23 - Keeping Kids in the Orthodox Faith
Madona and I pick Shereen Marcus’s brain for ways to keep Coptic kids in the faith while living immersed in Western culture. She shares with us her five-pronged approach to raising kids in the faith.
Shereen is a U.S. federal judge who holds a masters degree in Orthodox Theology. Her book An Immigrant Church No Longer* and her dissertation explore the transformation of youth ministry as the Coptic Orthodox Church becomes more established in North America.
Shereen also writes and publishes a fully fleshed out curriculum for teens which you can find at Bridges to Orthodoxy. Madona helps with proofreading and edits, and I have helped in the past with graphic design!
If you want more from Shereen, you can also check out this guest blog she wrote for Coptic Dad and Mom: The Neglected Partnership.
00:12 - One of the biggest staples we grew up with in church has been Sunday School, and it’s always looked and felt a certain way. There has always been a certain dynamic between kids and church as the Coptic church flourished in America, and there was this intersection between our Coptic Faith and our Western Culture. As a result, we’ve seen some kids stay strong in the faith their whole life, and some who sadly, have left and just don’t identify with our Orthodox faith anymore.
00:50 - Today, we’re bringing on our friend Shereen Marcus who has dedicated a great portion of her life to researching, discovering, and writing answer to the question: “How can we encourage our kids to stay in the faith through adulthood?” She holds a masters degree in Orthodox Theology and has designed a curriculum for teens called Bridges to Orthodoxy (which both Madona and I have worked on). We wanted to bring Shereen on today to share with you her incredible results from YEARS of research.
02:34 - We all want to know the answer to the question: How can we encourage our kids to stay in the faith through adulthood?
Shereen’s answer is that a partnership between parents and churches is key.
03:27 - She has a five-pronged approach to passing a strong faith on to our kids:
We have to help our kids create a relationship with God. We have to make it clear that He is a real Being with whom they can interact and on whom they can rely. He's not a character in a book the way the Cat in the Hat or Curious George might be.
(4:28) We have to instill in them the sense of awe that comes through engaging the five senses in Divine Liturgy. Regular exposure to liturgy from a very young age, even if they can only sit still for 10 minutes at a time, Shereen asserts, makes a big difference to creating this healthy “fear” of God, an internal understanding of His presence.
We need to give them a spiritual education. This is where Sunday School comes in, along with other spiritually focused youth ministry programs. Parents must build a partnership with servants to support their kids growth in Sunday School.
(8:07) We need to show our kids they belong in the Body of Christ. We need to make children of all ages and all temperaments feel welcome in the Church without judgment or excessive scolding. We need to show them they have a purpose in the Church and can use their talents to serve the community no matter their age. We need to make it clear that service doesn’t mean teaching Sunday School only, or that it’s somehow the ultimate service.
(13:03) We need to help kids understand that their Christian faith is not just for Sunday. Kids need to know that God doesn’t fit into a compartment, rather that He is the lens through which everything in our lives is viewed.
The ideal partnership is that parents feel supported by the Church and Church is supported by the efforts at home.
19:55 - We just want to remind you that the church and the parents have the same goal and should work together! We all want our youth to stay in Church and have a relationship with Christ… so let’s work out ways to evolve this partnership and make lifelong devoted Christians.
Listen to the podcast episode for more details. Remember you can reach us by email at raisingupcopts@gmail.com or follow me on instagram at @copticlaura.
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