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Faith and Sexuality

God Made You Good

Join us Saturday, September 29th and Sunday, the 30th for a workshop on faith and sexuality for kids and their parents led by Nicole Newton. This workshop is an opportunity to discuss ways to open up communication as your child grows, moving from “the talk,” to an ongoing, open conversation about faith and sexuality. This is NOT a purity and abstinence workshop. Our goal is to help your future conversations around puberty, adolescence, and sexuality within the context of faith, and learn to share your values as you talk about these topics with your child. Childcare is available; rsvp to childcare@wpcdenver.org.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video title=”Faith & Sexuality – God Made You Good” link=”https://youtu.be/M0itdpPwO_Q”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1537479056001{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

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Schedule & Outline

Download the Schedule here.

Saturday, September 29 –Workshops for Parents

10:30 – 12:00: Early Childhood (birth – 8 years)

• Introduction to faith and sexuality
• Biblical/theological grounding
• “Is this normal?”– Discussing common questions/experiences for children in this age range.
• Ways to openly communicate with your child and answer their questions
• Common issues
  • Body safety
  • Appropriate terms
  • Addressing stereotypes and bullying
• Parent questions for Nicole
• Parent resources

12:00 – 1:00: Lunch ($5 donation)

1:00 – 2:30: Middle Years (9 years – 12 years)

• Introduction to faith and sexuality
• Biblical/Theological grounding
• “Is this normal?”– Discussing common questions/experiences for children in this age range.
• Ways to openly communicate with your child and answer their questions
• Common issues
  • LGBTQ+ topics
  • Social media
  • bullying
• Parent questions for Nicole
• Resources

3:00 – 4:30: Teens

• Introduction to faith and sexuality
• Biblical/Theological grounding
• “Is this normal?”– Discussing common questions/experiences for children in this age range.
• Ways to openly communicate with your child and answer their questions
• Common issues
  • LGBTQ+ topics
  • Addressing safety, healthy relationships, boundaries
  • Technology
• Parent questions for Nicole
• Resources

Sunday, September 30 –Workshops for Children & Youth

10:00 – 11:00: Children in PreK – 3rd Grade and Their Parents

Creator/Created

Explore the creation story and what it tells us about God and ourselves and how that relates to our bodies. (Teaching geared toward the children, with interactive ways for parents to engage in conversation and activities with them.)

All of our workshops seek to have LGBTQ-inclusive lessons and language.

12:00 – 2:00: 4th & 5th Graders (includes lunch)

1:30 – 2:00 Parents join their 4th & 5th Graders

• Introductions
• What do you know? Games to establish baseline knowledge.
• Interacting with the biblical text–what do we know about what God says about us?
• The gift of our bodies
  • Basic anatomy/reproduction review
• Physical & emotional changes of puberty
• Media/peer pressure
• Healthy communication
• Question box time*
• Parent/youth conversation/activity

 

3:30 – 5:30: Middle School Youth (6^th – 8^th grade)

5:00 – 5:30 Parents join their Middle School Youth

• Introductions
• What do you know? Games to establish baseline knowledge.
• Interacting with the biblical text–what do we know about what God says about us?
• Media/Peer pressure
• Healthy relationships
  • Responsibility
  • Relationality
  • Respect
• Hot topics/question box time*
• Parent/youth conversation/activity

5:30 – 6:00 Dinner ($5.00 donation)

6:00 – 8:00 High School Youth

7:30 – 8:00 Parents join their High School Youth

• Introductions
• What do you know? Games to establish baseline knowledge.
• Interacting with the biblical text–what do we know about what God says about us?
• Media/Peer pressure
• Healthy relationships
  • Responsibility
  • Relationality
  • Respect
• Making safe choices
• Hot topics/question box time*
• Parent/youth conversation/activity

*Question Box/Hot Topic Time

One of the promises I will make to your children is that if they are brave enough to ask an honest question (either aloud or on paper) I will be brave enough to answer them. This builds trust in our group and helps me get a better feel for what issues are coming up regularly in their peer groups that I need to address. Because this is the most open ended part of the workshop, all kinds of issues can come up. Questions of fact I will answer directly, questions of conscious I will answer from my perspective, try to summarize other perspectives, and encourage them to bring those questions home to have a conversation with you about them as well. I will keep a running list of questions for each age group and will send out a copy of them after the workshop so that you can see what we discussed.

Safety

I will not call out individual youth or tell you who asked the questions unless I have reason to fear for their safety. In the case that something comes up during a workshop that does make me question the safety of a minor, I will report it immediately to staff and we will follow protocol to make sure that it is handled appropriately before I leave.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1535565022883{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

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Children and youth will have age appropriate discussion centered around the idea that all of life is a gift from God, and we are all made in the image of God.

We believe that parents are the primary sexuality educators and faith educators of their children. All creation is of God, and therefore good. Sexuality as part of creation is good! Shared experiences in sexuality education can improve communication between children and their parents as young people mature.

In the workshop for young families, we’ll spend most of our time diving into what God has to say about how we are made. Conversation and activities will be geared toward the children, with parents alongside them as co-learners and conversation partners.

In the middle and high school groups, we cover a wide range of age appropriate topics. Possible discussion topics include: sexuality as a gift from God, with related scripture readings, physical & emotional changes of puberty male & female reproductive systems, including the basics of sexual intercourse, prenatal development & birth, media and peer pressures, basic definitions of hot topics, and answers to their questions.[/vc_column_text][vc_video title=”Faith and Sexuality Workshop – Intro” link=”https://www.facebook.com/wpcdenver/videos/893935177469642/”][/vc_column][/vc_row]