Fostering Children's Faith: A Privilege and a Responsibility

Description: Fostering faith in children is a shared privilege and responsibility of parents godparents and the church community. We promise our children at baptism that we will support them in their faith formation--in the formation of their relationship with God. We need to take this promise seriously. This book is intended to be an accessible and helpful resource for parents and other adults who seek to foster childrens faith. This book succinctly explores many ways we can support childrens faith formation including our day-to-day interactions with children the images of God we share with them how we pray together the rituals we create service opportunities we provide music we share together the stories we tell and listen to our celebration of the sacraments and more. While this book has a distinctly Roman Catholic orientation much of the content will be relevant for a wider Christian audience. Lastly but perhaps most importantly this book is rooted in the conviction that the God we seek relationship with and that we hope to foster our childrens relationship with is one who is infinitely loving welcoming and always yearning for deeper connection with us. Endorsements: Jeanne Hall offers her readers a feast of possible ways to nurture and nourish their childrens faith experience through concrete and multidimensional practices rooted in Catholic tradition as well as provocative questions. I highly recommend this book for anyone who takes the spiritual lives of children seriously. -Christine Valters Paintner author of The Artists Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Spirit with Monastic Wisdom Jeanne Hall couples her enthusiasm for childhood education with her passion for spirituality in creating a handbook for parents desirous of enhancing their childrens faith-life. Jeanne Hall offers guiding principles gleaned from childhood developmental theories. She suggests age-appropriate activities for families to do throughout the liturgical year. She compiles in one place devotional practices that have shaped Christian spirituality for centuries. Jeanne Hall has created a handy resource guide that should be offered to every family in parishes today. -Valerie Lesniak Seattle University School of Theology and Ministry Jeanne Hall has written a wonderful resource for parents seeking to form their children in faith. The text is inviting and reflective and abounds in thoughtful and faith-filled suggestions for ways to pass on faith to children. The book is more than a guide for parents; it also invites parents themselves to grow in their own faith so that they can pass on what they themselves are living. I welcome this new resource for parents and am already planning to make it available to our community. -Victoria Ries St. Catherine of Siena Parish Seattle Washington About the Contributor(s): Jeanne Hall is Pastoral Assistant for Faith Formation at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Seattle. She received her Masters of Arts in Transforming Spirituality from the School of Theology and Ministry at Seattle University.