Adult Resources

Caregivers Co-Educators

Our central values inform everything from caregiver resources to church policy writing. We begin with a theological framework recognizing what aspects of God’s values we are asked to embody.

Hospitable

Dad sitting with their child during an outside church service. Black man wearing a black shirt with the child wearing a yellow dress. She is drawing.

Latin: hospitalitem (friendliness to guests) from the Proto-Indo-European: ghost-pot (guest-master)

Definition: An environment that is pleasant and favorable for life to thrive, or friendly and welcoming to strangers or guests.

We strive to be truly hospitable to all people. Hospitality is about realizing who’s not in the room and finding ways to help the become welcome. We do this by observing, listening, and asking questions. We recognize that the gospel is larger than our historic comforts, broader than our cultural lens, and more expansive than time itself. We strive to create space where those who are missing from our community can recognize that church is safe and can find rest for the weary, freedom for the crushed, and the good news to the poor proclaimed.

We want to share what we’ve discovered and learn from those around us how to know better and do better.

Kerygmatic

Greek: kērygma (to herald, to proclaim, to preach from the Proto-Indo-European: kar (to praise)

Multi-colored sign reading “Glory ta God een de most high heaven” The Gullah translation of “Glory to God in the Highest!”

Definition: The kerygma is the joyful announcement that Jesus Christ is a living Person to be encountered, who through his Resurrection has defeated sin and death.” Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium

God is always telling the world the story of the love found in God. An amazing gift is that we are asked to join in God’s unveiling of the Kingdom. We, in thought, word, and deed, herald the emancipation of the world through the gift of Redemption and call humanity to “come see…” This means we must be willing to understand the needs and tendencies of the people around us. How do we take our observations and wonderings and assist children across cultures, disabilities, and socio-economic boundaries to fall in love with the Good Shepherd and seek to “remain in me”? How do we best herald the gospel to children?

Communal

Latin: communis (shared by many) from the Proto-Indo-European: ko-moin-i (general, public)

Lutheran bishop in his collar dipping a host into the silver chalice at communion in Parkside Church. The chalice is being held by a black woman in a stripped dress with earrings and a rust-hued bun.

Definition: The whole group shares something together.

Our lives are bound up in each other. Jesus reminds us of that with the continual use of “our” in the Lord’s Prayer. How do we live as children of the light and as proclaimers of the Kingdom of God. God tells us that the Kingdom is present when God is all in all – that we humans aren’t the only members of community.

The nourishment brought by the Holy Spirit allows for each branch of the vast True Vine to grow and bear much fruit. Shared prayers, solidarity with others, communal worship, sacrament, repentance, and the sharing of meals are all ways to keep our soul’s nourished. These sanctification points require others. Inside community we can imagine beyond our own experiences, strive for justice among all people, share other’s joys and sorrows, and celebrate the hope of the resurrection.