde, 1990), & Kingan (1969, cited in Hyde, 1990), Goldman (1964), Hersel (1963) and Ainsworth (1961, cited in Hyde, 1990). However, this study also found that attending school chapel assists and encourages children to: understand that worship involves a human response to God; develop a notion of the traditions and practices that constitute the worship service; develop a sense of awe and reverence towards God; feel close to God and a sense of forgiveness; respond to God at their own level through prayer and song; learn more about God; and become familiar with the objects and language of the worship service. The above concluding points indicate that attending school chapel services is beneficial to a child s religious development. The foremost conclusion from this study is that the children in years one, four and seven constructed their own understandings and perceptions of Christian worship and school chapel that were beneficial to their religious development. Implications for practice and practitioners This study has some implications upon the nature of worship practices within Christian primary schools (particularly Lutheran) and how educators teach children about Christian worship. This study suggest that when planning worship services for children, educators must be aware that children's ability to comprehend and understand the worship service is influenced by their age and experiences. Young children, especially do not have the cognitive skills to understand the abstract nature of religious language, concepts and beliefs. The study also suggests that children benefit from being exposed to the religious traditions and practices that constitute the worship service. The implication for educators is that worship experiences

need to be age appropriate, but at the same time allow children to experience the nature and traditions of the worship service. A key conclusion is that children construct their own understandings and perceptions of worship and school chapel. This implies that educators should find out about their children s views of worship and the worship service. An insight into their children s views would assist educators to provide experiences that will clarify and extend their students ideas. For example, this study suggests that children of 6.7 years are particularly interested in the worship objects and the procedures of the worship services. Educators could incorporate these aspects when they teach young children about worship. The study suggests that talking to adolescents about worshipping as a community of believers would be beneficial to their religious development. This is because children of this age naturally become interested in and value this aspect of the worship service. This study and past research ( Kreider, 1995 ; Mursphy 1978; Britton & Winanc, 1958 & Bradenburg 1915, cited in Hyde, 1990) indicates that children use religious language from their environment without understanding the concept or meaning behind it. This implies that educators should not assume that children understand the religious terms they use. However, this does not mean that using religious terms that the children do understand will be "harmful" to their religious development. Rather, developing familiarity with religious terms early may assist children to understand the religious terms and language later in life. The children in this study said that they would like to be more actively involved in their chapel services. This means that educators need to find ways of more fully involving children in chapel. Active participation would allow students to acknowledge God using their whole self- their hearts, mind, body and soul (Lutheran Church of Australia, Commission of Worship, 1998b). Children participating in the study from years one, four and seven benefited from attending the same whole school chapel services. Each year level group was able to respond to God and learn something about the nature of Christian worship at their own level. For example, from the same Bible message all of the children "learnt" about an aspect of God s love. This implies that educators can design school worship so that it is beneficial to all primary school aged children. This study reveals that the challenge for educators is to create worship services that expose children to the practices and traditions of worship, are age appropriate for all children attending and allow children to take an active role in the service.

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