Clarification on My Decision Regarding Devotions at Rehearsals

Wolf River Homeschoolers is a Christian support group.  But, we need to respect that not everyone in our group has exactly the same set of doctrines.  We are all Christians.  However, we have many different denominations within our support group.  We have Baptists and Catholics, Non-Denominationals and Lutherans, Assembly of God members and I’m sure some other denominations as well.  What seems obviously true to one member might not be so apparent, or it might even be offensive, to another member.  One person’s church might encourage prayer between different denominations as a statement of unity.  Another person’s church might discourage it, because it implies an agreement on doctrine. 

There is a time and a place to have your child lead devotions.  It is my opinion that a better place would be within the context of your own church body.  It is my opinion that devotions are a form of worship and can lead to division within our group.  As a support group, we need to focus on the areas we have in common.  As long as we are all Christian, I feel it is our role to respect each family’s religious preferences.  We exist to support and encourage each other in our homeschool journeys.  We don’t exist to decide what devotional material each child should be taught.

As homeschoolers, by nature we have strong opinions and generally have a strong sense of the beliefs we want to instill in our children.  That is how it should be.  God placed each of our children in our respective families for a reason.  He wants each of us to raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord as the Holy Spirit leads us. 

The decision to not have devotions was something I struggled with over the summer.  It was my decision, made with my husband’s counsel.  I’m sorry if I blindsided some of you with that decision.  I guess I got caught up in the many logistics of getting everything ready for practice and didn’t communicate it as well as I could have.  However, I feel strongly that a child’s parents should be the ones who have the final say about what devotional material their children are taught.  Since my name is down as director, I am the one who is ultimately responsible for the content of the rehearsals.  I felt this was the only decision I could make in good conscience. 

I would highly encourage all of our parents to lead their children in prayer and/or devotions before each rehearsal and performance.  Either I or one of the directors will lead the entire group in a prayer before each session.  We will also be having a more involved music session at the beginning of each rehearsal, which I’m sure you will find to be God-pleasing.    

WRHS is set apart as a Christian group, not by the 5 minutes at the beginning of each rehearsal, but by the entirety of our time together.  It’s not the devotions which define us as existing for God’s glory.  Rather, it’s how we behave during the three hours of practice.  It’s how we prepare at home.  It’s how we learn our lines.  It’s how we act towards each other and encourage each other.  It’s how the children behave towards the adults, and it’s how the adults behave towards the children.  It’s the language we use with each other.  It’s how we act when we are going into the community and asking businesses to put ads in our program.  It’s how we behave during performances, both backstage and in front of the audience.  It’s how we greet our audience members at the end of the show. 

Again, I’m sorry I mishandled the communication of this new policy.  I truly apologize if I offended anyone.  Rest assured that my top priority is that every aspect of our time together should be to God’s glory.

Char Stuewer