By Kathy Neufeld Dunn, Western District Conference, Associate Conference Minister

Communication—it’s vital, and it’s such a challenge these days! Whether it’s with our children, grandchildren, Sunday school students, or other family members, communication is so important, and it takes practice.

Dr. Julia Feder is an assistant professor of theology at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Her research focuses on theological anthropology, suffering, and salvation. Her forthcoming book is called Trauma and Salvation: A Theology of Healing. Anna Groff and Julia Feder spoke on Oct. 18. This following Q&A comes out of their conversation:

By Linda Gehman Peachey

Two members of the Dove’s Nest Speaker’s Bureau attended the “Child-on-Child Abuse: Recognizing, Reporting, Preventing” conference, sponsored by the law office Gibbel Kraybill & Hess, on October 5, 2017, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Linda Gehman Peachey shares her experiences here.

Dove’s Nest led a child protection plan training and introduced the Circle of Grace curriculum to a church in the Midwest in 2014. Two years later, the new pastors discovered that the previous pastor was sexually abusing his niece; he had been doing so for six years, beginning when she was five years old.

Two members of the Dove’s Nest Speaker’s Bureau attended the “Child-on-Child Abuse: Recognizing, Reporting, Preventing” conference, sponsored by the law office Gibbel Kraybill & Hess, on October 5, 2017, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Jan Slabaugh shares her experiences here.

By Anna Groff

Is there a connection between someone having a pornography addiction and committing contact sexual abuse? When should we be concerned, and what should we do?

What is Circle of Grace? See our two-minute Circle of Grace Overview Video.

Be flexible: The time frame may vary depending on size of class, age of children, amount of discussion, etc. See our two-minute Circle of Grace Multiage Classroom Video here.

By Anna Groff

It is likely that your church community is blessed with participation from autistic children and adults. These individuals offer wonderful gifts of intelligence, talents, humor, and help. We are grateful that many churches are working at creative ways to welcome and include these individuals.