A neighborhood church with a heart for the world.
Dear friends,

As the compounded trauma of George Floyd's death continues to spark unrest across the country, we recognize that it's hard to know what to say to our children. We had a conversation with our own kids about it last night. Sadly, it's a conversation we have had before, and one we are likely to have again. But it's important to talk about it, and we wanted to share these resources in hopes that they help. 

First, especially for older-elementary aged children and above, we recommend talking honestly about what is happening. Tie George Floyd's death to the history of systemic racism and injustice in our country. Point out that the vast majority of protesters are demonstrating peacefully, and that they are right to be angry. Affirm that most police officers are good people who are trying to help their communities. Share stories of the many police officers, like our own Chief Larry Boone, who are standing with protesters and listening to their concerns.

If it helps to use a story to enter the conversation more indirectly, consider using this animated children's story book, Something Happened in Our Town . It's an age-appropriate story of a police-involved killing in a fictionalized town, told from the perspective of two children talking about it with their parents. We would have read it on one of our YouTube story times but it's sold out everywhere! https://youtu.be/lcOhOFGcWm8

Here is a recently-updated blog post by Wendy Claire Barrie , a well known Christian Formation leader and author. She addresses how to approach these hard conversations with children.

Here is a list of additional resources, courtesy of HuffPost Parents:
Talking to children after racial incidents , by scholar and psychologist Dr. Howard Stevenson
Raising Race Conscious Children  is a valuable workshop and resource parents can use over and over again. In particular,  these strategies for talking to your kids about racism and race.

The Episcopal Church has organized an extensive resource list as well, organized in the categories of Learn, Pray, and Act. These are mostly oriented for adults. Follow this link to access those resources: https://episcopalchurch.org/responding-to-racist-violence

Feel free to reach out to one of us or to Harper if you need further support. This was already a stressful time for children in the midst of this pandemic, and the news cycle of these last days will only add to that. Hopefully talking about it will help bring some comfort and understanding.

Faithfully,
Andie and John Rohrs
Contact Information
 Phone: 757-622-5530 | Fax: 757-622-0812 |