double dipping

I'm double dipping. I just got home from a church meeting that included a long discussion about children's church, a program that occupies kids from ages 2-7 during the sermon. While parents of young children support the program, there has been vocal opposition from older folks who think that kids need to learn to sit through church. The conversation was so troubling to me that I got home and wrote to the necessary parties. Here is part of that text:

"...Tonight I felt that more concern was being expressed for older members and their preference for tradition than for a person in the church who believes she is called to serve young children and the young parents who have claimed that the program helps them and their children. What do these older people have to lose other than a sense of satisfaction that things are like they used to be? I can tell you that those of us on the other end have a lot to lose. We have heard the message loud and clear that our children need to learn to sit in church. It has been communicated to us that this is more important to some people than the fact that we have some children in this congregation who (for medical and behavioral reasons) simply cannot do it. Do people not understand what the Rohrers, the Hershbergers, and my husband and I go through every day in our efforts with our special needs kids? To be told that I need to be more merciful to old people and their preferences for tradition - a tradition that has nothing to do with the gospel of Jesus - feels pretty bad. I tried hard to put these feelings aside during the rest of the meeting. But on the way home it began to hurt again. I wish that people understood that those of us with troubled kids WISH that our kids could sit in church. I WISH that sort of normality for Martin every day. But I can't make Martin do what the older people want him to do. Why can't anyone have some mercy on us and give up this constant whispering about children sitting through church? It is so demoralizing."