The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped our world in profound ways, and perhaps no group has felt its effects more formatively than our youngest kiddos. Unlike previous generations, COVID babies and toddlers spent much of their early years in a world marked by social distancing, mask-wearing, and isolation. Their experiences were shaped by the realities of a global health crisis, which may have influenced their social, emotional, and cognitive development. Parents experienced the grief of missing moments of celebration and family gatherings. They experienced worry, distraction, and anxiety.  ​

Approximately 90% of a child's brain development occurs before they start kindergarten. This period is formational for cognitive abilities, emotional regulation, and social skills. However, the pandemic disrupted early childhood education and developmental support. Pre-kindergarten programs were suspended or transitioned to virtual formats. Social restrictions limited the opportunities for young children to interact with peers and adults outside their immediate families. Social distancing and mask-wearing reduced their exposure to facial expressions, body language, and other non-verbal cues essential for understanding social interactions.

Spiritual development is heavily intertwined with emotional and social growth and has been greatly affected by the pandemic. For many families, spiritual practices and community involvement are integral parts of life, providing a sense of belonging and purpose.  Spiritual development for children often involves learning about compassion, empathy, and connection to a larger community The isolation and disruption caused by the pandemic diminished opportunities for children to engage in communal spiritual activities, attend religious services of all kinds, or participate in family traditions that foster spiritual growth. 

As we move forward into the new school year and the new church year, it is so important to focus on the formational gaps created by the pandemic. This includes creating opportunities for children to engage in social, emotional, and spiritual activities in the community.  Our churches can be places that are centers of hopeful change, that invite community engagement, and a place for spiritual and social transformation. How can we come together as a whole community to enliven and inspire our support of children and parents who need a reintroduction to communal faith formation and individual spiritual growth?  Faith formation process, practices, justice-centered projects, and conversations that we can do together.   True inclusiveness will require us to not only include children and their parents in our community but to also be aware of how much they have lost and what needs they have.  

I love the Pentecost story.  A story with mystery, symbols, images, colors, and energy.  But what words come to mind when considering the day of Pentecost?  Fire, red, spirit, and language are some I have heard expressed. 

For me, I think of nine words that encapsulate the Pentecost story for me...
   Passion, Power, Peace. 
   Invite, Encourage, Empower. 
   Spark, Share, Send. 
Say them again...
   Passion, Power, Peace.
   Invite, Encourage, Empower. 
  Spark, Share, Send! 
 
Let's set the scene:  Imagine the loyal and beloved friends of Jesus, (the disciples) together in the room above the safe house, coming together during the celebration of the Jewish Feast of Shavuot.  (Shavuot meaning 'weeks' and the celebration happens 7 weeks after Passover.)  The disciples were most likely still afraid of the fall out and persecution of even knowing Jesus, and perhaps still managing their grief.  And yet, here they were together, having an inspired revelation of understanding that can only be explained with images and words such has fire, wind and flame  The story feels empowering!  Others in the story say they are probably just drunk!  Drunk on cheap wine...and what if they were?  I've been to a gathering like that...Friends celebrating and reminiscing.  Idealistic young adults, gathered together sharing, hoping, dreaming, and planning of drawing people together in community that is characterized by joy, energy, and common purpose.  

So often, in the days of Sunday school past, we teach and are taught that Pentecost is the 'birthday' of the church.  This is off the mark for the era of Jesus' followers in this story.  This story isn't about the founding of the early church. Jesus never intended to begin a new religion or church.   This was about a passionate gathered community beginning a spiritual and social justice movement. 

The early Jesus followers had…
Passion: Passion for a cause. A shared vision of the Ways of Jesus in the world. 
Power:  Power shared among them.  All were meant to teach and serve.
Peace:  Peace and love was their practice.  
 
