The Church is called:

• to receive children’s special gifts as signs of the Reign of God;
• to foster community beyond the family unit, in which children, youth and adults know each other by name, minister to each other, and are partners together in serving Christ in the world;

to appreciate children’s abilities and readiness to represent Christ and his church, to bear witness to him wherever they may be, and according to gifts given them, to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation in world, and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the church.  (Ministry of the Laity page 855 BCP)