Quotes from Catherine Stonehouse

Parents and other adults give children a precious gift when they affirm them for who they are, not just for what they do.

We often try to compete with the rapid paced entertainment of television, seldom giving children a quiet moment in which to meet God, and many children lose touch with the God for whom their hearts hunger.

Yes, our children must one day make the faith their own and give themselves to God, but God graciously draws them toward that day. Although God respects our freedom of choice and our children may reject grace, I believe their choice is influenced toward God when we give them to God, trust them to grace, and open ourselves to reflect God's love.

We need not fear that children with creative imaginations will make God into nothing more than their other fantasies. The unseen God is real to children.

religion, but not faith, can be taught. Faith must be inspired within a faith community.

God's design is to work through the everyday relationships of parents and children to provide children with experiences that prepare them for faith.

People who care about the spiritual formation of children must be concerned about the spiritual formation of the parents and their finding of a place in the faith community.

Biblical narratives provide the basic set of stories containing the important Christian beliefs, and children receive a great gift when we tell them Bible stories with clarity and drama. They also need to hear the stories of their particular faith tradition.

Older children need a community of peers and adults with whom to begin forming a synthetic-conventional faith and to begin establishing for themselves a set of values, beliefs, and commitments that will guide their decision making and energize their wills to live out those commitments—a community that knows and lives its faith.

When we give children opportunity to meet God, we are not attempting to force something unnatural on them. Children are born with the potential for spiritual experience, and God is the one who stimulates the activation of that potential.

God wants children to live in homes and a community where the laws of God are not just recited and talked about but lived. Children need to see and experience the faith in action.

Teaching children is important for adults as well as children. As we tell children the stories of the faith, talk with them about God, and answer their questions, we refocus on God.

Moses does not recommend a theological lecture; children benefit more by hearing the stories that carry the theology.

The Spirit of God knows the mind and heart of the child and how best to communicate. We must never forget that we are merely assistant teachers or worship leaders, but God does give us the privilege of assisting, and he honors us by sometimes speaking through us to the children.[21]

God becomes increasingly real to children as they have opportunity to participate with us in the living of our faith and in the worship of God spontaneously in the flow of everyday life and in the gatherings of the faith community.

Since the tendency to create an image of God seems to exist within young children whether or not they have religious influences in their home, I would say that this tendency is a creation gift from the Creator God.

that in relaxed conversation with an adult who has become a friend, children express thoughts and insights that seldom show up in formal interviews or on tests.

In our fast-moving, noise-cluttered society, children are seldom given time to wonder and may be deprived of God's deep truths as we try to keep them entertained. Children need a place where they have time to wonder about the mystery of the gospel.