Fostering Children’s Faith: A Privilege and a Responsibility

Fostering Children’s Faith

A Privilege and a Responsibility

Jeanne Hall

Fostering Children’s Faith

A Privilege and a Responsibility

Copyright © 2012 Jeanne Hall. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

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ISBN 13: 978-1-61097-949-8

EISBN 13: 978-1-63087-914-3

Manufactured in the U.S.A.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New Revised Standard Version®, NRSV®. New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Dedicated to my husband Gerry and my sons Jacob and Eli

Preface

I was officially rehired to the position of pastoral assistant for faith formation at St. Catherine of Siena parish in Seattle in September 2011. The rehiring followed a three-year absence during which I had the privilege and challenge of completing my Masters of Arts Degree in Transforming Spirituality at Seattle University and a Certificate in Early Childhood Education through Portland State University. Three months earlier I had unofficially attended a staff meeting where Victoria Ries (St. Catherine’s pastoral coordinator) brought up the idea of eventually creating a written resource—perhaps several handouts or a short booklet—designed to help support parents in rooting their children in the Catholic faith. Because I was not working or attending school in the summer of 2011, I had time to mull over her suggestion. I found myself strongly drawn to the idea of creating a resource to help parents foster their children’s faith. What was initially a potential work assignment swiftly transformed into a very personal endeavor, and one I pursued entirely on my own time.

I entered into the process of creating this book by carefully reflecting on and praying about my experience of fostering children’s faith—as a mother, a teacher, and a godmother. I took time to read books and articles on children’s faith formation and child development. I read many, many children’s picture books related to faith. As I read, prayed, and reflected, the two questions that persistently surfaced in me were quite simple and straightforward: What information would have supported me in my efforts to foster my sons’ faith? What format and content would be most useful and accessible for parents? Gradually I came to the conclusion that I needed to create a resource on children’s faith formation that was well organized, had breadth and depth, and yet was short enough to appeal to busy and sometimes overwhelmed parents. The end product of my prayer, reflection, research, and writing is the book you hold in your hands.

Writing this book has been a deeply satisfying and enriching experience. It has afforded me the opportunity to carefully consider and write about my understanding of faith, spirituality, and the Catholic tradition. It has helped me to integrate and synthesize my experience as a parent, a preschool teacher, and a children’s minister with my educational background in human development, early childhood education, theology, and spirituality. As noted earlier, writing this book led me to read many wonderful books and articles on children’s faith formation. I found Tom McGrath’s book Raising Faith-Filled Kids particularly helpful because it clearly articulated an understanding of faith that I hold close in my heart. He eloquently writes that Faith is a relationship of love with our God played out across the days of our lives.¹ This insight that faith is first and foremost about relationship with God, rather than belief about God, permeates and guides all that is written in this book. I discuss this definition of faith in greater detail in the introduction.

While this book does focus on children’s faith formation in the context of the Catholic tradition, I believe much of the content will have appeal and relevance for a wider Christian audience. Regardless of denominational affiliation, I hope I this book will be helpful to all who seek to foster their children’s relationship with our infinitely welcoming and loving God.

Introduction

Fostering faith in children is a shared privilege and responsibility of parents, godparents, and the church community. Parents, godparents, and the Christian community promise our children at baptism that we will support them in their faith formation. We need to take this promise seriously.

Perhaps it is best to begin by clarifying what I mean when I use the terms religion, spirituality, and faith. They are words that are intimately related to one another and are sometimes used interchangeably. There are many definitions of these words. The definitions I provide reflect the