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The Spirituality of Children Across the Years
RECORDED ON TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2022
Presenters: Dr. Kathy Coffey-Guenther, Arts '85, Grad '88, '98, Senior Advancement Officer for Alumni Spirituality, Marquette University; Karen Kiefer, Director of the Church in the 21st Century Center and Managing Editor of C21 Resources magazine, Boston College
Please join us for this very special Lenten conversation as we consider the spiritual lives of our children of all ages. We know that Ignatian Spirituality, with the invitations of imagination and contemplation, are natural for younger children to bring to early learnings of prayer and relationship with God and Jesus. As children grow, these same foundational connections are available for children to consider and to lean on as they need comfort or peace in their lives, just as we do as adults. Teens have a beautiful way of expressing their spirituality and considerations of God when offered creative opportunities to share their images and experiences of God and faith, and our college students often begin to more deeply identity their own sense of God and faith and commitments of service separate from their home parishes, early schooling and family beliefs. Throughout all of these dimensions, God walks with our children, holding them closely and watching over them with love and care.
Join Dr. Kathy Coffey-Guenther and her special guest, colleague, friend and fellow mom, Karen Kiefer, the director of the Church in the 21st Century Center at Boston College and the author of the recently published children’s book, Drawing God, as we discuss the beautiful inspirations and teachings of children and their spiritual lives.
More about this session
Dr. Kathy Coffey-Guenther, Arts '85, Grad '88, '98, is senior mission and Ignatian leadership specialist in University Advancement. Kathy has a doctorate in counseling psychology from Marquette and a graduate certificate in spiritual direction from the Aquinas Institute for Theology with a specialty in Ignatian Spirituality. In addition to working for years in clinical practice, Kathy has served Marquette in a number or roles including as the associate director of the Faber Center for Ignatian Spirituality, the director of Ignatian Programs in the Office of Mission and Ministry, and as the associate vice president of the Office of Mission and Ministry at Marquette. Additionally, Kathy serves as a spiritual director for the National Magis Retreat team for the AJCU and is a consultant to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and several religious orders and congregations in the Midwest.
Karen Kiefer is the director of the Church in the 21st Century Center at Boston College and managing editor of C21 Resources magazine. Under her leadership, the C21 Center has grown a number of signature programs, including Agape Latte, Faith Feeds, Breakfast with God, Drawing God Project, and Ever to Excel. A catechist for over two decades, Kiefer also served as an adjunct faculty member in the Communication Department at Boston College.
Kiefer co-founded the grassroots, award-winning, bread-giving organization Spread the Bread, winner of the "National Make a Difference Day Award." A decade later, Kiefer published the children's Christmas storybook, The Misfit Sock, and launched a companion educational initiative, Misfit University, and the national anti-bullying movement, The Million Misfit Sock March. Kiefer’s programs have been adopted by the Girl Scouts nationally and she has been featured in The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, USA Today, and People Magazine. Her latest children's book Drawing God was published in late 2019 and spurred the global World Drawing God Day each November.
Kiefer lives outside of Boston with her husband Sam and they are the parents of four daughters.