Did you know?
That your feelings about the empty family pew are a call to prayer?
That there are many lasting ways to share your faith with loved ones?
That recording your spiritual journey will help you rediscover God?
Got Jesus? Got Faith? Share Faith! Evangelize!
Picture your loved ones in the pew beside you and in God's arms.
**17 Ways to Share Faith Across
the Genereations
3. Review a spiritual diary or start one. Reviewing your relationship with God can be very inspiring. Chose a few entries to share in a Christmas or birthday letter, or on the anniversary of a loved one's death.
4. All generations share an avid interest in stories and story telling, evern though the preferred format for the story differs. Ask a grandchild, niece or nephew to help you record the stories behind your oldest photos on video or a collage with a Scripture passage.
5. Use a voice recorder (or mp3 player) to interview older family members. Be sure to ask silly, serious and spiritual questions. Transcribe what they share or use the audio files during a family reunion. For tips read the section "The Interview Route" half way down in this article at techsoup.
6. Record what you admire about your parents, grandparents, great grandparents. Don't let their stories deisappear. Share why each one inspires you. Gather mini-bios of several of them into a booklet.
7. Write an ethical will, based on a favorite Scripture passage. Describe your faith, your values, and your spiritual desires for your family. Make arrangements for sharing this will after your passing.
8. Design a booklet about your family's involvement in your particular neighborhood parish, including as many generations as possible. What was it like to worship there? What meaningful memories do you have of Masses, Christmas and Easter celebrations, or parish gatherings and friendships?
9. LABEL old family photos with a friend or family member. Keep a diary of what it has been like for you to look at the photos. Scan the most important ones and put them on a CD as holiday gifts.
10. Try a "Dads Used to Be Kids" book or a "Moms Used to Be Girls" book for a grandchild, featuring childhood photos of your grown child. Include what you liked about this child. Share an experience of God's love for him or her. Another possibility is a "shutterfly photobook party."
11. Share Your 'Love Story'' with your family. Share your unique way of answering God's call to sacramental marriage. Share how your marriage reflects God's presence with you, through good times and bad. Create a family marriage book that also includes your parents and grandparents, so children who haven't even been born yet can learn about family love stories.
12. Gather a group of friends for a workshop on creating a family spiritual history. Invite a personal historian (like Therese) to help you get started and to create a plan of action with "leisurely" deadlines.
13. Compile a family cookbook with traditional recipes & a few "spiritual" recipes, like one for forgiveness.
16. Create a timeline that includes important moments in your life, your parents and grandparents' lives. Share about family responses to important events like World War II. Be sure to include the ways that these events changed your family's outlook and their understanding of the meaning of life.
17. Gather your family to sing religious Christmas Carols, or incorporate carols into an existing holiday event. Invite people to share what they thought of 'Baby Jesus', as well as Santa when they were young. End with a few thank you prayers for gifts, decorations, Masses, traditions, meals, etc
To learn more about how to put these into practice, schedule a workshop for your group.
INDIVIDUAL help is also available for spiritual histories
