Kids Pray #1
Truth from Innocent Eyes: Kids Pray The Darndest Things - Launch, Feb 6, 2003OTTAWA - March 31, 2003
In just under two months, James O'Regan's e-book Kids Pray the Darndest Things: Effective Liturgy, has climbed to the #1 bestseller spot at Amazon.com for the category of E-books: Religion: Roman Catholic. Kids Pray investigates the interplay between children and liturgy. It advocates including children's liturgies of the word within the main worship space. That position may soon be adopted nationally in America with the preparation of a new version of the Lectionary for Children.
Kids Pray the Darndest Things, an e-book, is an electronic file that can be read on a computer or printed out, and is available at Amazon.com and at Powells.com.
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Media Contact: James O’Regan
E-mail: oregan@jamesoregan.com
URL: www.jamesoregan.com/Kids_Pray/
OTTAWA – February 6, 2003
While the world prepares for war, the unconditional love from children speaks to us all. This is why, James O'Regan's new e-book says, Jesus so closely identified himself with children and why churches can look to children for lessons in worship if they are open to the adventure.
O’Regan's e-book, Kids Pray The Darndest Things, responds to the widespread practice in North American parishes to conduct separate liturgies of the word for children. Instead of keeping the children in the main worship space, they are shunted off to a separate room for more kid-friendly prayers and readings. O'Regan believes that this practice will be severely curtailed by immanent Church legislation. His e-book helps parishes reintegrate children into the main worship space where they belong according to church law and scripture.
O’Regan's review of scripture paints a picture of a Jesus who identified himself with children. "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name, welcomes me..." (Mk. 9.37) That, says O'Regan, should direct all children's activities in the Church. For children, O'Regan says, life is all gift, all the time. Children are much better at ritual than adults and are often an excellent source of ritual renewal. They find comfort in repetition yet delight in surprise. Unlike most studies on liturgy, O'Regan uses the language of theatre to understand liturgy-as-event. He analyzes scripture, church documents and event logistics to support children's fruitful experience of worship. Where numbers warrant in parishes, there should be one family mass with a focus on children.
Across the country, parishes are starting to prepare liturgical celebrations fully involving children," said Monsignor James Moroney of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Liturgy Secretariat. "Kids Pray the Darndest Things provides cogent and exciting insights into the practical implications of the way that the Church can seek to accomplish this essential goal"
An actor, writer and producer, O'Regan holds graduate degrees in theology and has published on liturgy-as-event in more than 100 articles during the last 30 years. His focus on children arose from laments by his own children, "Dad, why is this [liturgy] so boring?"
Kids Pray the Darndest Things, an e-book, is an electronic file that can be read on a computer or hand-held device, or printed out, and is available at Amazon.com.
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Media Contact: James O’Regan
E-mail: oregan@jamesoregan.com
© James O'Regan, 2003