Praying with our children

​One of the biggest seasons in the church Calendar is coming up! Sunday, Feb 21 is the first Sunday of Lent or the 40 Days of Faith, as we call it at the River. It is the time when we, as a church, press into our spiritual lives and prepare for a big celebration on “Resurrection Sunday” which falls on April 4 this year.

This year’s Riverkids/Youth theme is “Ways to pray”. It has always been my desire to create room for our children to recognize God’s presence in their life and respond to this recognition. One of my earliest memories about prayer happened when I was 6 years old. I was woken up one night by my sister’s cry. She had a nightmare. My dad came into our bedroom and led us in prayer. His response to our fear that night stayed with me throughout the years, even during my skeptical times. 

Author Lacy Finn Borgo of "Spiritual Conversations with Children" believes that our spiritual life and relationship with God cannot be separated from our childhood experiences. When children have listening and prayer companions, whether that would be parents, siblings, or friends in the community, who hear, acknowledge, and encourage their early experiences with God, it creates a spiritual footprint that shapes their lives. So, for this reason, I would like to invite our families to embrace this season together with the community - Here are just a few ways to engage: 
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• Attend our Sunday Zoom services @11.00am (and Riverkids @11:40am): 
  Attending regularly during this season will help everyone in the family immerse themselves in the spirit of the season. Join the breakout rooms after the sermon to catch up, support, and pray with others in the community.
  
  
• Pray together using the “40 Days Prayer Chain”: Share your prayer requests in the Google doc and pray for other River-ites. Simply reading and agreeing with these requests counts as a powerful prayer!
  
  
• Check out one of the midweek Zoom Life Groups: We have many groups running including one especially dedicated to “40 Days of Faith.” For more information email alison@rivernyc.org.
  
  
• Have spiritual conversation with your children. Spiritual conversation does not always come natural or easy, so we create wondering questions after every story to help grown-ups and children have meaningful conversation together. Please check out our YouTube playlist weekly for stories & suggested questions.
  
  
• Bonus Fun: It is a tradition at the River to make prayer bracelets to help us remember to pray daily and intentionally. This year we are mailing the bracelets to you, so be on the lookout! If your address has changed recently or you have not received yours in the next week, please email me at amelia@rivernyc.org. 

And as always, I am always up for connecting with you and your family, so if you have any questions or concerns, or just want to chat 1-on-1, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would love to hear from you!
Looking forward to an exciting season with your family. 

Amelia Cunard | RiverKids Director