Terry Tallent, the community life director at Christ Lutheran Church, leads the sessions. She is currently in her final year of the Master of Divinity program at San Francisco Theological Seminary and has years of experience teaching children and adults. A mother and grandmother, Terry understands the practical demands of being a parent in today’s uncertain world.

Nurturing the Spirituality of Children is part of an ongoing series called Wednesdays Together offered by Christ Lutheran Church of Fairfax.

Wednesdays Together is an evening program for adults exploring spiritual questions in a communal and interactive setting. The program may take the form of a class or an encounter or discussion group, and always includes a strong social component.

Why is this so important?

What do you say when your child asks you the really hard questions? You know, questions about things like homelessness, death, and God?

As a parent you teach your children the basic skills they need in life, from reading to swimming and computer literacy. But how do you nurture your child’s spirituality? And where do you find the resources to do this?

You are invited to take part in a six-session course Nurturing the Spirituality of Children. Participants will discover and develop the resources they already have, and gain new ones, in order to be spiritual nurturers to the children in their lives.

Using a working definition of spirituality as the awareness of our sacred connection with all of life, Nurturing the Spirituality of Children explores the challenges and joys of developing this sense of connection in ourselves and in the children we care for.

What will we do in this class?

Using journaling, traditional children’s tales, our own stories, meditation and simple rituals, participants learn how children grow spiritually and practical strategies for spiritual development.

Each of the six sessions will address a different aspect of spiritual nurture, including:

• Listening,
• Hope,
• Community,
• Spiritual Growth,
• Play, and
• Nature

There will be opportunities to share the challenges and joys of nurturing children’s spirituality with each other.

What do I need to do to take part?

When:

Wednesday Evening
7:00 to 8:00 pm
October 22 - December 3, 2003
(break for Thanksgiving)

Where:

Christ Lutheran Church
2626 Sir Francis Drake Blvd.
Fairfax, California

What & How:

RSVP to help us plan and be sure to indicate if childcare is needed. Still, walk-ins are welcome.
Phone: 415-454-6365
Email: email@christlutheranfairfax.org

Other:

There is no fee, but donations will be accepted to cover the cost of materials and refreshments.

Participants are encouraged to obtain a copy of Something More by Jean Grasso Fitzpatrick. A pastoral counselor, child development expert, and Belief.net columnist, Fitzpatrick has published in several national magazines including McCalls, Parents, and Working Mother.