October Newsletter for Families with Children
The Spirituality of Young Children: An Ongoing Conversation – Tammy Martens
Children are spiritual beings who come to us as gifts from God. This is something we believe in at Orchard Ridge and it helps to guide the programming and spiritual formation experiences we offer to children and their families.
One aspect of a child’s spirituality is his/her capacity to give and receive love. Both Maria Montessori and Sofia Cavalletti documented this in their research with children. In her book The Secret of Childhood, Montessori shares that “we should remember that a child loves us and wants to obey. A child loves an adult beyond everything else.” Sofia Cavalletti offers more insight into a child’s capacity to love in her book The Religious Potential of the Child. She discusses the particular love between children and God and shares:
“We believe that the child, more than any other, has need of love because the child is rich in love. The child’s need to be loved depends not so much on a lack that requires filling, but on a richness that seeks something that corresponds to it.”
It has been a joy to observe children and see their innate ability to receive and return God’s love. They share wonderful insights and thoughts about their understanding of God and God’s love for them. It is our hope that through our Sunday School program and other children’s experiences we offer, your child’s love for God will continue to be nurtured and deepened. We strive to honor the Spirit of God that lives within each child and offer experiences/stories/music/playful moments to help them access the deep place within themselves where God lives.
