Above illustration by Dave Cutler. Below photo courtesy of Rich Melheim
See “Family affair” by Rich Melheim in The Christian Century for February 22, 2012. Rich Melheim was pastor of several Lutheran churches in Minnesota before starting Faith Inkubators, which produces materials designed to make the home the primary incubator of faith. He has written and produced books, songs and plays for children and youth, and he is a frequent consultant and speaker on faith formation and family ministries. In 2009, he launched FAITH 5, an effort to get parents involved in their own kids’ faith life every night. He asks parents and kids to commit themselves to five minutes a night of simple faith encounters.
Families are asked to drop what they’re doing as soon as the first kid is ready for bed and walk through these five steps:
1) share your highs and lows of the day;
2) read a verse of scripture from Sunday’s preaching or teaching text;
3) talk about how the highs and lows of the day relate to the scripture (is God actually saying something to you?);
4) pray for one another’s highs and lows; and
5) bless one another before turning out the lights on the day.