When our first child learned to talk, I used to comment occasionally that he seemed to listen to everything that was said in our house. He would report things that I had thought were private conversations between my wife and myself. I guess we had been used to being a household of two, where we could talk about everything we wanted without thinking about who was listening. Now, we were a family and we had to learn to be a bit more careful about what we said and when we said it. This never caused any real problems for us as a family. It was just one of the adjustments we made as we embraced parenthood and life in a family with children.

There are some topics that are important to us that we choose not to discuss in front of our children. Our grandchildren know that we are upset about school violence and that we were very concerned when their school was locked down recently. But we don’t want to frighten them unnecessarily with overly long discussions of specific weapons, statistics about gun ownership, and we certainly don’t want to make their experience of school worse by sending our worries off to school with them.

Still, it is important that we discuss difficult subjects with our children. They need to know that they can come to us with their questions and concerns. They need a home where the things that are important to them can be discussed. And they need to be included in our conversations in ways that are appropriate to their developmental stages.

Today we will be talking with the children of our church about the Poor Peoples’ Campaign and the March on Washington which will take place next Saturday, June 18. It has been an important topic of discussion in our church for some time. The coordinator for the event for our area made an impassioned presentation to the congregation a few months ago and members of the church have been working to support those who are traveling to Washington DC as well as encouraging our congregation to watch the livestream of the event and become involved in the campaign wherever possible. Poverty is a moral issue in our country at this time. It is critical that congregations speak out on moral issues and provide community leadership.

The realities of life for poor and low income workers in the United States affect millions of children in our country. There were 140 million people who were poor or one emergency away from economic ruin before the pandemic. Since March 2020, while hundreds of thousands of people have died, millions are on the edge of hunger and eviction, and still without health care or living wages. At the same time billionaire wealth in our country has grown by over $2 trillion.

It isn’t just that staggering prices at the grocery store and the fuel pump are placing these resources beyond the reach of millions of people. It is also that others are making record profits off of those prices. The greed of a few is creating a crushing blow driving individuals and families from decent housing and denying them basic health care and nutrition.

It isn’t easy, however, to discuss these matters with children. We don’t want to create unnecessary fear, nor do we want to be unrealistic about the situation of the children in our congregation, most of whom come from families that have stable finances. Children, however, do have compassion for others and can understand that we need to engage in direct action to help those in need.

One of the areas of focus for our presentation with children has been one of the logos of the Poor Peoples’ Campaign. The logo, shown above, recalls the 1967-68 Poor People’s Campaign. That campaign was created by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to address issues of unemployment, housing shortages for the poor, and the impact of poverty on the lives of millions of people. People went to Washington, DC, as will be happening again this week, to talk to the people who make laws. Back in the 60s, some of the people who traveled to Washington DC did so in mule wagons. 15 covered wagons traveled for four weeks to reach the nation’s capitol.

We have made a large coloring poster of the artwork show above so that a group of children can work together coloring and adding their artwork to the poster. Perhaps they will draw some food to put in the wagon, or other things to show that they care. We will be asking the children of our church to work together to show God’s love and care for other people. It is what it means to be a church, and teaching children how to be members of a congregation is part of what we do in our faith formation programs at the church. As important as is the creation of a colorful poster, the conversations we are able to have with the children as they work together are important.

We can help children remember that Jesus helped other people and taught his disciples to help others as well. Talking about those who were ill or blind or poor or hungry and thirsty and how Jesus responded with healing and food and water are important lessons that we want to hand down to future generations. Knowing about welcoming strangers, visiting those in prison, and giving clothes to those in need are important parts of belonging to a church community that we want to share.

Some are called to march in the streets. Others are called to listen, write letters, offer support in the form of donations of money, food, time and talent. Some are called to interpret the story to our children. We know that teaching these lessons in our church involves more than a single time with children in worship. It is more than a coloring poster and coloring sheets to take home. It is more than the decorations in our building this summer. It is a lifetime commitment to sharing the gospel of Jesus. Today is one more step in that process. Perhaps a child will be inspired to learn more. Perhaps a parent will be challenged by a conversation with their child.

A moral crisis calls for a moral revolution. And we are in the business of morality. We will keep teaching.