Youth and Young Adults often share that when talking with peers about the church they attend or the faith community they belong to, that they avoid the word church all together.  Say the word church, and the conversation is already over before it could start. So, what inspires young people to be part of a gathered community or a movement?  I share with youth to look for the 3 people who call us into community:  The person that: 
Invites: Someone who is witness to your passion. Sees your gifts the whole community would be lesser without
Encourages:  The person who fans your flames to grow in your gifts abundantly. 
Empowers: Someone who includes and enables your gifts in gathered community for ministry and serving others. 
 
What makes up a gathered people into a passion filled community that shares a common purpose
 to begin a movement of love and justice in the world?
Spark: A passion for wanting to be community with a common vision.  Do we have spark? 
Share: Sharing our gifts within our community for the benefit of all people gathered together. 
Send:  Serving with these gifts outside of the gathered community and into the world. 
 
I understand Pentecost as the beginning of a movement, started by young followers of Jesus.  I feel the Spirit catching us off guard, commanding our attention, encouraging us to stand together against forces of fear and division.  I want Pentecost to be a sign of hope and persistence and empowerment. 
Passion, Power, Peace.  Invite, Encourage, Empower.  Spark, Share, Send.

Acts 2:1-8,12-17
When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them. There were many Jews staying in Jerusalem just then, devout pilgrims from all over the world. When they heard the sound, they came on the run. Then when they heard, one after another, their own mother tongues being spoken, they were blown away. They couldn’t for the life of them figure out what was going on, and kept saying, “Aren’t these all Galileans? How come we’re hearing them talk in our various mother tongues?
Their heads were spinning; they couldn’t make head or tail of any of it. They talked back and forth, confused: “What’s going on here?”  Others joked, “They’re drunk on cheap wine.”
That’s when Peter stood up and, backed by the other eleven, spoke out with bold urgency: “Fellow Jews, all of you who are visiting Jerusalem, listen carefully and get this story straight. These people aren’t drunk as some of you suspect. They haven’t had time to get drunk—it’s only nine o’clock in the morning. This is what the prophet Joel announced would happen:
“In the Last Days,” God says, “I will pour out my Spirit on every kind of people: Your sons will prophesy, also your daughters; Your young men will see visions, your old men dream dreams.

This last Sunday, our Palm Sunday worship service included some Postmodern narratives of the Palm Sunday story. With the help of our youth to determine what events reflect a similar narrative to the biblical Palm Sunday story, I wrote the following readings as calls to action from modern day protests/parades. Our readers included youth and adults with personal connections to the modern day narratives.  As we enter into Holy Week, let us consider which parade will we join, our needs we cry out,  and who we will choose to follow?   Let us pray that hope, love and peace change our cry's of Hosanna to shout's of Hallelujah.

​Jesus’s parade into Jerusalem was planned in advance, a pre-arranged counter-protest. There were actually two processions that day. Two opposite pageantries of two different Kingdoms: Pilate’s Empire, and Jesus’ radical reimagining of the Kingdom, where “swords become plowshares, the wolf lies down with the lamb”, where “every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain”.   Jesus led the way that day. On the back of a donkey not a chariot.  Amid our shouts of ‘Hosanna’, we waved palm branches and it felt like a party. It was, however, much more importantly a protest. A joyful protest of radical equality through radical love.  Jesus dared to imagine a future that is not yet here. When we party, we love the moment.  But it is in joyful protest that we rise above the moment and say ‘it can even be better than this’.  Maybe it was our joy that scared Pontius Pilate that day.  #PalmSunday. 

