VBS a Hit
So far at least. Both kids enjoyed their first day of vacation bible school. Little Man was especially excited to come home and tell me what they did. Note to self need to find a good Sunday school for the kids. Religion is a tough topic in our house and I don't normally bring it up. Both of us agree that the kids should have exposure to religion and we agree on open discussions regarding religion. In fact we don't really argue about it or the way our kids should be exposed to it. I feel religion is a personal choice and don't want to interfere in my childrens' decision process. I want to give them all the facts though. My parents were pretty silent on the subject. I went to church with friends or relatives, but never with my parents. I was able to attend multiple churches from Mormon to Baptist to Methodist. I guess the one thing I want my children to be is open. Open to all beliefs and tolerant of all faiths or other people's decisions whether they match theirs or not. The church does teach morality, but sometimes I wish it wasn't morality based on fear. Better do the right thing or you're going to hell. I don't know what ideas my children will come home with, but I'll enjoy the discussions that follow.
So far at least. Both kids enjoyed their first day of vacation bible school. Little Man was especially excited to come home and tell me what they did. Note to self need to find a good Sunday school for the kids. Religion is a tough topic in our house and I don't normally bring it up. Both of us agree that the kids should have exposure to religion and we agree on open discussions regarding religion. In fact we don't really argue about it or the way our kids should be exposed to it. I feel religion is a personal choice and don't want to interfere in my childrens' decision process. I want to give them all the facts though. My parents were pretty silent on the subject. I went to church with friends or relatives, but never with my parents. I was able to attend multiple churches from Mormon to Baptist to Methodist. I guess the one thing I want my children to be is open. Open to all beliefs and tolerant of all faiths or other people's decisions whether they match theirs or not. The church does teach morality, but sometimes I wish it wasn't morality based on fear. Better do the right thing or you're going to hell. I don't know what ideas my children will come home with, but I'll enjoy the discussions that follow.
posted by Amanda @ 6:20 AM
4 Comments:
At 7:03 AM,
Lance said…
I'd suggest trying out the Ethical Society. It has a Sunday School and an active youth group, and it teaches moral lessons. However, it's based on humanist principles, not based on any particular deity or fear of afterlife.
I've gone a few times in the last few months, and I'm considering becoming a member.
At 7:14 AM,
BriteLady said…
For Catholic options, The CSC does Sunday School for kids, at least during the school year (not sure about the summer). They have 2 age groups. Connor might be nearing the older side on the second group, but I'm not sure what it covers. Char loves it when we go--in her group, it's mainly some singing songs, stories, and crafts. We don't go there every week lately (more like 1-2x a month), and it doesn't seem to be an issue. I think St. Richards also does a Sunday school for kindergarden & up at certain masses.
Growing up I went to a lot of different churches too. My mom is Methodist, and my best high school friends included a Catholic, a baptist, and a Mormon. I agree that it's good for kids to see a variety of viewpoints and communities, and to allow them to choose their own faith. Trying to cram beliefs down someones' throat generally leads to antagonism at best.
At 11:43 AM,
HiddenChicken said…
Interesting post, Amanda. I'm looking forward to seeing how VBS works (so far it sounds great). We haven't discussed a whole lot what we're going to do with Ragsy's religious education. My mom came from a Christian/Jewish household and my husband from a Hindu/Bhuddist household (his mom was also a Reiki master, but that doesn't figure in much). I'm interested to see how others manage that education 'cause I'm looking for ideas to steal.
How do you and your husband approach that with each other? If it's not too personal, were there any conflicts or did things go relatively smoothly? I'm thinking with me and my husband it may be a bit prickly since he's not very trusting of Christianity and doesn't know much about Judaism. But I want Ragsy to understand the what and why of his family, including our religious, ah, proclivities, for lack of a better word. Tricky. Very tricky.
At 2:45 PM,
Amanda said…
Phil is atheist and I'm Catholic. I joined the catholic church late in life and can totally understand atheism. Phil was raised Catholic and decided he didn't believe before being confirmed. We don't discuss it because it's a non issue. Neither of us expects the other to change and both of us want our children to have open minds.
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