Fermata Oct 15, 2021: Living a Faithful Life with the Next Generation

Fermata is the weekly newsletter describing some of the past week’s highlights from Notes of Rest, which is my spiritual retreat ministry that interweaves text, music, and questions for the sake of cultivating stillness, introspection, and creativity in communities so that all may rest. I'd love to host a Notes of Rest for your church, seminary, or affinity group. Feel free to reply to this email to start the conversation!

Luke 2:41-52
 
This week’s Fermata comes from Notes of Rest for Parents, held last month on Zoom.  We sat with the story of Mary and Joseph taking Jesus to the Temple and the resultant episode of their son "getting lost." On Zoom, the parents - seasoned and young alike - reflected together on how to follow after Mary and Joseph in incorporating their children into the family's preexistent spiritual rhythms. But along with the dreaming, they resonated with the anxieties of Mary and Joseph about doing it right. Together, we marveled at the mystery and blessing of Jesus the child-teacher. The Zoom was a Spirit-filled time of encouragement, confiding, and wisdom-sharing across the generations of parents.

What spiritual rhythms can you draw the next generation into? And what anxieties about responsible caregiving is Jesus inviting you to lay down?

May The Lord who knows childhood, adulthood, and life thereafter lead and guide you as wise parents and guardians of the next generation. To help you marvel at how the incarnation of Jesus revolutionized parenting forever, here's Mary Did You Know.

abundantly,
Julian