Help....

Last year I was pregnant with my 8th child. That meant there were 9 of us riding in a 15 passenger van. So........when we park, we take up 1 space. That would be 1/9 the space that 9 individuals driving 9 separate cars drive. Correct? Well......last year, we took up 2 spaces. That means the 9 of us took up as much space as 2 people driving 2 separate vehicles or 4 people driving 2 to a vehicle or 6 people driving 3 to a vehicle or even 8 people driving 4 to a vehicle. We still have more people taking the same amount of space as that. Well........that day we got a nasty-gram email saying something to the effect of "Next time please park in 1 space."...........

I'm confused.......do we leave notes on people who drive individually asking them to carpool 4 and 5 respectively to a vehicle so that they make take up as much space as we did on ONE Sunday.........or is this just the all-too-familiar discrimination against large families. I'm guessing, since I've never seen notes like that AND I've never heard it encouraged for people to car pool to take up less parking spaces that it is indeed the latter.

That brings us to this Sunday. If you are 2o something in our church, depending on your walk in life there are many small groups and ministries to meet your needs. That includes UnDivided (funny name......it's for Asian-Americans and Asians....), Small Family groups, single groups, the list goes on. We have institutionalized child-care settings (an aside.......at our church there is a waiting list for the *counting offering ministry*........LOL........last I checked there is no such waiting list for the institustionalized child-care services) at our church. There is also a Nursing Moms room........a semi-dark room with 1 way glass and piped in sermons. It is small. There is a World Prayer Center. It is huge and lighted and beautiful. There is a Dream Room for the ministers. I don't pretend to know how that room is utilized, other, than I think.........for dreams.

Then there is the Cry Room 2 which as of this Sunday after a Nastygram sign posted on the door of the other Cry/Nursing Room, is for Moms who do not wish for other adults and children to watch their children, believing that such a system is unbiblical. It is 5 feet by 10 feet. It is dark and completely unchild friendly.

Tell me.........are children valued in this church? I'm SO weary of churches weakly imitating the culture (all the way from day care for infants 6 months and up) and quite honestly, doing it the world's way. Don't you dare tell me you love children when you refuse to have them and actively antagonize those who have them and choose not to place them with people who are not their parents. It is a Mom's responsibility (and guess what.......in some cases it's the Mom's desire) to raise their child. It is not the duty of the church to relieve the Mom of that responsiblity, but rather to encourage her in it. I have gone to this church for 15.75 years. After today, it will be very difficult for me to step foot in it again. You hard-hearted group. You despise the weakest among you.......babies and toddlers. You worship youth. You pay lip service to families and elders. You court the rich. You broke my heart today. Woe to you for your hatred towards children and the parent-child relationship. On the Spring, 2003 baby dedication Pastor Taylor said that if parents did their jobs there would be no need for youth pastor. He's right. So........with that in mind, the church needs to support families. Not be the middleman and create dysfunction. God help us. I'm too angry to pray.