Dear Parents:
Our church is applying for the Making Meaning Together initiative, which supports churches in creating inclusive worship spaces with children. We are excited about this potential opportunity at Leander UMC.
As part of the application process, we are conducting a Listening with Children session. During this time, we will ask each child five “wondering” questions about their experience of worship. Children will be encouraged to respond in whatever way feels most comfortable to them—whether by speaking aloud, through drawing, silence, and/or choosing to pass/not answer is an option too.
The gatherings will take place in our worship space and may be conducted either in a small group or interview format, depending on availability.
We are hoping to host this listening session on August 10th at 9:45 AM (during our Sunday School hour. We kindly ask that parents drop off their children at 9:45 and pick them up at 10:45. To help keep everyone safe, two trained adults will be present, following our church and/or conference safety guidelines. (We will move into the sanctuary for this listening session)
We believe that by truly listening with children, we can gain deeper insight into how inclusive our church is for children and how to shape our project proposal in a meaningful way.
If your family is willing to participate, please complete the Adult Release Form and have your child sign (or attempt to) the Child Release Form. We want to model the importance of respecting children's voices by asking their permission to use their feedback as part of our grant application.
Please bring the signed permission slips to the listening session.
Please email or text Renee (512-565-3836; purvishrph@earthlink.net) if you have any questions. I hope you will bring your child next Sunday to participate in our Listening with Children session.
LUMC Children’s Council
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Leander United Methodist Church