So question to all of you parents out there: When is it okay for a non-parent person, me, step in and do some parenting? Let me give you an example: This past Friday night my mother and I were stopping at a store/restaurant to grab some dinner. We were at the end of the line and there was a couple that had three boys I'd say age 7 and younger that were running around getting into everything. The oldest two boys decided to run and jump at a lady, causing her to fall. This woman clearly had a medical diagnosis that limited her mobility. The boys did not say anything to the woman and went to playing in the cold display case. After helping the lady up and making sure she was okay my mother and I looked to see if the parents were handling the situation. They were not, they were choosing to ignore their children's actions, who by this point were playing with glass drink bottles. Needless to say my mother and I had had enough and asked the two oldest boys to leave the drinks alone and to please find their parents. The boys looked at us and we repeated ourselves. The boys left, of course said how mean we were to their parents and then enjoyed a dinner full of glares and finger pointing followed by "that's the lady who was mean to me." Let me also say that the parents nor the children never went to apologize to the lady who got knocked down. Did I over step my boundaries? I don't think I did because that was wrong of the boys. I believe it was wrong of the parents to 1) allow their children to run muck in the store and then 2) not make them apologize for knocking someone down and possibly causing major harm. The staff of the restaurant later thanked us for stepping in. I by chance ran into the lady who got knocked down and her husband two days later and they thanked me for my help and for redirecting the children. But is it so wrong to step in and do parenting when clearly it's not happening in a situation? Did I really deserve the glares and finger pointing? I don't think I did but then again I'm not a parent so I'm not sure.
For years now, I have heard in preaching and clergy circles about being political in sermons; the good, the bad and those who state that church shouldn’t be political. There are workshops, books, and podcasts talking about politics in the church with a variety of opinions. What do people mean when they make the statement that the church shouldn’t be political? The IRS has the most say about the rules for the separation of church and state/politics. If your church wants to be tax exempt, there are rules: don’t endorse any candidate or party, if you allow one party to use your space, other political parties also must be allowed to use the space, etc. The UCC’s general counsel, Heather Kimmell, has a webinar on this topic if you’d like to hear a more detailed explanation which can be found on the UCC’s YouTube channel. Churches have gotten “creative” in how to get around this, often partnering with another non-profit group to give support to a particular group. The UCC is proud to claim...
Comments
Post a Comment