Children are amazing! It鈥檚 easy to see them expressing imagination, curiosity, innocence, spontaneity, thoughtfulness, honesty, and unconditional love. But it鈥檚 not so easy to understand how these spiritual qualities can be defended and nurtured in children 鈥� as well as in ourselves 鈥� on a daily basis. Yet this is precisely what 聽four members of 聽different faith communities will be discussing on Friday, Feb 28, at 7 pm at First Church of Christ, Scientist, on Pandora at Chambers.
Exploring this topic will be panellists, Dr. Suresh Basrur from Victoria鈥檚 Hindu Temple, Rev. Shana Lynngood from First Unitarian Church of Victoria, Rev. Alastair McCollum from St. John the Divine Church (Anglican), and Julie Ward, a practitioner and teacher of Christian Science healing from Atlanta, Georgia 鈥� all of whom have loads of experience in working with children. They will be asked to share ideas from their own experiences in encouraging children to express their natural spirituality. 聽How can we cherish our children, provide them with a moral framework, encourage their natural curiosity, and support their desire to feel God鈥檚 love?聽
We live in a society that presents increasing challenges for parents wishing to provide moral and spiritual guidance for their children, and for children trying to navigate through an increasingly fast- moving and complicated society. Some children are growing up too fast, others are not maturing as they enter adulthood. How can we, by nurturing spirituality in our children, enable them to mature emotionally, morally and spiritually? Does spiritual and moral training instill good leadership qualities and nurturing abilities in future generations? What kind of support do parents need to embark in this important work?
These are some of the questions we can explore with our panellists, and with each other. We would love you to come and join this important conversation
Ginny Chadwick lives in Victoria and is a member of First Church of Christ ,Scientist, Victoria.聽
You can view more articles from our interfaith blog, Spiritually Speaking
