So What Exactly is CW&W?
Children Worship & Wonder is a faith-formation, worship-centered approach with storytelling, ritual, and fellowship that is used with children in churches to help them deepen their relationship with God.
CW&W is offered during our worship service. It uses the familiar four-fold order of worship with which many congregations are familiar.
To begin, the children come into a special worship space, to a storyteller waiting to greet them. They sit in a circle, surrounded by bible stories made just for them, with all materials at their height. Everything in this special place is accessible to the children. The storyteller leads the children in a time of singing and praise. This coming together of the children follows the first order of worship which is the gathering of God’s people.
Next they will hear one of God’s stories in a storytelling format told with multi-sensory materials that children of different ages, and with different learning styles can enter into and enjoy. As the story is finished the children are invited to share in a time of wonder about the story. They are asked “wondering questions” to help them dive deeper into the meaning of the story and to listen for God’s still voice that is found there. These questions might sound like, “I wonder if the Good Shepherd’s sheep have names?” Or, ” I wonder what it was like to be in the ark for forty days…I wonder if Noah knew that God was with him?” These wondering questions ask the children how they are part of the story and how they are a part of the bigger Christian story. They begin to see that the stories in the Bible are their stories too.
Third, just as in “big” worship the children will respond to God’s story. In “big” worship we often respond through prayer, song, and celebrating the Lord’s Supper. The children have the chance to respond to the Word in a myriad of ways as well. Some of these ways include using the story materials to tell the story they just heard, a story they heard on a previous Sunday and their own story. They may also choose to work with art and craft materials, pray at the prayer table, dance in the dance corner, or build with materials such as clay or blocks. These response materials are there to help them express their relationship with God. After they respond in a way they choose, the children come back to the circle. Here the storyteller lights the Christ candle and shows the children where the story they heard is found in the Bible. Then as a community they pray together and share in a feast.
As they leave the worship center, the children will participate in the last order of worship which is the sending out of God’s people into the world. Each child will be given a special blessing by the storyteller as they leave to be God’s disciples in their homes, schools, and activities.
This order is followed every Sunday. Because there is a ritual to this time together the children are free to relax into the space and go deeper into the stories. They can truly enter into a time of listening and talking with God. As children move from CW&W into “big” worship, they are familiar with the rhythm and joy of worshiping. They bring this with them as they continue participating in worship with the bigger congregation.