Embracing Childhood - Embodying Childness (Relocating Children in Church and Society)

Our Churches, theologies and societies have been exclusive domains of the adults and thus are unjust to the Children and their experiences. This is the foundational contention of this volume that drives the contributors to address this grave issue with a collective commitment towards relocating Children in Church and Society. The essays in this volume contribute to the larger discussions on Children-related theologies from various perspectives, such as Biblical, historical, theological, ethical, religious, interfaith and also from the perspective of ministerial and pastoral care.

The book invites the readers to recognize the potential agency of children both in the history and in the present that compels to rethink the way the adults understand, treat and represent Children. It also offers new avenues for the adults to reaffirm their agency through embracing and embodying child experiences and by reliving in deep solidarity with the Children.

Rev. Dr. Songram Basumatary is an ordained minister of the Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church (NELC) who hails from Assam, India. Currently, he teaches at Gurukul Lutheran Theological College & Research Institute, Chennai; and also serves the College as HoD of the Department of Theology & Ethics, Dean of the Post Graduate Studies and the Convenor of the Gurukul Summer Institute. He has written and published wide varieties of articles and edited number of books. He is the author of the book, Ethnicity and Tribal Theology: Problem and Prospect for Peaceful Co- existence in North East India (Peter Lang, 2014); and co-author of the book, Your History is not of Our Story: Reimaging Historiography of North East India (Christian World Imprints, 2019).

Dr. Gladson Jathanna, a member of the Church of South India, is an alumnus and a former faculty of Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute. He served Gurukul as the Head of the Department and Associate Professor of History of Christianity. Presently, he serves in the faculty of the Pacific Theological College, Fiji Islands. Being a researcher and a creative writer, he has been publishing poetries, book- chapters, journal articles, books and edited volumes alongside blogging. He is the author of the book-Mode of Mutuality in the Margins of Mission: Hermannsburg Women's Mission in India (Dharmaram Publications, 2015).

I am glad to write this Foreword for the book Embracing Childhood - Embodying Childness: Relocating Children in Church and Society published by the Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute, Chennai. The Management, Principal and Staff members of this institution have taken effort to organize their Summer Institute of 2019 on the topic of Children in Church and Society. More than 25 percent of the world population is Children below 18 years of age. We are constantly reminded by media that thousands of Children are at risk today for various reasons. I have been advocating the cause of Children and pleading theological colleges in South Asia to give some importance to Children in the curriculum; and giving training for the past ten years through my writings and publishing books. As far as I know, Gurukul is one of the few institutions in the Senate of Serampore to explore the problems and prospects of Children and study the different theologies of Children emerging in the world over the last two decades.

Churches and NGOs are realizing the need of biblical and theological foundation for the mission with Children. Our theological community in India can explore and develop contextual Child Theologies. It is also equally important to appreciate and study the biblical understanding of early missionaries who came to India and contributed for the social development of poor Children and their families and for the progress of scripture knowledge and Christian education in churches.

The essays in this book deal with the various areas such as biblical perspective of Children, need of proper hermeneutics, critical evaluation of Children related theologies, understanding of Children in the writings of patristic and reformation period in the history of Christianity, traditions of churches, contextual theologies, contribution of Christian Education and the influence and use of media in our changing world. I am sure, this book will be a very good resource for those who are involved in the Children-related 'ministries' as well as to those who wanted to do research on traditions and theologies of Children.

Children have been uncounted numeral in society and religion since Biblical times due to adult-centric theo-anthropological notion of Children created by child-adult dualism. In the adult-normative society, they have been seen as adult- in the making who they would be in future - blessing or curse. In the adult-soul- centric mission and ministry of the Church, they are constructed as missionall ministerial other. In the adult-normative Christian theologies, they have been either hidden or mere objects in theologization endeavours. The basic questions remain till today are "What is the status of Children in our Church and society?" "What Children mean theologically?" As a matter of fact, even question arises as to "Where are the Children in Children related theologies?

In Marcia Bunge's observation, which she made in 2001 and 2006 respectively, "until very recently, issues related to Children have tended to be marginal in almost every area of contemporary theology" and "[d]espite the rising concern for and curiosity about Children, scholars of religion, theologians. and ethicists across religious lines have had little to say about Children, and they have had little to contribute to the growing political and academic debates about Children or our obligations to them. Many have not treated childhood as a topic meriting serious attention.

**Contents and Sample Pages**