Peer Ministry Leadership

Leadership Training

Living Room Summit

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Parenting Education and Support for All Ages and Stages



(On WED of the Living Room Summits you will visit Parent Share and then learn from Marilyn in her Living Room during the afternoon.) 
with Marilyn Sharpe

“Parenting is inherently a profound and transforming spiritual journey for both  parent and child…Growing kids faithfully will take you a lifetime and always be in process.”
– from For Heaven’s Sake! – by Marilyn Sharpe 
pastedGraphic.pdfEvery Wednesday morning of the year for the past 32 years, Marilyn has been at her congregation, involved in parent education.  She is either facilitating Parents Share, a
parenting group in which parents celebrate their strengths, give and receive support, and glean wisdom from other parents, or teaching a parenting class.  
Why?  Especially in an area where there is such a commitment to and wide-spread availability of early childhood education, why would she do this in a church?  Since Marilyn believes that parenting is inherently a spiritual endeavor, and she knows that virtually all parents feel ill-prepared to do this, our congregations need to be equipping posts.  She is committed to braiding together the best in parenting skills with effective, practical faith formation for all of a family’s life together.
What? Wednesday we will:
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  • Discuss the creation, care, and tending of a parent support group
  • Experience a parenting group
  • Explore how you might do this in your congregation
  • Identify the top issues in parenting
  • Examine resources for congregation-based parent education
  • Sample a parenting class
  • Plan for your congregation
Marilyn is a parent, a grandparent, and a Certified Family Life Educator, with a mad passion both for parenting and for passing on faith to the children and youth we love.  She knows firsthand the joys and sorrows, the triumphs and challenges of being a family.
She is committed to helping parents become the best and most effective they can be. Marilyn helps parents and congregations work together to pass on faith and values to all of the children and youth.  She is dedicated to helping congregations equip households to nurture faith in all of the generations, all of the time, wherever they are.
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Want to learn more? 
Two Options!
1.   Come to the Living Room Summit! (see below) 
2.   Saturate your congregation with an introduction to this ministry with Marilyn Sharpe. Inquire about this possibility or schedule time with Marilyn by contacting her by EMAIL.  

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Building Bridges / Milestones






(At the Living Room Summit you will learn from Andrea in her Living Room and the join her families at Mount Calvary to experience Building Bridges!) 
with Andrea Fieldhouse Griner
“Don’t expect families to do in their homes what they have not practiced hands on in the congregation.” 
– David Lynn
pastedGraphic_3.pdfMount Calvary Lutheran in Excelsior, MN takes this wisdom seriously. Andrea Fieldhouse Griner says, “We know that parents are the primary faith models.  They genuinely want God’s love and faith to be central. All that our parents want to know is how to pray with their kids. They want to know the simplest stuff, but they generally feel ill-equipped when it come to church and faith-stuff.“

So… Mount Calvary found the times that work best for their families to gather: once a month on Wednesday night, for Building Bridges, and twice a year on Sunday mornings for Mt Calvary’s unique way of honoring Milestones. 
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On Wednesday nights, families enter and sit around one of the 2’x2′ tables scattered throughout the room. Here, they are invited into a variety of faith practices, conversations, and experiences.  All of these are experienced as models for living faith every day as a family. 
During Building Bridges, families unpack their own home altars from a box they brought from home.
They lay out colorful altar cloths, favorite candles, and collections of favorite items that remind them of God’s presence. They practice blessings, such as, “God be in my head. God be in my heart. God be to my left. God be to my right.” They practice reading stories to each other from various Bibles. They enter into faith conversations and practice a variety of ways to pray. Even the spiritual practice of silence – yes, even with very young kids – becomes a learned ritual.  
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At each grade level, parents and children gather twice a year for a variety of Milestones. The emphasis for Mount Calvary is teaching families to share blessings in the home.
Heartstrings are tugged, as young people dip their fingers into water of baptismal bowls and trace the sign of the cross on their parents’ foreheads saying, “Thank you for keeping your promise to God.” It is here that parents, with their children, learn ways to fulfill the very promises they made at baptism. 
Mt Calvary goes far beyond what many congregations hope will translate into faith practices at home. Take home sheets, ideas on web sites, or book suggestions are not enough. Learning by doing and experiencing meaningful and loving connections while they are together in the congregation lead to the confidence and ability to repeat what they are learning at home. It is most fun to listen to the children tell you…
“We do this before we go to bed.”
“I set up our home altar right on my box.”
“My mom blesses me every day before I go to school.” 
pastedGraphic_2.pdfThey can tell you how faith is recognized every day, everywhere and in every relationship. 
Want to learn more? 
Two Options!
1.   Come to the Living Room Summit! (see below) 
2.   Saturate your congregation with an introduction to this ministry by Andrea Fieldhouse Griner. Inquire about this possibility or schedule time with Andrea by contacting EveryDay