Connection between sports and religion?

"...but you can do sports ANYWHERE!" whined one cleric who felt that children playing sports in connection with church was somehow improper.

I guess the worthy cleric's statment, if taken to its logical conclusion, implies that you can worship and pray only in church, but let's be gentle for the moment instead of tackling that head on right now.

Beside running the summer soccer program at Trinity Lime Rock, I also, for the past few years, have directed the Christmas Pageant.

And, as part of the summer soccer program, I have always felt it appropriate to pray for a minute before undertaking the sports aspect of the program. The most useful prayer I have found yet for this is the Lord's Prayer, the Our Father.

Well, doubter that I can be, during soccer these past two summers I often wondered if it made any impression at all on the kids that before we played soccer we ALWAYS recited the Lord's Prayer. After all, while we were standing in a circle reciting the prayer, I often had the feeling it was mostly me who was doing the reciting.

Well, today, on December 2, in the first Christmas Pageant rehearsal of the year, I got clarification on that.

At the point that the shepherds enter the story, the pageant script has Angel Gabriel herding the small angels up the aisle to meet them, and together proclaiming the small angels' one big line of the whole pageant: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace....etc."

Angel Gabriel dutifully herded the small angels up the aisle, and I directed, "Okay, angels -- do your thing!"

They, in unison, in strong voices, immediately recited the entire Lord's Prayer.



It was really quite impressive. I was actually a little bit choked up. I almost hated to de-program them!

Here are Angel Gabriel and the little angels, taken at the subsequent dress rehearsal. By this time they had their line down pat. And, presumably, they had not forgotten the Lord's Prayer, either.