Over the past few weeks, several people have approached me about volunteering in the nursery. While they initially ask about logistics—arrival times, expectations, and so on—the conversation invariably leads to this question: "Is volunteering in the nursery just babysitting?"
For many who grew up in church, the nursery was often seen as a place where babies were whisked away so their sounds, bodily functions, and general "baby-ness" wouldn't interrupt the flow of the service. After all, we have all experienced the harried local pastor or priest trying to talk over the din of screaming babies.
Alternatively, you might recognize a nursery as a place that provides a safe, developmentally-appropriate environment where babies can receive care as their parents have a break from caring for their children and can worship, listen to a sermon, and hopefully greet their neighbor before picking up their child from the nursery.
Whether you're in one camp or the other—or both—you're not wrong! A nursery provides a space where little ones and their parents can receive care. By entrusting their child to a volunteer or staff member, parents can receive a brief respite. And if it helps keep the parish priest sane, all the better! However, there's an even deeper dimension to our work, rooted in our beliefs about children and their relationships with God.
Our Beliefs About Children
Around Redeemer you will hear us saying, “We believe that children have a full spiritual life.” This life does not begin the minute they can fully form sentences, go to the bathroom independently, or regulate their emotions—it starts in the womb.
Multiple places in the Bible show us that God knows us in our mother’s womb.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” - Jeremiah 1:5
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” - Psalm 139:13–16
“Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name.” - Isaiah 49.1
Not only does God know us, but in some miraculous way, we can recognize Him. The Gospel of Luke describes when Elizabeth, pregnant with John, greets the pregnant Mary: "And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit." Elizabeth describes this event in Luke 1:44: “For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.” In this passage, John the Baptist knew and recognized his Savior while still in the womb, long before reaching any outward developmental milestones.
If we believe that God can meet our littlest brothers and sisters even in the womb, how much more should we seek to inhabit God's story with them, recognizing them as our “fellow heirs according to the promise”?
Tell the Story
Like us, these children are part of the same grand narrative of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and New Creation. On Sundays, we practice this reality through our liturgy and Holy Communion. In the nursery, we follow a similar pattern by remembering God’s story through reading books based on scripture, singing songs, and praying with and for these little ones.
As we care for these babies and pray in their presence, we are not only practicing our remembrance of God's story but also actively reminding these little ones that they have a place; they belong in God’s story and in the fellowship of the saints. Our prayers serve as a powerful instrument of spiritual formation—both for us as we strive to care for these little ones, and for the babies themselves.
Through partnership with parents in care and prayer, we consistently convey the message: "You belong!" This refrain echoes through the books we read, the songs we sing, and our commitment to praying with and for these families and their children. As we steward not just the physical needs of these babies, but their spiritual lives as well, we are participating in the work that God has already started in welcoming these smallest members into his family.
Join Us
So is serving in the nursery just babysitting? In one sense, yes! However, this doesn't mean something beautiful and holy isn't happening during our seemingly ordinary Sunday morning.
May we at Redeemer Anglican Church become a community where children, from the tiniest babies to the most energetic toddlers, hear the comforting refrain of "You belong! You belong! You belong!" May this resonate in every nursery volunteer's gentle care and in every prayer whispered over a child. As we nurture these young souls, may they grow deeply rooted in the knowledge that they have a place in God's story and in our church family.
If you'd like to volunteer in our nursery, I would love to meet with you. If you would like to support this ministry but can't serve on Sunday mornings, we invite you to pray for the children at Redeemer. Below, I've included one of the prayers from the Book of Common Prayer that our nursery volunteers pray on Thursdays.
"Watch over thy child N., O Lord, as his days increase; bless and guide him wherever he may be, keeping him unspotted from the world. Strengthen him when he stands; comfort him when discouraged or sorrowful; raise him up if he falls; and in his heart may thy peace which passeth understanding abide all the days of his life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen"
Grace,
Mikala Thompson
Assistant Director of Redeemer Kids
