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your godchild probably will too. • Take or accompany your godchild to church and Sunday school. If possible, encourage your godchild to go to worship services and Sunday school. One of the best ways of doing that is by going with them, not just drop- ping them off. Afterward, treat everyone to doughnuts, ice cream or lunch. Over food, engage your godchild in a conversation about what he or she experienced. • Make it possible for your godchild to go to vacation Bible school and/or church camp. Bible school (and better, Sunday school) gives children a memory of church as a fun place where they can’t wait to be. I remember being bored, bored, bored by church services when I was a child—bored by the very services that give me comfort and strength now. It was the memories of extracurricular


A place to start N


eed some encouragement? Here are some prompts to create spiri- tual interactions with your godchild. I tend to think in terms of writing, but you can adapt these to create draw- ings, collages, photographs or even recordings/podcasts of your voice responding to a prompt. You’re only limited by your imagination and your art supplies or access to technology. What are your favorite Bible


verses? Why? Ask your godchild to share favorite Bible stories too. Tell your godchild about a time


you’ve seen God at work in your life. If you know the family of your godchild, you might tell stories about when the child’s relatives have known that God is at work in their lives. Talk about something in nature


that reminds you of the wonder of God’s creation. Send a photo, if possible. Ask your godchild to do the same (maybe give your godchild a camera). Create prayers for your god- child. Illustrate them.


activities, like vacation Bible school and youth group, that eventually led me to yearn for a church community as a grown-up.


The best church camp experiences can be like Bible school on steroids: a gathering of like-minded followers, led by caring adult counselors, sharing a powerful experi- ence of God’s presence in human lives. Of course it’s important to mix these conversations and


activities with all the other aspects of our godchildren’s lives. We don’t want to be the crazy adults whom they avoid because our sole focus is on “boring churchy stuff,” as I termed it when young. So some days I’ll have lightsaber fights with my


nephew. Other days I’ll ask him how he thinks the Force is like God. And I expect he’ll teach me as much as I hope to teach him. 


Do works of art (music, sculp-


ture, poetry) move you closer to God? Tell your godchild. As you sing your favorite hymns


throughout the year, write to your godchild about them. Share the memories the hymn inspires. Or write/communicate about another part of the church service that is meaningful to you. If you hear a good sermon, write


to your godchild and talk about it. If you’re blessed to be part of a church that gives a good children’s sermon, tell your godchild about it. If you’re part of a liturgical


church, send your godchild a card as the liturgical seasons change. Create a meditation on the colors of the season or write about your church season memories. As you attend other spiritual


events, use them as a springboard for spiritual discussions. Weddings, confirmations, first communions, other baptisms and funerals can be a way to share memories and more with your godchild.


You might also communicate


your periods of doubt and despair, especially if you’ve moved through them. It helps all of us remember that living a faith-based life doesn’t mean we’ll be excused from the hard part of being a human. In fact, it might open us to more pain as we try to be com- passionate to God’s creation. Tell your godchild about things


for which you’re grateful. Think of ways to cultivate a spirit of gratitude in your godchild. Begin by asking your godchild what she or he is thank- ful for. As you work on social justice


projects, tell your godchild about them and why they’re important. Take your godchild with you to social justice projects: bagging food at a pan- try, serving food to the homeless, col- lecting clothes for the less fortunate, sending books to colleges in Africa, prayer services for oppressed groups, rallies to demand fair housing, and similar experiences. 


Kristin Berkey-Abbott Download a study guide for this article (free to print/Web subscribers) at www.thelutheran.org (click on “study guides”). October 2011 15


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