Author Archive

Last week, we started to share what we are learning through the Shine Everywhere initiative. We described what we have learned so far from those who used the “Follow the Peace Path” Cards. Today, I’ll share what we are learning through our reading of other books and research, as well as from the other projects funded by the Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative of Lilly Endowment Inc.  

If parents are the primary influence on their children’s faith formation, then faith formation of children and youth begins with the faith formation of their parents. This means taking seriously the faith development, doubts, and hang-ups of parents. 

This implies a far more collaborative approach with parents than congregational leaders are used to. Our faith formation models over the past century have focused on equipping congregational lay leaders as teachers, not parents. And we have focused on creating resources those teachers can use in Sunday School or kids club settings at church, not at home. 

Does this mean, then, that we focus on “equipping” parents to use resources that we create for them to use at home? The more we think about it, the less we like this language. We are concluding that we need to collaborate with parents in the creation of the activities and resources that fit them and their children.   

We are also learning that parenting is more stressful than it used to be. At the end of August, the US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released Advisory on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Parents “to call attention to the stress and mental health concerns facing parents and caregivers and to lay out what we can do to address them.” 

Murthy is encouraging Americans to “cultivate a culture for parents and caregivers to thrive.” He has four recommendations:  

“First, it’s time to value and respect time spent parenting on par with time spent working at a paying job, recognizing the critical importance to society of raising children. Second, while parents and caregivers may have the primary responsibility for raising children, they shouldn’t have to do it entirely on their own. Third, we need to talk openly about the stress and struggles that come with parenting. Fourth, we must foster a culture of connection among parents to combat loneliness and isolation.” 

Also this summer, the book, The Anxious Generation was released, which outlines the harms social media and mobile phones have brought upon children and youth. The authors document the harm caused by overprotectiveness in the real world combined with a lack of protectiveness in the digital world.  

Parents need the support of their faith communities now more than ever. Churches can be places where parenting is valued. Churches can be communities that offer practical support and encouragement to parents in their daily challenges. Churches are full of older adults who have been there and can offer empathy and advice for the challenges of parenting. And churches are the perfect place to offer gatherings for connection and friendship among parents.  

We conclude that it’s time for congregations to reorient their faith formation programming toward collaboration with parents. Pastors and faith formation leaders are the perfect people to facilitate a gathering of parents to foster connection, friendship and mutual storytelling.  

If these recommendations sound good to you, consider applying to be a Shine Everywhere Partner congregation. I’ll partner with you to discern with your parents a way forward that builds faith in both parents and their children.

Shana Peachey Boshart, Shine Everywhere Project Facilitator

Shine Everywhere is the faith-at-home initiative of Shine Curriculum. Through a process of creating at-home resources and hearing how they work for families, we hope to create ever more relevant and practical resources for use at home. Along the way, we hope to create a community of churches and families who discover and practice the everywhere habits that grow faith in children.  

A vital aspect of this initiative is learning as we go. This is an iterative process: we do something, then pause and ask what we are learning, we apply our learning to the next thing we do, then pause again and ask what we are learning. We think this learning is important enough to pause from time to time and share with you what we are learning. This way, you can learn along with us, which is only fair, since we are learning from you! 

We are learning from a variety of sources. We are learning from you, our friends who use Shine Curriculum and tried first at-home test product, the “Follow the Peace Path” Cards. We are also learning from books and surveys on the topic of faith formation at home. And, we are learning from the other projects funded by the Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative of the Lilly Endowment Inc.  

We are still collecting your feedback from the “Follow the Peace Path” Cards, so if your family used the card deck, please fill out our survey. The feedback we have received so far indicates that people think the card deck is practical, beautiful, and fun to use. We are learning that when using the cards, the time of day and setting matter. For example, if you are using the cards at bedtime, you want quiet, “wind-down” activity options, and if you are using them at snack time or mealtime, there could be food-related activities. Overall, people are responding well to the format of the card deck and indicating openness to another card deck in the future.  

We are learning that congregational leaders know their families. As we spoke with them at Roundtable, they had clear ideas on what the daily lives of their families are like, and they had a sense of what felt realistic or unrealistic to expect from parents and families. Leaders understand the importance of buy-in from the parents. They want to know that the parents would want the card deck and know what to do with it. Many suggested or even planned a meeting with the parents to introduce the resource.  

Through the Roundtables, we are learning just how busy families are. Parents are often overwhelmed by the day-to-day activities of raising children. Even those who want at-home resources find it difficult to fit them into the day.  

That’s what we’re learning—to date—from those who used the “Follow the Peace Path” Cards. We are hoping for many more survey responses, so if you used the cards, please fill out our survey. If you gave the cards to others, please ask them to complete it. Next week, I’ll share what we’re learning from the other sources I’ve named: books, research, and the other Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative projects. See you next week! 

