I am afraid that too many churches will not live thorugh this pandemic. I am still struggling with the question: How will I raise Liberal Christian Children without a church? I suppose I won’t be raising my kids in church. When schools closed, I picked up where the teachers had left off. Reluctantly, I’m picking up where the church left off too.
Values were the easy part. We cover the Fruits of the Spirit every day from modeling patience, to encouraging kindness during dinner squables, to self control with those holiday goodies. We love others, masked and unmasked, regardless of race, gender identity or technological capablility. I am very blessed to have a spouse who shares my vision. My heart goes out to those of you struggling when your child’s other parent does not support your ideals.
Prayer, study and worship: those are tricky ones for me. But I can see that if I don’t teach my children to pray, to study the Bible, and to worship, no one will. We pray at dinner and bed. Now that I have run out of other resources, I pray that I can teach my children to study and worship.
Christians often ask “Why does God allow so much evil in the world?” and “Why do good people suffer?” There are some pretty good resources out there that attempt to answer these questions and defend God’s creation. I like the book “Letters From A Skeptic” by Gregory and Edward Boyd for tackling these heavy issues. But as a parent I have to break it down for my children.
I really want my kids to grow up in a church where they feel loved and accepted. It seems like this ought to be simple, but it absolutely is not.