ECCE 2013 Lasse Halme

1. Holiness in Children’s Ministry ECCE 2013 Lasse Halme

2. What is holy for me? • Think of a situationorplaceortimewhichwasholy for you • What made itholy? • What is holinesscompared to normaleveryday life?

3. What is holy? • Somethingmorethannormalexperience • Somethingveryimportant • Shakes the foundations of life • Encounteringanother person, nature, art • Birth and death • Somethingthat is important to me

4. Whydowetalkaboutholiness? • The basic feature of God and the basic concept of religion • The church’s common theme in Finland 2010-2012 • Our ecological situation and climate change • Absence of holiness in an increasingly everyday life • Children’s right to holiness

5. Loss of holiness • Economy: everything is part of the system and for sale • People losetheirhumanity: a resource • Naturelosesitsvalue: rawmaterial • People cantakecontroloverholiness • Religiouscommunitiescancausedamagebyoveremphasisingitsownholiness

6. Rudolf Otto: Holiness • The basic concept of religion, expressing the transcendence of God • A mystery with two sides • Shuddering and frightening • Fascinating and attractive (Mysterium tremendum et fascinosum) I – you, not I – it - Subjects encountering each other, not subject - object

7. Paul Tillich: Ultimate Concern 1. Thatwhich is mostimportant for us 2. The ultimate in being and meaning • Holiness is the qualitativename for ultimateconcern • Subjective and objectivesides: the humanexperience and the views of religion

8. Holy, profane, demonic (Tillich) Holy Points beyond itself to the divine ground Expresses transcendence Profane Does not point beyond itself No holiness in life Demonic Does not point beyond itself Considers itself to be holy

9. Transparency, ”shining through” • The holy and divine ground of Being ”shines through” the human • Cf. Orthodox icons • The human and temporal become transparent and the deeper and eternal dimension of life opens up • The mystery in life • We can see it in Jesus’ life, which expresses God’s reality through a man: • Jesus-who-is-Christ

10. Saints and sinners • Thingscannotbestrictlydivided into holy and unholy • Holiness is in all of us ifitcanmanifestitself • Wearesaints and sinners at the sametime(Luther)

11. Anotherview: Strictseparation of holyfromunholy HOLY UNHOLY

12. Traditionalview of holiness in religiousstudies Holiness is: • Separatedfrom the everyday • Dedicated to God • Removedfromordinaryuse • Mana (power), taboo (forbidden) • It is possible to separateholyfromunholy • Concreteness: a place, time, book, object, group

13. Holiness in the Old Testament Holythings: A place, oil, mission, name, God, clothes, dishes, tribe, city, sabbath, temple, heaven, king, seat, ark, promise, Moses, words, war, stones, sacrifice, covenant, trees • God - Places, objects, times • Tribe, nation, Israel • Priests, temple, rituals, religion • Holiness is separatedfrom daily life - TRADITIONAL VIEW OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES

14. Prophets • “Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations-- I cannot bear your worthless assemblies..” [Isaiah 1:13] • Bringing about justice and criticising hypocricy • Widening views beyond one’s own people: Not only Israel but the whole world is God’s

15. Jesus • You can do good things on Sabbath: people are more important than holy tradition – people are holy • Freedom concerning traditional rules but deep commitment to God • Conflict with religious rulers • “God’s kingdom is among you/in you”

16. Jesus’ vision: Kingdom of God (Räisänen) • The Kingdom of God was the center of Jesus’ work and preaching • Many possibilities for interpretation • Freedom concerning rules, inner commitment • God’s will and ethical righteousness • The hierarchy in the Kingdom of God: the first shall be last

17. The child in the middle of the Kingdom • Jesus put the child in the center • The child expresses the reality and hierarchy of the Kingdom • God’s Kingdom is in the middle of life, not separable • The child expresses God’s Kingdom and holiness • Jesus gave us an example of encountering children: we should take them into our arms and bless them Holiness of the child

18. The New Testament: the HolySpirit • The Holy Spirit does not appear clearly until the New Testament • Holiness is separated from concrete objects and rituals • Possibility for new insights and changes in tradition • All peoples and languages under God’s influence

19. Holinessruledby the church • In the Middle Ages, the development of Christendom meant that holy was controlled by the church • The traditional and Old Testament view: Holy separated from the secular • Holy times, places, objects, priests, people – even holy war • Luther: the Protestant principle • Reformations in the churches • The church must be the servant of holiness, not its owner

20. Holy, profane, demonic (Tillich) Holy Points beyond itself to the divine ground Expresses transcendence Profane Does not point beyond itself No holiness in life Demonic Does not point beyond itself Considers itself to be holy

21. The churchdoesnotrule the holiness • The church hides and destroys that which is holy if it thinks that it owns it • We are always receivers when encountering God’s holiness and mercy • The church is the servant of holiness

22. God and the congregation? O OOOOOO O OOOOOO O OOOOOO O OOOOOO O OOOOOO

23. God and the congregation O O O O O O O O O O

24. New spiritualitychallenges the separationbetweenholy and secular Gordon Lynch, The New Spirituality: An Introduction to Progressive Belief in the Twenty-firstCentury • Progressive trends in differentreligions • Belief in an immanentdivineunitythatcares for and upholds the cosmos (pantheism/panentheism). • Sacralization of nature • Sacralization of the humanself • Findingreligioustruthsboth inside and outside religioustraditions

25. God’s Kingdom challenges the new spirituality • God’s Kingdom is among you/in you • God’s Kingdom is ethically righteous • God’s Kingdom is free with regard to religious traditions but inwardly committed – liturgy as a Holy Play • God’s Kingdom seeks the will of God and is bound to it as Jesus showed us and was himself • In God’s Kingdom, the child goes first, and the Kingdom of God is good for the child

26. Human holiness Cognitive Spiritual Mind Spirit Heart Social Emotional Body Physical

27. How doweencounterholiness: religioussymbols God is holy and transcendent Mystery God Symbol People Holinessshinesthrough the symbols Encounteringholiness Prayer

28. The church – a place for encounteringholiness Jesus • A man in whose life God’s holiness ”shines through” Word of God and sacraments • God’s holiness ”shines through” the words and symbols The church as a community • God’s holiness ”shines through” people’s actions as love and mercy

29. Home as a place for holiness • Members of the family • God’s love ”shines through” the relationships • Ordinary and special times of the week and year • Holiness ”shines through” the normal life and the special times of the year • Holy moments at home: birth, death, marriage, confirmation school… - Holiness ”shines through” the rituals and symbols

30. The child and holiness • If we love the child, we will help him/her to encounter holiness • Support for growth, spirituality and a good life • The child learns to see his/her worth in God’s eyes • support for conscience and self-esteem • The child has a community • Support for social life and responsibility • In the child, holiness shines through to us • The greatest in the Kingdom of God is like a child

31. Experiencingholiness with the child • Werespect and value the child • The child is involved in the activity • Weengagedialogue with the child, asking, listening, reflecting • Weunderstand the wholeness of the child: physical, cognitive, socio-emotional, spiritual • Weusechild-appropriatemethods: movement, study, artisticexpression and play • Wemakethingspossible for the child and guidehim/her • Wegrowtogether with the child • Weencounterholinesstogether

32. Questions • How canweencounterholinesstogether with the child? • Whatcanwelearnaboutholinessfrom the child?