Her name was Marsha P. Johnson. A Transgender-Fem activist.  An unlikely leader in our society’s eyes.  She stood up against oppression, discrimination, and police brutality.  She stood for radical inclusion.  Long ago everyone cheered when Jesus called for justice and freedom. An unlikely leader in society’s eyes back then. The crowds followed him into the city, shouting and waving palm leaves. Their chants were not so different from ours that first year: “Yes, we can! Out of the closet and into the streets! We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it!” Jesus was like a superstar making a grand entrance. But he did it in his own modest, gentle style. He surprised people by riding on a donkey. Some of his supporters, those who had mainstream success, urged him to quiet the others — assimilate, don’t alienate. Tone it down. Act respectable, don’t demand respect. Stop flaunting it. His answer: I’m here to liberate people! If the crowds were silent, the stones would cry out!”  It was that kind of day, a Palm Sunday sort of day, when everyone shouted in the streets for equality and freedom. We wave rainbows now instead of palm branches.  #PrideParade

Women led the way that day. There were so many people in the streets of cities all around the world.  It was a protest, but it felt like a parade. We were unified. The energy of God’s love fueled Jesus and the protest movement he led into Jerusalem.  Jesus had been showing the people the way of love all along, not claiming privilege, but using his power for and with others.  He had shown them that only love has the power to make things safe, and only love can strengthen what is broken, and only love can heal what is fragmented.  They had experienced God’s presence living among them and standing with them.  They stood together that day in Jerusalem.  Men, women, and children.  Young, old, able bodied, and assisted.  Everyone was filled with love.  Everyone was so filled with the possibilities of love that they weren’t afraid of the empire powers rattling their armor at the other end of the city.  We too stood together that day in the crowded streets. We wore pink knit hats that day.  We held hands, we marched, and waved protest signs instead of palm branches, for the love of our whole body.   #WomensMarch

Every night at the same time the crowds would cheer.  Not with palm branches, but with pots and pans.   Neighbors leaning out windows, on balconies and porches, stepping daringly onto sidewalks, or even waving from rooftops. A shout of gratitude. A hopeful prayer expressed into the space between us.  Although the streets were empty, it still felt like a parade even in the midst of our isolation.   We united in gratitude for our essential workers. Our nurses, our doctors, our first responders.  We shouted our thanks to the least of them too.  The grocery clerks and stockers, the truck drivers, Uber drivers, and delivery workers who worked in spite of the danger.  We also protested that which might harm the common good. ‘Save us’ we cried!  Jesus demanded that tables be turned.  The tables of those whose profits come before the pain of others. The money changers who control accessible care for all.   Instead of palms, people banged pots and pans, clapped and yelled, waved and shouted, to make as much joyful noise for as long as they… were able.  We didn’t clap because we wanted to party. We clapped because we needed it, and because others needed it. We clapped because we need others.   #Commongood 

In procession, we walked out of school at 10:00 a.m. From every corner of our nation, we walked out of our classrooms, for at least 17 minutes. Some of the high school teachers witnessed the walk out and spoke about how it was a moving experience. A subversive but also sacred act. These walkouts were without a doubt the largest protest led by high school students in the history of our county. At the same time, government officials were planning a multimillion-dollar military parade. A symbolic show of force from the world’s most powerful nation.  Just like Palm Sunday. Two processions. Two parades. Two Powers: one proclaiming the might of the Empire, the other the Kin-dom of God.   Jesus was willing to walk out in the name of love.  Jesus walked into the crowd with peace as his power. He marched for the radically vulnerable.  We marched inspired by the vulnerable lives of our peers. We marched because we believe enough is enough. We marched because we choose love over might and peace over power.  We are all faced with the question –which parade will we join?  Which Kingdom will we serve?  Who will we follow?   #MarchforourLives

Beginning in February, a committed group of Youth from Richmond Beach UCC begin the hopeful journey of self-discovery about one’s own thoughts about God, Jesus, Church, Justice, and Spirituality.   For many, this process is known as Confirmation.  Richmond Beach Congregational Church UCC has seen and heard over 55 youth since 2008 come to affirm their own spiritual journey through this process known as ‘Confirmation’. 
 
‘Confirmation’ at RBCC is spiritual exploration through the lens of Christianity. Spiritual exploration fills the hollow place within us that can’t be met in the secular world.  An awareness of one’s spiritual core that gives each of us a sense of more and it is this ‘more’ that youth discover through this process.
 
