Category: Families Growing Together
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Families Growing Together: Our Whole Lives (OWL) Program
by Margaret Evans, Director of Lifespan Learning This past summer, several people from our congregation were trained as Our Whole Lives (OWL) facilitators, a program that teaches children and youth about healthy bodies, relationships and sexuality. This program is a holistic approach to understanding our bodies and our relationships in a healthy environment. This is…
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Families Growing Together: What We Offer To The World Matters
by Margaret Evans, Director of Lifespan Learning Church is no longer common. It is not what people do anymore. More often, people are confused by those who are still committed to their religious beliefs. What would it take for us to be bold this year? I’m asking myself this question as part of our Lifespan…
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Families Growing Together: Written Words
by Margaret Evans, Director of Lifespan Learning This year, I had a unique experience of letting go of some major life events. It was a long process that involved many turns and steps backward, but eventually I made it to where I am today. One of the most influential things I did to help myself…
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Families Growing Together: Practice and Important Life Skills
by Margaret Evans, Director of Lifespan Learning Practice makes perfect, or so they say. But what happens if you practice the same thing every day and you don’t get any better? I am sure there are parents who feel as though their daily routines are a grind and nothing seems to be improving. It is…
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Families Growing Together: Can We find a Moment to Pause Daily?
by Margaret Evans, Director of Lifespan Learning Involvement with youth and children on a deep level, whether parenting, fostering, or mentoring, has both its joys and also its frustrations. If I have spent time planning a spiritual learning opportunity for the children and it is not being received the way I had hoped, I feel…
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Families Growing Together: Welcome – Two New Advisors
by Margaret Evans, Director of Lifespan Learning March means March Break. This can be a stressful time for families who have to find childcare and appropriate activities. Attending service with your children will engage them in deep spiritual encounters and offer you an hour for the same. Please join us over the March Break when…
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Families Growing Together: Teaching A Child To Love
by Margaret Evans, Director of Lifespan Learning Teaching young people to love is easy to achieve. It is easy for a child to love their mother or father, if they are given love. It is easy for a child to love a sibling, at least at first. How do you teach a child to love…
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Families Growing Together: Resilience Can Be Taught
by Margaret Evans, Director of Lifespan Learning Resilience is a hard concept to teach to young people; truthfully, it is an illusive concept for many adults, too. I’ve read recently in Jonathan Haidt’s book The Happiness Hypothesis that some people are born more resilient than others. He calls this the “genetic lottery”; you win if…
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Families Growing Together: An Opportunity For Growth
by Margaret Evans, Director of Lifespan Learning Peace is a concept that is often misunderstood. We confuse peace with being free of conflict and calmness. December can be a time of sheer joy but it can also prime us for anger, frustration and hurt. For some, the holiday season is a reminder of how much…
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Families Growing Together: Common Good
by Margaret Evans, Director of Lifespan Learning Let’s Start A Conversation! “Parent shaming” usually occurs on social media where it is easier to criticize someone, behind the protective barrier of a computer or phone screen, than it is do in person. But it hurts no less. There is an old African proverb that “it takes…