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Pastor's family credits prayer for
his recovery
Pastoral Pondering: `Joy to the
World'
much more than simply a song
Raising
a caring child
in an uncaring society |
From anonymous giving to sharing love there are many
ways to instill a caring spirit in children |
By Schellene Clendenin, Newberg
Graphic reporter
E-mail Schellene at sclendenin@eaglenewspapers.com
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Around this time of year people begin to focus on their families and on
caring for others.
Part of caring for others, according to Church of the Nazarene pastor Ed
Nichols, includes raising children who consider the feelings others before themselves as
they make decisions in life.
Nichols said he feels there is no way to divide learning consideration for
others from being a Christian.
“I don’t think you can separate caring; it is what we do as
Christians,” he said.
But he reminds people that often it is difficult to raise a caring child if
you are not caring yourself. Children will learn to be caring by example from their
parents; it is an automatic response of what our children see, he maintained.
“We need to look at ourselves and see if we are caring people,” he
said, adding there are many things one can do this time of year. For example, Nichols and
his family adopted a needy family for Christmas. He said they have done creative things
for the family and all of it is anonymous.
Doing things anonymously is a great way to help people out because, if they
want to thank someone, and they don’t know who their donor is, they have to thank
God, Nichols said. And there is nothing really in it for the individual, except knowing
they were there to help.
“We shouldn’t let our left hand know what our right hand is
doing,” he said.
Another possibility for helping children learn to be caring is Newberg
F.I.S.H.’s (Friends In Service to Humanity) growing need for assistance from the
community.
According to Nichols, F.IS.H. needs about 500 baskets of food and gifts for
families during the holiday season.
“I think caring is a lifestyle,” he said. “Caring for the
feelings of an individual is sometimes difficult to do, but Jesus cared for the
outcasts.”
He also suggests parents talk to their kids and discuss with them the need to
be considerate of kids in school, the ones often rejected by classmates.
“It really starts at home with the attitudes of the parents and how they
respect their kids,” Nichols said.
The Rev. Gregory Gage of St. Peter Catholic Church said he feels that raising
a considerate child is simple: just give them a lot of love and care and try to take them
to church.
Church is important because it allows children to see other children of
similar age learning to care for others and becoming closer to Christ.
Gage also reminds families that doing things together, such as decorating the
Christmas tree and having concern for those more needy than they, is important.
“That’s how kids learn what love is all about, through care of
other people,” he said. |
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From Dec. 6,
2003, Newberg Graphic
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