Session Guide: Family Practices

Transcription

1 Session Guide: Family Practices Session at a Glance How do we cultivate spiritual practices in our families? This session is a practical guide to recognizing practices we have already embraced and encouraging new practices of prayer and care that can become part of the fabric of family life. It is meant for nuclear and extended families as well as intentional communities. This session works well for adults in an intentional faith community or a parents program in an elementary school, high school, or parish. Session Goals By the end of the session, participants will be able to: Identify five areas of spiritual practice to foster in family or community life Recognize existing practices in one s family or community that support spiritual growth Identify areas where a family or community can grow spiritually Make decisions about practices to embrace or renew 1

2 Options for Session Format Hour Session (60 minutes) Welcome and Prayer Engaging the Conversation conversation Engaging the Tradition video and conversation Engaging Faith for Life conversation Closing Session with Practice (1 hour 15 minutes) Welcome and Prayer Engaging the Conversation conversation Engaging the Tradition video and conversation Engaging the Faith for Life conversation Introduce a Prayer Practice Closing 2

3 Before the Session What to Decide Before This Session how you will arrange the space in which you are holding the event (viewing screen, how to seat people so that group conversation is easy, e.g., round tables) how you will access videos at the meeting (DVD, download, or access live from internet) which prayer options you will use and how participants will access them (e.g., view on a screen or read aloud) how the participants will view the discussion questions (e.g., displayed on the screen or have individual copies, etc.) if you will provide a recommended reading for participants and how the participants will access the article (e.g., provide internet address, provide copies to participants) if you are using the expanded session. Materials Needed name badges and pens videos projector and screen computer copies of/participant access to opening prayer option copies of conversation questions handout (optional) copies of/participant access to take- home article (optional) prayer cards (if needed for closing prayer) pencils and copies of any evaluation form you might want to distribute (optional) For expanded session: handout for reflection on forgiveness 3

4 Overview of Session After a focusing prayer experience, the session begins with a conversation about significant meals and rituals to mark special occasions in one s family. Kathy Hendricks provides an overview of five practices which contribute to the spiritual growth of the members within a family: storytelling, rituals, forgiveness, gratitude, and keeping Sabbath time. Such practices can also strengthen intentional communities in which people live and work together. Participants have an opportunity to examine which practices already exist within their family or community and which practices they would like to foster. The expanded session focuses on forgiveness in families with a reflection on the parable of the Prodigal Son. There is an option to refer participants to further articles on family and forgiveness. Biographical Sketch of Presenter in Video Kathy Hendricks received her Master's Degree in Adult Christian Community Development from Regis University in Denver and certification as a spiritual director from Benet Hill Center, Colorado Springs. She has worked as a pastoral minister, Director of Religious Education, teacher, and catechist in diocesan offices, parishes and Catholic schools in Colorado, Alaska, and British Columbia, Canada. She also served as Parish Life Coordinator for Pax Christi Parish in Littleton, Colorado, administering the day- to- day operations of the parish in the absence of a resident pastor. Kathy is author of several books, including Prayer and Ritual for the Home: Celebrating the Life and Times of Your Family, and writes for various publications. She is a national consultant for William H. Sadlier and an editorial consultant for Twenty- Third Publications. She is a member of the Colorado Authors League and Spiritual Directors International. 4

5 Session Details Welcome and Opening Prayer (5 minutes) Offer a brief welcome to the entire group. (Keep in mind that participants need to be seated conveniently nearby to conversation partners. You may want to ask participants to move now so that conversation can flow easily later.) If participants don t know each other, have each person briefly introduce themselves to their conversation circle. Use the prayer experience to open the meeting: Engaging the Conversation (15 minutes) Invite participants to discuss the following questions. (Note: If you are facilitating more than one group at the same time, see the suggested strategy in the Facilitator s Guide.) Conversation questions: 1. Think of a time when a meal with your family was meaningful. What was it that made it meaningful? 2. What other occasions in your family have those same qualities, e.g., birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, Thanksgiving? Think about how you marked those events (e.g., rituals, meals, pictures, special memorabilia, stories you tell about them). Share with the group one occasion that stands out for you and how you marked that occasion. Engaging the Tradition Video (12 minutes) View the video featuring Kathy Hendricks: Engaging Faith for Life (20 minutes) Invite participants to discuss the following questions.

6 Conversation Questions: 1. Hendricks presents five family practices: storytelling, ritual, forgiveness, gratitude, and keeping the Sabbath. Select a practice in which your family or community is experienced. Relate a concrete example of the practice and give your advice for how to cultivate this practice. 2. What practice is elusive in your family s or community s life? What challenges crop up that make it difficult to be intentional about this practice? 3. Are there activities other than those Hendricks mentioned that enhance your family s or community s spirituality? For example, as a family do you recycle, run an annual charity race, volunteer at a soup kitchen, pack up old toys and outgrown clothes to give to the poor, etc.? Can you recall a time when you discussed these activities as a spiritual practice? Optional: Introduce a Practice: Forgiveness (15 minutes) The suggested practice for this session is about forgiveness. It is based on the parable of the Prodigal Son. See the designated handout for the reflection experience. At the end of the reflection, ask participants for any thoughts they have about the experience. Before closing, you might refer participants to Marjorie J. Thompson s article Practicing Forgiveness in Catholic Spiritual Practices. Closing (5 minutes) If seeking feedback from participants, distribute any evaluation form you might have and give them time to fill it out. Alert participants to the take- home items you have for them. Announce any future events you have planned. Thank by name anyone who has contributed to the success of the event. Close with the prayer or another prayer option.

7 Recommended Reading Delving Deeper: Further Resources for Participants Colleen M. Griffith and Thomas H. Groome s Catholic Spiritual Practices: A Treasury of Old and New (Paraclete Press, 2012) is an ideal companion to the sessions in the topic Catholic Spiritual Practices. It is not necessary for participants to have the book in order to fully participate in any of the modules. If you wish to refer to the book, Wendy M. Wright s article, Family Life as Spiritual Practice is a good resource for this session. The topic Catholic Spiritual Practices is based on the Spring 2009 issue of C21 Resources entitled Catholic Spirituality in Practice. Wright s article is also available for download online. It is available online in two formats: Marjorie J. Thompson s article Practicing Forgiveness can also be found in Catholic Spiritual Practices. Further Resources on Family The Seton Hall Catholic Center for Family Spirituality has a page of recommended books: center- family- spirituality/recommended- books.cfm as well as a page of recommended films: center- family- spirituality/recommended- films.cfm Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn and Matthew Linn, Sleeping with Bread: Holding What Gives You Life (Paulist Press, 1995). This is a book about praying the examen with a chapter on using the examen with the family. You can look at the table of contents in this online bookstore: Bread- Holding- What- Gives/dp/ Tim and Sue Muldoon, Six Sacred Rules for Families: A Spirituality for the Home (Ave Maria Press, 2013).