And, How Are ALL the Children?

by

Salkehatchie so I wouldn’t break it. I had forgotten about it until I discovered it in one of my boxes. The wristband reads,  “And, how are ALL the children?” This year at annual conference we had a book drive called the Million Book Effort. Although we came short of the goal of one million books by the closing session of annual conference, we did raise over 300,000 books as a conference. Our conference continues to focus on justice issues around children and education.

As I was reading the wristband I realized it’s a shame they ran out of room. Surely what the wristbands were supposed to say were:

And, how are all the children in South Carolina?orAnd, how are all the children in your home?orAnd, how are all the children in the US?orAnd, how are all the children in your church?orAnd, how are all the children in your city?orAnd, how are all the children who look, think, and act like you?orMaybe they meant what they said and said what they meant:

“And how are ALL the children?” *FULL STOP*

“And, how are ALL the children?”  is the question the annual conference asked of us and the question I now ask myself every time I look down at my wrist. If I am being honest, the answer to that question every time is “ALL the children are not well.” There may be children in my family, my church, or my town that are doing well, but the question isn’t about a particular group of children, it’s about all children.

ALL the children are not well because racism still exists.

ALL the children are not well because every 60 seconds a child dies of malaria

ALL the children are not well because over 400 children have been killed in Gaza.

ALL the children are not well because there are 1000s of minors at the US border.

ALL the children are not well because in South Carolina The Corridor of Shame still exists.

ALL the children are not well because 1 in 6 children in the developing world are underweight.

ALL the children are not well because nearly 100 million children have unstable living situations

ALL the children are not well because some of the numbers listed above continue to increase.

After answering that question, there comes another one. The next question is, “So what are you going to do about it?” Quite frankly, it seems absolutely daunting. How is one person supposed to help millions of children that are not well and in need of help? The answer is simple. One person, on their own, is not going to help millions of children. This is a job that will need the church, it will need Christ, it will need the Holy Spirit, and it will need the Father of all of the children. We should start with prayer, then conversation, and ultimately lead to action.

Some of the links above will take you to blogs or websites that share ways to help out. You should also go to your local school district and ask how you can help. I assure you they will find a way to put you to work. You could volunteer teaching Sunday School at your church in order to show children your love and support. You can model for your own children the need to reach out to be in solidarity and support of your brothers and sisters. You can share with others that children are in need. You can find some way, big or small, that can contribute to the well-being of the children in our world. The one thing we cannot afford to do is nothing. While our children are hurting we must respond.

Most importantly, we need to ask ourselves each and everyday “And, how are ALL the children?” If we do not constantly ask ourselves that question then we will likely overlook the children in our world who are hungry, naked, homeless, sick, and hurting. We must continue to ask the question until the day that we can wake up and find that the answer to the question is:

“ALL the children are well!” *FULL STOP*

The Rev. Brandon Lazarus is a recent graduate of Perkins School of Theology and a Licensed Local Pastor in the South Carolina Annual Conference. He serves as the Associate Pastor of First United Methodist Church in Clover, SC. He blogs at UMC Lead, from which this article is reprinted with permission.