The FGC Spiritual Deepening program offers resources and tools to help Quaker meetings and individuals grow and deepen. Each section of the online Spiritual Deepening Library includes resources for working with children including books, exercises and multigenerational activities. Join this conversation to learn what the program offers to nurture children in the Spirit and to share insights about the spiritual nurture of children and youth.
Registration is required:
Tuesday, 12/10, 1:00 pm ET: Register HERE
Thursday, 12/12, 8:00 pm ET: Register HERE
Facilitator: Sita Diehl serves on the QREC Steering Circle and is one of two RE Coordinators for Madison Friends Meeting in Wisconsin (NYM). As a long-time First Day School teacher and mentor, she loves to nurture places for children and youth to grow in the Spirit.
Conversation Starter: Rachel Ernst Stahlhut manages FGC’s Spiritual Deepening Program, including the online library of resources and activities for meetings and the online learning eRetreats. Rachel carries a ministry for outreach, welcoming, and revitalizing our Quaker meetings and individual spiritual practices. She is a member of Community Friends Meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she worships with a squirmy 4.5-year-old on her lap most Sundays.
Queries
- What does the FGC Spiritual Deepening program offer Friends, to nurture children’s spirituality in meetings/churches and the home?
- How can we respond to that of God in a child and nurture their awareness and expression of their spirituality?
- What can religious education programs offer to support parents to nurture their children’s spirituality and in the family as a whole?
- What practices in Quaker RE might get in the way of children expressing their spirituality?
Resources:
Spiritual Deepening Library: https://www.fgcquaker.org/spiritual-deepening/library
- In For Facilitators click tab, Working with Children: https://www.fgcquaker.org/spiritual-deepening/library/facilitators
- Using picture books
- Using wondering questions
- Planning intergenerational activities
- Other resources for children’s spiritual deepening
Faith & PlayTM Stories, by the Faith & Play Working Group: https://www.fgcquaker.org/faith-and-play
Finding the Light In You: Bright Silent Worship with Young Friends, by Marjorie Isaacs https://quakerbooks.org/products/finding-the-light-in-you
Lighting Candles in the Dark, Marnie Clark, Elinor Briggs, Carol Passmore, editors. FGC, (2001) https://quakerbooks.org/products/lighting-candles-in-the-dark-2254
Lives That Speak: Stories of Twentieth-Century Quakers, edited by Marnie Clark, FGC (2004), Stories appropriate for Middle, High School, and Adults. https://quakerbooks.org/collections/ebook-1/products/lives-that-speak-ebook
Opening Doors to Quaker Religious Education, Mary Snyder. https://quakerbooks.org/products/opening-doors-to-quaker-religious-education-3980
Quaker Meeting & Me, by Rebecca Price http://quakers4re.org/find-resources/quaker-meeting-and-me?return_path=/find-resources%3Fkeys%3DQuaker%2BMeeting%2B%26%2BMe
Sparkling Still, by the Sparklers Working Group https://www.fgcquaker.org/deepen/religious-education/sparkling-still/sparkling-still
The Quiet Book, by Deborah Underwood http://www.deborahunderwoodbooks.com/Deborah-Underwood-The-Quiet-Book.html
We’re Going to Meeting for Worship, by Stacey Currie https://quakerbooks.org/products/were-going-to-meeting-for-worship-3976
Worship in Song: The Friends Hymnal https://quakerbooks.org/products/worship-in-song-2675