RBCC has a wonderfully non-traditional format created over the years through a collaboration of ideas and methods.  Confirmation at RBCC is not pledging allegiance to Jesus.  It also is not a test or a proof of faith.  In fact, baptism, membership, pledging or even attending are not required outcomes of the process. Youth will wrestle with these activities of faith during their Confirmation journey and decide for themselves the impactful-ness of the church as part of the spiritual life.
 
Confirmation at RBCC is all about exploring one’s own thoughts and curiosity about Spirituality, Christianity, Justice, Jesus' ways, and the God of one’s personal understanding.  Confirmation helps youth find language to speak of their faith and of their truth.   During Confirmation youth will learn skills of discernment and become aware of spiritual practices that resonate within them.  They will journey along side a group of adult mentors learning biblical history for clarity and having progressive discussions to move new ideas forward.  Confirmation is an activity-based process with interactive learning, playful activity, youth driven discussion and intentional questioning.
 
Our spiritual journeys are lifelong. Faith, spirituality, and church expression are continuous in their evolution through one’s life.   It is an exciting and hopeful time in our faith community to witness and encourage the spiritual journeys of youth; youth who are committed and willing to engage in this formational aspect of life.

Maybe the youth will find a new word for this journey of spiritual exploration.                                      Does the title of  'Confirmation'  feel relevant in this present day?  Hmmmm.

We all have a story to our name, a family tree, a lineage.  This is our ancestry or genealogy.    
My married last name is Schulmerich. My last name prior to choosing to take on the last Schulmerich, was Colt.  I have never been that excited or interested in the family history of the name Colt.  Probably because my dad made it up as his chosen name.  So my family name Colt, begins and ends with my dad.
 
Growing up I didn’t have grandparents, uncles, aunts, or cousins.   My family was primarily myself and my mom…and my chosen family.   The people of my church home, Richmond Beach Congregational Church Untied Church of Christ, were my chosen family.  Basically, I am Staci, of RBCC.   I never been concerned with my formal ancestry because I very much lived and do live in the present with the people in my life who are my chosen family.   These present-day ancestors have given my something much more that chosen ancestry.  They have given and passed on a heritage to me.
 
Ancestry can simply be defined as the decent or the lineage of a person. All beings on this earth have their own ancestry. When we trace back the history, we can think of our ancestors who are great grandparents, and we are descendants of their ancestry. On the other hand, heritage is the inherited customs, traditions, beliefs, monuments, and artifacts from our ancestors. Heritage includes both physical objects and intangible things. The key difference between ancestry and heritage is that the ancestry is the lineage of the people while the heritage is the inheritance passed on from one’s ancestry. 
 
In my case, just like any other family, my chosen family of RBCC UCC ancestors have passed on many things to me…
I know where the good dishes are kept.
I know the best hiding places. (Which is why I can always find a youth who goes missing in the building because I probably hid there when I was a youth))
I know where the corner stone is and the time capsule that lies in it.
I can sing the ‘All Are Welcome Come In’ song. (The youth can too and have on mission trips!)
I can point to where my scrawled name is under the layers of paint of the old youth room.
I know why there are checkered aprons. (That the youth wear when making Easter Pancakes!)
I know there are church basketball trophies in the kitchen. (Although I don’t know why yet?)
I remember the day we officially became an Open and Affirming Congregation.
I light candles for prayer and at midnight on Christmas Eve where ever I am.
 
My chosen family taught me and raised me with traditions and ritual and stories and history and memory and faith.  I pass these things down to our youth and my family.  Then that evolves and changes and gets passed down to their chosen family. 
 
Our Advent theme of From Generation to Generation is all about Ancestry and Heritage:
Like a tapestry woven throughout time, the Christmas story weaves us in. We remember how God has shown up in our past and even now continues the work of collective liberation as We behold the presence of God in humanity today.
 
