Several years ago, the Presbyterian Church prepared new catechisms for the instruction of both children and adults in the basics of our faith. What we had been using up till then (or NOT using, as the case generally was), had been written in the seventeenth century and was in archaic language that was difficult for modern ears to understand. The new catechism for children begins this way:

Question: Who are you?

Answer: I am a child of God.

Good start, I think. And what brings it to mind this morning is this year's Children's Sabbath emphasis - "Say that I'm a Child of God," which comes from an old spiritual we will sing later. We Presbyterians add a big AMEN to that.

I love children. They are great fun. Some time back I saw an article in the paper that showed how first graders perceive…