Our church, in Washington state, participated in an interfaith panel discussion on the topic "Nurturing Spirituality in Families." The discussion was sponsored by the Mercer Island Clergy Association, and included speakers from six different faith communities: Bahai, Catholic, Christian Science, Episcopal, Jewish, and Mormon. The event was moderated by a member of the Episcopal clergy, and hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Over 200 people attended.
Each speaker had six to eight minutes in which to address two questions: What can we do on a daily basis to nurture spirituality in our children? How can spirituality help families face today's challenges?
There was a noticeable unity among the speakers, and a common thread of love for the audience and for their children. Each speaker shared some specific points of interest about the perspective of his or her religion on working with children. For instance, the representative for the Bahai faith indicated that even though parents are models for their children, spiritual growth still requires an independent search for Truth, which each child should be encouraged to pursue. Another speaker told of his work in teaching theology to teens. He said his primary goal was to convince teens that there is a spiritual reality that they can learn about and benefit from.
