April, 2018
Afternoon Tea for Moms
Over the past few years I have enjoyed getting to know other moms at my kids' school and learning about their families' cultural and religious backgrounds. Back in April two other moms and I hosted a tea party to have a chance to make more introductions among school moms in this way.
For some of us, faith is quite important. Still, sometimes our faith gets buried under our daily routines. Sometimes we can feel like we're the only ones with faith. Sometimes we are curious about people of other faiths in the community. This party was a safe place for those interested to make introductions...and then ask, learn, and discuss the diverse faiths, backgrounds and beliefs we all bring with us. Moms gathered represented various faith backgrounds, including Catholic, Baptist, Evangelical, Unitarian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Baha'i faiths, that were seasoned by various ethnic backgrounds.
To those moms present, thank you so much for being willing to share your stories and faith traditions. It was wonderful to stand in a room with other moms who are interested in the religious education or spiritual growth (or both) of their kids.
It is my wish that by connecting and sharing in this way that we can then pass along our learning and curiosity to our kids who are so blessed to have such religious diversity in their neighborhoods.
For some of us, faith is quite important. Still, sometimes our faith gets buried under our daily routines. Sometimes we can feel like we're the only ones with faith. Sometimes we are curious about people of other faiths in the community. This party was a safe place for those interested to make introductions...and then ask, learn, and discuss the diverse faiths, backgrounds and beliefs we all bring with us. Moms gathered represented various faith backgrounds, including Catholic, Baptist, Evangelical, Unitarian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Baha'i faiths, that were seasoned by various ethnic backgrounds.
To those moms present, thank you so much for being willing to share your stories and faith traditions. It was wonderful to stand in a room with other moms who are interested in the religious education or spiritual growth (or both) of their kids.
It is my wish that by connecting and sharing in this way that we can then pass along our learning and curiosity to our kids who are so blessed to have such religious diversity in their neighborhoods.
October, 2017
Faith Ed
by Linda K. Wertheimer
When a friend of mine invited me to a Linda Wertheimer's lecture on this topic at Harvard I was immediately interested. While I was unable to attend the lecture I quickly found her book at the library and devoured it. I was tense the entire time. I have read about some awful history lately (Underground Railroad, Lincoln in the Bardo, Waking up White, You Don't Have to Say You Love Me, and books that have hit close to home (like the one about the JK year, The Most Important Year)....
But there's nothing that hits me harder and makes me feel more deeply than reading about religion. It was a tough read. I was on the edge of my seat as she painted a negative picture of Evangelical Christians in America. In the second to last paragraph of the book she acknowledged her own biases and difficulties with this branch of Christianity, and I am grateful for her honesty.
I appreciate very much her expose on how studying religion might help kids at any grade level -- with different structures and motivations for teaching at each level of the 1st, 6th and 9th grades.
I think I would have appreciated it even more if I were reading the book by a woman of faith. For sure, we can look at religion from a basic education perspective as would be appropriate in the schools. But I would be more passionate about it from a faith perspective.
I would love to discuss more though, perhaps share discussions on faith as well as the intersection of religion and education.
In junior high I tried to convert my closest friends. I lost my friends. I lost respect from their parents. No one tried to educate me through that. I still feel hurt over what happened. I have felt trapped under a rock or in a bubble my whole life regarding various issues. It's hard to read something like this and feel like I've been part of a long-standing deep problem in American society. I realized back in junior high I had a lot of work to do within myself and with regard to learning about and respecting those from other religions.
Faith is still important. And I embrace the opportunities we have now to open discussion and learn from those around us.
But there's nothing that hits me harder and makes me feel more deeply than reading about religion. It was a tough read. I was on the edge of my seat as she painted a negative picture of Evangelical Christians in America. In the second to last paragraph of the book she acknowledged her own biases and difficulties with this branch of Christianity, and I am grateful for her honesty.
I appreciate very much her expose on how studying religion might help kids at any grade level -- with different structures and motivations for teaching at each level of the 1st, 6th and 9th grades.
I think I would have appreciated it even more if I were reading the book by a woman of faith. For sure, we can look at religion from a basic education perspective as would be appropriate in the schools. But I would be more passionate about it from a faith perspective.
I would love to discuss more though, perhaps share discussions on faith as well as the intersection of religion and education.
In junior high I tried to convert my closest friends. I lost my friends. I lost respect from their parents. No one tried to educate me through that. I still feel hurt over what happened. I have felt trapped under a rock or in a bubble my whole life regarding various issues. It's hard to read something like this and feel like I've been part of a long-standing deep problem in American society. I realized back in junior high I had a lot of work to do within myself and with regard to learning about and respecting those from other religions.
Faith is still important. And I embrace the opportunities we have now to open discussion and learn from those around us.