Jesus of Nazareth or more formally Yeshua ben Joseph of Nazareth (Yeshua translates to Joshua in English) or Jesus for short, certainly has an ancestry. You can read all of the generations of names if that is important to you.  This can be found in the first chapter of Matthew and begins with Abraham or in the Gospel of Luke which begins with Adam.  Yup…of course they differ, and they differ on purpose and the reason for that is explained by RBCC UCC Interim Pastor Jill Bierwirth in her sermon found here: https://youtu.be/Qf3Zj8iBv-I
 
The story I’m interested and gravitate to is Jesus’ chosen family and heritage. Jesus also had a chosen family of disciples, of marginalized, unclean, poor, lonely, forgotten, cast aside, and cast out people. Jesus chose humanity as his family.  Jesus had a Jewish heritage that came with its own memory, tradition, ritual, stories, and faith.  With his chosen family, much like others, this heritage was passed down to new generations and then that evolved and changed and was passed down to their chosen families.   Now, here we are in present day passing down this evolved heritage as chosen family.  
 
As we begin Advent, remember your chosen family.  Advent is a time when we prepare to share our heritage in story, the passing down of our faith’s Birthing Story.  In the sharing our heritage, we allow room for many more generations of faithful, loving, giving, justice seeking family and for the evolution of our faith and how it’s passed down. 

This last Sunday evening, the RBCC Youth made discoveries about ourselves and about each other.    Each of us is uniquely wired with temperament traits that are a natural part of us.  It's the 'why' behind our personality.  It's how we were created and what makes us each unique.  It's a little different from personality, because your personality is how you display your thoughts and feelings.  

Temperament is a person's nature. The temperament traits we are born with effect our reactions and behaviors, along with our background, experiences, and culture.  These traits are with us our entire lives.   Each persons unique temperament traits are not considered good or bad. The more we know about our temperament and what we can know and understand about someone else's temperament, can transform our relationships.  Understanding our temperament traits leads us to understanding others, responding with empathy and choosing compassionate actions.   

In Youth Group we worked at placing ourselves along a spectrum to discover the highs and lows of our unique temperaments.  We did this with tape on the floor and candy bowls of Right Twix and Left Twix to make the High and Low ends of the spectrum.  (why not also discover if you are a Right Twix or Left Twix lover at the same time just for fun!)

The Nine Temperament Traits we worked with are:  
Rhythmicity:        Our regularity or internal drive, how routine we might be.
Adaptability:        How one adjusts or adapts to new situations. 
Intensity:              How strongly one reacts to situations both positive and negative.
Persistence:         How long one is able and willing to stick to a task, even when it's challenging. 
First Reactions:   How cautious or adventurous one is.
Mood:                   The overall tone of a person’s feelings, interactions and behaviors. 
Distractibility:     How easily one is distracted by their environment.  
Sensitivity:           How one is stimulated and reacts to things affecting their senses.
Activity Level:      Our natural activity level, how our energy is used. 

I introduced each temperament trait, we discussed what each might mean, then youth chose either the High or Low end of the temperament spectrum for themselves.  (also getting to collect a right or left Twix)  We used real life examples from home, school, friends, and parent relationships. For example: 
Distractibility, which simply refers to how easily someone is distracted by their environment.  People who get distracted easily my have their attention pulled from the task at hand by ambient noise or other people or interests in the background.  
Youth on the high end of the spectrum of distractibility quickly shift their attention from one thing to another.  They may be very attuned to details but also have a hard time focusing on a singular thing for long periods.  Youth may have multiple tabs open on their computer at once while studying, jumping from topic to topic and new idea to new idea. 
Youth on the low end of the spectrum of distractibility find it easy to get really focused on a task.  They get absorbed in a book or activity even though there is a noisy gathering of people in the same room.  Youth may study with music or the T.V. on without issue. 