Shana Peachey Boshart, Shine Everywhere Project Facilitator

Fall is a busy and exciting time of year! As families settle into new routines and schedules, this is an ideal time to reach out to parents and caregivers in your congregation so they can stay connected with what is happening in Sunday school and faith formation classes.

For many congregations, “regular attendance” now means that families attend church one or two times a month, rather than every Sunday. Children are involved in many extra-curricular activities, so families may have scheduling conflicts. Or parents may be seeking to spend time with their children at home after a busy week. Some families may not attend church regularly because of demanding work hours, child custody arrangements, or because one parent spends time traveling for their job. Families can quickly begin to feel disconnected from the church community—even if they are away for just a couple of weeks.

While Sunday morning attendance may look different, there are ways to stay connected with parents, caregivers, and their families even if you don’t see them as often. Last year, my congregation sent a midweek email to parents of kindergarteners through fifth graders to let them know which Bible story the children heard the previous Sunday. We offered suggestions for engaging the story, often using ideas from Shine at Home found on the Shine website. We received several notes of appreciation from parents who had been out of town or who had been at church and wanted to continue conversations from Sunday school with their children during the week.

Here are other ways to connect with families and children in your congregation:

• Encourage your congregation to purchase copies of The Peace Table or Shine On storybook Bibles for families so they can read Bible stories at home, especially when they need to be away on Sunday.
• Make a video of yourself reading the Bible story for the upcoming week or a story related to the theme and send it to the families in your congregation. Invite your pastor or another adult in the congregation to be the reader!
• Create a “Back to Sunday School” packet for children that includes Shine’s “Follow the Peace Path” Cards or a copy of The Peace Table Activity Booklet for children to use at home.
• Email or text photos of Sunday school activities to parents and caregivers and invite conversation about the Bible story theme. Include a link to a video or song suggested in Media Connections in the teacher’s guide.
• Set up a resource shelf in your library for families. Feature one or two books related to the Bible story theme in your church’s newsletter. Include a short summary of each book or a note telling why you like the book.
• Send birthday cards to the children in your class—no matter how often they attend. Or send a note to each child before you begin a new quarter. Children love receiving cards in the mail!

One of the best ways to connect with families is to provide opportunities for building relationships. A fun way to get to know parents and caregivers is to have children help plan a time during the Sunday school or faith formation hour when parents, grandparents, or other adults are invited to eat breakfast or have a snack with the children, followed by a Bible story and an activity for all ages. When the weather is favorable, invite all families with children for lunch on the church grounds or to a nearby park. Or you could organize a simple service project, like assembling relief kits, putting together food boxes, or weeding on the church grounds. Encourage people of all ages to work together!

Finally, we can model the value that Jesus placed on children by including them in worship and in other areas of church life. Find out which children enjoy reading scripture aloud and let your worship team know. Connect with your pastor or worship team and suggest some prayers and songs that are familiar to children to include in worship services. You may even want to challenge the congregation to memorize Bible verses alongside the children and feature those verses during worship.

As you seek to connect with families in your congregation, know that your presence and your willingness to share the love of God will build lasting connections and will support children and their families as they grow in faith.

Joyce Peachey Lind, Shine Curriculum Editor

Illustrations by Shelley Dieterichs

Hello, Shine friends! We are excited to invite you to visit our brand new, beautiful website, ShineEverywhere.com! We love the delightful illustrations by Elisa Chavarri and are eager to share them with you.

See what we are doing and share that with others

Click to see for yourself what Shine Everywhere is doing! You can also use the website to share about Shine Everywhere with other faith formation leaders and parents.

Start on the home page where we say, “Shine Everywhere is a community of churches and families who discover and practice the everywhere habits that grow faith in children.” Then, download “An Introduction to Shine Everywhere” on the About page. This is a PDF of a slide show summarizing what Shine Everywhere is about, resources you can use, and how to join.

Find ways to join

Under the Join tab, you’ll find ways to participate in Shine Everywhere. Sign up to receive news and updates or to join our Shine Everywhere Facebook group. Consider doing a “Leaders Listening” Project with the parents of your congregation. I will help you clarify what you want to learn from them, how to go about it, and ways to use what you learn. This is a great way to benefit from Shine Everywhere and contribute to our learning at the same time!

Learn at-home practices and resources

Browse the Six Practices that Grow Faith at Home and the “Follow the Peace Path” card deck in the Practices tab. We have a handy resource for you in the downloadable “Six Practices” Bookmark! You’ll find our “Shine at Home” weekly faith practices, which are also featured on the Home page.

Coming this fall

Watch for an opportunity to partner with Shine Everywhere and be invited to collaborations, test new resources, and receive the help and guidance of Shine staff. Details will be added to the website next month. In the meantime, visit our “shiny new” website and get to know Shine Everywhere!