Grandparenting for Faith – Q and A from our training morning
At our Grandparenting for Faith training morning on 8.2.24, there were some excellent questions from the grandparents and leaders in attendance. Not all of them could be answered in the time we had together, so Becky wrote some answers to the questions we ran out of time for. Here they are.
Any tips for making better connections with our grandchildren when we are not in good health, or when we are also carers for our elderly parents?
It’s tough when you can’t see your grandchildren as much as you’d like, or don’t have enough time to. Chapter 2 in Grandparenting for Faith is all about why connection is important and shares three ideas that help to build strong connections:
- Feeling emotionally close to someone
- Having regular contact
- Knowing that they are there when you need them – ‘social support’
None of these three ideas are dependent on being physically together – although that may well make it easier – and the chapter includes ideas such as using technology to be in touch remotely, sending old-fashioned letters, being curious as you chat, and communicating how uniquely special your grandchildren are to you. In chapter 3 of Grandparenting for Faith, No-one said it would be easy, we explore different situations grandparents may find themselves in and share gleaned wisdom about how to navigate these well, which includes when you are frail or contact is hard.
I think one of the most important things to remember is that God’s in this too. He knows your situation and your limitations, and doesn’t expect or want you to do more than you can manage. Prayer is a fabulous refuge when you feel you can’t do as much as you want to, or are feeling frail or finding things tough, and in chapter 4 of Grandparenting for Faith, we look at specific ways to pray for grandparents.
Has anyone ever tried seating different generations together in church, and what happened?
Church is the most wonderful place! It’s one of the few places where different generations and different sorts of people mix regularly, and this brings real benefits for children and young people when it comes to faith.
In our post Building Multigenerational Community, we look at the power of being multigenerational, and ways for churches to think about what that might look like for them – so that we’re not just multigenerational in the sense that we’re sitting alongside each other, but the generations are mixing, learning from and loving each other.
How do we share Bible stories such as Easter in a way that isn’t scary for children and helps them understand the concept of redemption? Or scary stories like Daniel and the Lion’s Den, David and Goliath, Jonah, etc?
You mention two things in your question – how to help children understand the concept of redemption when sharing the Bible, and being aware of the potential for children to be scared by the Bible stories.
There is a chapter in Grandparenting for Faith that talks specifically about how to share the Bible well with your grandchildren, so I’ll just touch on a few key points here – but would recommend reading that chapter.
With regard to the first, I think one of the most important things we can do is just to share the Bible and help children and teens build up a picture of the ‘big story’ of the Bible – how Jesus’ death on the cross fits into the wider story of creation and the fall, how God decided to rescue his people through Jesus, and his amazing purposes for us now and in the future. You can read more about that in our post The Whole Gospel: Showing Kids the Big Story of God and Us in the Bible. For younger grandchildren we do have a post on how to share Good Friday with under-5s.
The Bible is such an important book to us that we want to share it with our children and grandchildren, but we are also aware that it contains some very tricky stories and others that touch on themes like death, violence and fear, We’ve also got some ideas and tips for sharing Bible stories well with children.
Do remember you are the expert in your grandchildren! By which we mean you know them and are well placed to make decisions about them and what you share of the Bible: for example, if a child is going through a time of being fearful or has had a difficult experience that a story might address. If you’re able, why not chat to your grandchildren’s parents and share your concerns and see what they say?
You can buy Becky’s book Grandparenting for Faith here.