Here are the results of our youth group:  
                                                                           DISTRACTABILITY

      High  __X_XX___X_X_________________________________________X_X_________________X__ Low

We had some great moments of self-awareness and some good laughs.  We gained new understanding of each other, both youth and adult leaders.   

We ended our evening playing cards and eating a lot of mini Twix bars both left and right.  
We also tackled this question...where on the spectrum of temperament does Richmond Beach Congregational Church land between pastoral and prophetic?  Wow!!  This was an really interesting conversation with the youth...which you will have to read next time!  

This last Sunday, we had a playful and reflective youth group gathering at Richmond Beach Congregational Church United Church of Christ.   We had RBCC UCC Grand Prix Night!   
Each youth received a mini remote control car. We spent some of our time practicing our RC driving skills (not as easy as it may seem) and reflected on the need for endurance. 
 
We asked ourselves;  What is endurance, what do you need it for, and how do you get it?
This is a big question to navigate in one hour.  We had a great time playing and reflecting on this topic.
I thought readers might want to formulate their own thoughts and ideas on the topic of endurance. 

After we all had a time of driving skills practice, we took a break to allow for our cars to recharge.  While this was happening, each youth was given a piece of paper and a pen.  We went through the following activity:
   
Draw a basic outline of a car on the paper provided.
As verbally instructed, draw the following parts of the car, and write down next to it the answer to the corresponding prompt.

1. Steering Wheel: What guides you in life   (a value, goal, or person maybe?)
2. Brakes: What holds you back?  (a lack of resources, circumstance, negative self-talk perhaps?)
3. Gas Pedal: What moves you forward?  (motivation)
4. Windshield wipers: What helps you see clearly?  (gives you perspective)
5. Rearview mirrors:  What do you look back on the most?  (a memory, a loss, or a success maybe?)
6. Seats:  What makes you most comfortable?   (a comfort item or self-care?)
7. Passenger(s): Who keeps you company?   (trusted or inspiring or loving people/friends?)

 
We took time to share our car drawings, details, and responses if and when comfortable.
Then the youth tackled these questions and brainstormed the following ideas
 What is endurance?  
                        Endurance is the ability to keep going despite hard circumstances.
                        Endurance can be physical, mental, and emotional.  
                        Endurance is the ability to remain focused, strong, and motived for a long period of time.
 What do you need endurance for? 
                         We need endurance to help us follow through and keep commitments. 
                         Work towards goals we've set for ourselves, to finish projects we like and ones we don't. 
                         We need endurance for coping and sticking with and overcoming difficult situations. 
                         We need endurance to keep us hopeful and also for visioning the future
How do you get endurance?
                         Endurance grows over time with practice,
                         Tracking our progress can help us have endurance and keep us motivated towards a goal.
                         Having a good support system can help you stay focused.
                         If we don't have the energy or motivation to keep going, we can reflect, rest,                                                       and ask for help and outside motivation, then start again. 
What do you need endurance for right now?
                          School, life, college prep, work, remaining hopeful, caring for others, self-caring.
 
After this time of discussion and brainstorming, we made a connection to Jesus and the season of Lent.  Throughout the six weeks of Lent, we hear the stories of Jesus’ last week.  
Did Jesus have or need endurance?  Why would he need endurance?
Jesus had a patient endurance.  He had awareness of his journey, his goals, his endgame. 
Endurance gave Jesus the will to persevere during the difficult challenges, trails, and the upending situations of his journey.  Embracing God's Ways takes endurance or in other words, determined follow through.  Commitment. 

Of course, after all this thought, we got down to the business for racing!  We make a route and raced our cars around the room.  We launched cars off stairs and up ramps.  We drag raced across the length of our fellowship hall.  We simply had high speed fun!  Because endurance isn't just about our ability to bear a hard thing, it's also about turning it into joy when we are able to.
 
