Faith at Home

FAITH AT HOME RESOURCES
1. Faith@Home by Forma has wonderful weekly resources for discussing and practicing themes from each week's lectionary readings.
2. Vibrant Faith has many resources for faith formation and practice. 
3. Loyola Press has great ideas and resources for incorporating prayer into daily activities.
4. You can find wonderful home practices on Building Faith's site. 

​More resources can be found under the Resources for Families tab.

LITURGY OF DISAPPOINTMENT

There are a lot of disappointments in life right now. Some times the easiest way to process our feelings is through music. Use this guided meditation on disappointment and God's faithfulness to lay your emotions before our God who cares for us. 

PRACTICING LENT AT HOME

  • Talking to children about Lent and Easter can be tricky. Use this guide for tips and activities to help your child understand these two seasons of the church. 
  • Make Pretzels: Pretzels are a Lenten food. Early Christians would pray by crossing their arms over their chest with their hands to their shoulders. As part of their Lenten fast, they made bread with only flour, salt, and water. In the 600s, a monk made the bread fun for local children he taught as a reward and created the pretzel as a symbol of arms folded in prayer. 
  • ​Take virtual tour of Jerusalem here. 
  • Bake hot crossed buns--another Lenten food. This traditional food is served at the end of the Lenten season. The cross on the bun signifies the crucifixion of Christ and the spices used in the bun are reminiscent of the ones used in preparing his body for burial. 

FAMILY SPIRITUAL PRACTICES

  • Put out crayons, markers, colored pencils and have children draw while you read a Bible story. For younger children, try a Bible storybook
  • Act out a Bible story. Take turns playing the different parts. Good stories to start with are Jesus calming the storm (Matthew 8:23–27, Mark 4:35–41, and Luke 8:22–25) or any of the miracle stories
  • Sing songs together, such as Jesus Loves Me, or favorite hymns
  • Take a “thank you” walk. What do you see, hear, smell, feel, even taste? Who or what can you thank?
  • At dinner or bedtime, take turns sharing the one grace and one disappointment of the day 
  • Set up a prayer basket in your home where family members can write prayers of thanksgiving or petition. Read prayers out loud (unless they’re marked “private”) at dinner or bedtime so all can pray for each other’s intentions.
  • Talk about your child’s name – and yours. If your child is named for a person you want to remember, or a saint, tell the story of that person
  • If your child is baptized or has been dedicated in some other form, light a candle on the anniversary of that event. You might want to look at pictures, or just tell what you and s/he remember