Our Faith. Our Schools. Our Community.
School is back in session across Chicago.
Young people are walking into classrooms, hallways, friendships, and new experiences while doing some of the most important work of their lives: figuring out who they are, where they belong, what they believe about themselves, and who they want to become.
And they are doing all of this in a city and a world that asks so much of them.
There are far too few safe spaces for young people to question, explore, learn, make mistakes, dream, thrive, and simply become.
As communities of faith, we have a role to play.
We cannot afford to be another place that turns young people away. And we cannot assume that simply because our doors are open, young people experience our congregations as places where they truly belong.
We must be intentional about creating spaces that welcome their questions, their curiosities, their gifts, their struggles, and their thriving.
That is why Community Renewal Society is launching Our Faith. Our Schools. Our Community., an initiative inviting faith communities across Chicago to intentionally surround and support young people as they begin this school year.
Beginning next week, we will offer a four-week series of reflections:
For Faith Communities: How do we create spaces where young people can belong, question, grow, and become?
For Young People: Who are you becoming, and what do you want from this school year?
For Parents and Caregivers: How do we accompany young people as they grow into themselves?
For the Village: What responsibility do all of us share for helping our young people flourish?
Each reflection will include a prayer, scripture, questions for conversation, and a practical invitation to act.
At the conclusion of the series, we will come together for a Community Conversation on Faith, Schools & Justice. This will bring young people, parents, educators, faith leaders, and community members together to reflect on what our young people are facing and what this moment requires of us.
We are inviting congregations, faith leaders, community organizations, parents, caregivers, and people of goodwill to participate. We are especially interested in connecting with congregations and organizations with youth and young adult ministries.
Sign up to receive the weekly reflections and information about the Community Conversation on Faith, Schools & Justice.
Our young people deserve communities that remind them that they matter, that they belong, and that there is something in this world they are meant to do.
This school year, let us commit ourselves to being those communities.
Our Faith. Our Schools. Our Community.
In community,
Keron Blair
Community Impact and Special Projects Consultant
And the staff Community Renewal Society