Acerca de Preguntas Frecuentes What do you mean when you say you speak "blessings"? | What do you mean when you say you speak "blessings"? |
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FRONTPAGE_NO_TRANSLATION_AVAILABLE See our book, Taking it to the Streets for a complete explanation of the "blessings" and corollary theories. There is a story in the Old Testament about a young boy who, according to today's standards, might be considered forced into child labor. Samuel's mother, Hannah, had prayed for years for a child. When Eli, the family priest, became old and blind, Hannah brought Samuel to the temple to care for him. Samuel was an obedient child and spent the days caring for the old man. One night while he was sleeping in a nearby room, someone called his name, Samuel. Thinking it was the old priest, Samuel came to Eli; but it was not him. After this happened several times, the old priest told Samuel to answer the voice, for it could have been the voice of God. It was. And, in a dream, God spoke a blessing into Samuel's life with vision for his future. Speaking a blessing in the lives of others is a theme that runs throughout the Old and New Testaments as well as many cultures and religious traditions. Calling a name, giving birthrights, sharing wisdom, speaking or singing words of healing, and providing direction are critical blessings in maturity, self-worth, identity, belonging, and mental and physical health. We live in a world where children are abandoned, abused, and neglected. Their lives seem unusually cursed, not blessed, by changes in our society. For example, in Philadelphia 60% of all children are born to single parents (that's right 60%). Over the course of a year there are 25,000 homeless people in Philadelphia (both sheltered and unsheltered). Of these, 3,538 are homeless families (13,131 children in families). Worldwide, children face horrific lives as a result of the environments of war, human trafficking, and poverty. In 2002, we began thinking how we might apply this concept working with children, youth, and their families in transitional homes here in Philadelphia and overseas with the most vulnerable populations. We embarked on a journey to provide services to these children and their families. On the steps of this sometimes very difficult path, we have attempted to discover the role of faith (specifically, how to integrate the basic principles of Christian faith in the civic environment). How could we fulfil our mission in a way that shows God's love and speaks blessings into the lives of those we serve, without the freedom of necessarily even mentioning God's name? BuildaBridge teaches four blessings: artistic, academic, social, and spiritual/character development. We believe that it is not only important to teach each child artistic skills such as painting and dancing techniques, but to help develop all aspects of a child's life by teaching social skills (acceptable behavior, teamwork), academic skills (critical thinking, historical contexts), and spirituality/character development (seeing themselves as a part of a larger whole, character development, and expression of personal faith and beliefs). |
