By Leif Kehrwald, Center for Ministry Development, Project Coordinator: Family and Intergenerational Ministry Services
We seek to help families share faith at home. When families connect their "moments of meaning" to their faith, then sharing among family members becomes easier. The four steps described below can help families filter their experiences through the lens of faith, become aware of God's gracious presence in their lives, and develop a faith "rapport" with one another.*
A significant experience has just occurred. For the family to fully benefit from what the moment has to teach, families need to engage in four distinct steps:
Awareness. Stop! Look! Listen! Someone recognizes that the family is having a moment of meaning. Someone points it out to everyone else so that all are aware.
Acknowledge It! As a whole, the family acknowledges the presence of the Spirit in their midst. The routine of ordinary life is disrupted to make room to embrace the new experience.
Connect to the Sacred. The family has a sense that the moment can teach them something. They seek answers to questions such as...
So What? Finally, the family reflects on what difference the experience has made in their lives, how they've grown from it, and what they have learned about faith, life, and one another.
As catechetical leaders, we should seek opportunities to teach this process to families and provide guidance for families to explore their moments of meaning.
* For more information about this four-step process see Chapter Five of Families and Faith: A Vision and Practice for Parish Leaders, edited by Leif Kehrwald, Twenty-Third Publications, 2006. Available through Our Sunday Visitor Curriculum Division, www.mycatholicbookstore.com.