Finally, everyone was given the idea for a spiritual take-away endurance builder.
Take Away Prayer Practice: The Quiet Eye
‘The quiet eye’ is known as a visual perception that fixes to a goal point and allows an athlete a keen focus that overrides physical and mental distractions. In each sport, the fixation point is different, but in all of them, mental fixation process is a critical element in helping expert athletes endure the most grueling circumstances without giving up under pressure.

Take time to breathe. Fix your eyes on something pleasing or interesting. Focus on that point for a few moments while your clear your mind and continue to breathe.
            Breathe in:  Life is not a race
            Exhale:  Life is a journey

Perhaps you will find this activity thoughtful and find time to sit with these ideas, thoughts, and questions about ENDURANCE with the child, youth and adults in your life. 

 

​The breaking news about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is live and in real time. Videos of rocket launches and mortar explosions are already appearing on social media sites. Even if you are trying to shield children from the story, the sheer volume of images and discussion means they will likely hear about the conflict. Rather than letting these chance encounters with news reports and TikTok define what they know, take time to talk with children in age-appropriate ways about what is happening.

Preschool children are primarily concerned with how bad and scary things might affect them and other children. Since this conflict is far away, reassure them that no big tanks or rockets will be rolling into your neighborhood. Then focus on how Ukrainian parents are taking care of their children. Explain that parents are talking with kids about what to do in an emergency, just like your family makes an emergency plan for a big storm. The children are learning to recite their address and parents’ full names in case they get separated from their family, just like you want them to do if they get lost in a store. And if a child is too little to remember, caregivers are pinning notes to their clothes with the information. Let your child know that everyone is working hard to keep children safe.

Younger elementary children may want to know why Russia and Ukraine are fighting. Explain that countries often have disagreements and sometimes that leads to fighting, just like between people. Add that Russia is acting like a bully, so Ukraine has turned to other countries in the world to help it stand up to Russia’s unfair treatment. Since children this age are very interested in fairness and consequences for bad actions, emphasize that leaders in the U.S. are working with other governments around the world to support Ukraine. They want to limit Russia’s ability to do certain activities and get money, kind of like how parents use timeout or withhold an allowance when children misbehave.

Older elementary children are able to grasp more of the nuances of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Help them research the history of the region before and after World War II from reliable and documented resources. Read or listen to the news together and point out how various world leaders are condemning Russia’s actions and rallying to help Ukraine. Acknowledge that some responses will also mean higher prices (like for gas) and other negative consequences in the U.S. because of how much countries depend on each other for goods and services. Talk about the need to stand up for certain values and principles even if doing so also causes some economic pain.  We are a global society.

Teens live through social media as a constant source of information.  Some apps and sources are reliable and accurate, but often not many are not.  A teen's devices are a primary source of connection to their peers and the world.  Talk with teens about how to fact check and identify what reliable sources for news and information exist on social media.  Empower them to seek information wisely and to encourage conversation and questions.  Take a screen break or digital diet for an hour or two.  Teenagers do want to know what their adults think about issues and they are really influenced by it,  They also may have fears about their own furutre and seek hope from trusted adults.  It can be common for teens at times to come across as dismissive or abrupt or seemingly uncaring when trying process significant global events such as natural disaster or war and its ramifications.  This is self-protection mode for processing difficult information.   Give talk a rest, remind them they are loved and safe, and then invite more conversation and questions later.

And where is God when bad things happen children may ask? (and us adult too)  God does not cause or allow bad things to happen.  God is within each of us in how we talk, pray, and care for others.  When all else fails, look for the helpers when watching the news.  Get out a map and find Ukraine on it and lay a hand on it and pray silently or aloud together.  War is scary, even when it is far away. Providing our children and youth with opportunities to process what they are hearing and seeing with trusted adults will give them the tools they need to thrive even when afraid. 

I pray we commit fully to the message of peace.  Praying for Ukraine and it's beautiful people.  Connecting with partners and standing with anti-war protestors and speaking for the liberation of the oppressed all around the world.   Maybe this is the generation that gets to turn the page.  Amen.