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Why spiritual practice?

We sense that the time has come again for the Christian faith to be practised, lived and loved, more than just learned as knowledge (as important as that is). The disciples learned a way of life from being with Jesus as well as from hearing him teach. So the Christian path is something that we do, even something that we become, as much as something that we believe. We hope that you personally will find this reorientation towards a life rooted in spiritual practice liberating and life-enhancing, and that this will be an experience that you will share with the children you work with. When working with this material, ask yourself:

• What could this practice look like for me?

• What could this practice look like in the lives of these children?

• How can I help them to explore these possibilities in the time we have together and in other settings (home / family meal / school / church / all-age service etc)?

Background

Place in the Christian tradition

Resources are best shared, not hoarded. This is the teaching of Jesus, who was steeped in the Jewish tradition of a good world full of the abundance of God. The ancient story of beginnings from that tradition describes in the book of Genesis a world full of abundance, in which humanity has a role to care for the Earth and in which each element of creation is described as good. Therefore it’s not surprising to discover Jesus teaching generosity and abundance: ‘Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over...’ (Luke 6:38).

Our contemporary context

One of the greatest challenges facing humanity at this time is the perceived lack of resources: ‘there’s not enough finance to pay for health care or pensions’, ‘the harvests aren’t strong enough to cope with increasingly unusual weather patterns’, ‘the next wars will be over fresh water’. Statements such as these contain some truth, but in reality there are enough resources should we choose to share them, should we choose to amend the ways in which we use them, should we choose to live hopefully and not fearfully. To choose abundance and generosity in a context of perceived shortage and scarcity is a tough calling. To reshape that context is even tougher. But the choosing and reshaping must be done, and the process needs to start with us and with our children.

The practice

This month’s practice

This month’s practice is an attempt to explore and share with children the practice of generosity. Sooner or later all children face the challenge of negotiating the boundaries between ‘mine’ and ‘yours’; if done well this process can open the greater possibility of ‘ours’.

Practice principles

Ideas for how the practice might look in your setting follow, but don’t be afraid to experiment with your own ideas.

Enjoy abundance

A key concept linked to generosity is abundance. A sense of God’s gift of abundance will generate generosity. In this way ‘a little’ can become ‘enough’, and even ‘more than enough’. Abundance is often all around us, but so easily missed. The practice here is to nurture an increasing awareness of the overwhelming abundance of Earth and Heaven.

Give something away

For many of us, particularly for those brought up in a culture of scarcity (an outlook on life just as prevalent in the well-off as in those in poverty), generosity rarely comes naturally. But in time, with practice, generosity can become our natural way of being. The practice here is to give something away on a regular basis. At first this may be difficult. But with persistence it may help us to discover our- deep capacity for generosity.

Receive with joy

Plan the whole of a session around a small journey – perhaps around the church or school. You could link this into a particular festival or season of the Church year, with preprepared ‘stations’ giving children the opportunity to engage with the gospel story in various ways.

Make a pilgrimage

For some of us receiving well can be just as challenging as giving. We need to learn how to be on the receiving end of generosity with grace and joy. Jesus practised receiving hospitality (‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today’) and this seems to have become a key way in which love of God and neighbour was expressed.

Shaping a culture of generosity

At this stage in the practice we move beyond the personal to the group, community, school or church of which we are a part. It’s about shaping a culture of generosity, so that generosity is what we do as a people. This communal generosity has a great capacity to reshape both the individual and wider society.

The practice in your main settings

Solitary ideas

Encourage each child to enjoy and record the abundance of their life. Most children have a great capacity to immerse themselves in an activity that they love, such as reading, games, friendships and sport. Invite them to think about what they love, and to see their ability to enjoy this activity as a gift – a sign of God’s goodness and abundance.

Ideas for the family

Offering hospitality as a family can be a really great way of generating a spirit of generosity. Shared in a joyful way, this hospitality can be a real gift to those who are invited in. You could, for example, make a ‘guest night’ meal or a weekend breakfast (a great informal time to invite people over) a regular part of your family life. Sometimes this could be for school friends, at others it could be for adult friends and neighbours.

Ideas for a Sunday School group

Set up a clothes, toys or games swap. Ask everyone to bring a few pre-loved items that are in good condition but that they would be happy to give away. Hopefully everyone will both give and receive. There may of course be an element of trading here, but the swap will help to nurture the idea that giving away something valued can feel good: bringing joy to both receiver and giver and encouraging a journey deeper into generosity.

Ideas for a family service

Make Jesus’ saying, ‘I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly,’ the central reading for the service. Talk about the connection between abundance and generosity, then demonstrate abundance by pouring something – perhaps chocolate sweets such as Maltesers – into a bowl long after it overflows. Now illustrate generosity by passing around the bowl for people to enjoy. Engage everyone in a conversation about how your life as a church does (or could) resemble a bowl overflowing with gifts. What practical steps could we take to be more generous with our resources to those around us?

Other ideas for this month’s practice

Invite people to talk about the generosity of others in their own experience and how that has helped them.

Make generosity the key theme of an upcoming season in the life of your church or school.

If dancing is part of the culture of your group, school or church, commission them to create a dance on the theme of ‘Abun(dance)’, exploring generosity.