Our family drove out to the Narcisse Snake Dens yesterday. Along the way we got lots of time to talk about renovations and church - not related at all except that we need a bigger house in order to start to cultivate community in the way we desire. Community is hard to have in a living room that seats 4 comfortably.

In thinking about what it will look like, eventually, I really feel drawn to this post, which talks about keeping the format simple, ways to involve the children meaninfully, while still being able to talk as adults meaningfully. I have some other ideas for children, too, such as giving them a chance to draw pictures of a story or bible concept and then sharing it with the entire group, and giving kids things to read to the group, allowing them to be the ones to light candles, etc (these last 2 were largely borrowed from the former spiritual director at Marymound who now leads St. Benedict's Table, but I don't think he'd mind).

The post also notes an attempt to then just let the kids play while the adults have a deeper conversation, which sounds so simple. At Doug and Cindy's yesterday (who very graciously pulled together a spur of the moment BBQ after the snake dens) I was certainly reminded how hard it is to get in conversation when there are a lot of small children to watch. I suspect the key is not expecting things to be any different. Including children rather than partitioning them off with babysitters or teachers will mean a certain level of chaos. But hopefully our children will grow up feeling like they are already a part of community, rather than feeling like they join it only as adults.