Our Parents Group is open to all parents and caregivers with children of any age.  We come together to share honestly the joys and challenges of our lives, and to reflect on the spirituality of parenting. We offer each other a nonjudgmental listening ear, prayer, encouragement, and mutual support.

Please contact us for more information.

Below is a list of resources from members of the Parents Group, clergy, and other friends.

Parents Group Library
Prayers & Resources for Parents

Prayers
Download prayers from the Book of Common Prayer, below:
For a Birthday
In the Evening
For those we Love
For Families
For the Care of Children
For Young Persons
For Couples
For Victims of Addiction
For Separation or Divorce (from Changes: Prayers and Services Honoring Rites of Passage)

Family Rituals

• Daily Rituals:  Take time at the end of each day to share highs and lows.  You might adapt the Rocks & Water ritual we use to open some groups and classes at St. Gregory's.  You can learn a song (with signs) to accompany the ritual in this video.
• Seasonal Rituals: To Dance with God: Family Ritual & Community Celebration, by Gertrud Mueller Nelson, offers creative activities and rituals to help families celebrate the seasons of the church year together. 

For New or Expectant Parents
We recommend Prayers for Expectant Parents, a book of short daily prayers for each stage of pregnancy, from the Christian tradition. For more reflections and prayers on pregnancy and birth from the Jewish and Christian traditions, see Motherprayer: The Pregnant Woman's Spiritual Companion by Tikva Frymer-Kensky.
Download:
The Blessing of a Pregnant Woman (from Enriching our Worship 5)
Thanksgiving for the Birth of a Child (service from The Book of Common Prayer)
Thanksgiving for the Adoption of a Child (service from The Book of Common Prayer)  
Thanksgiving for the Gift of a Child (prayer from The Book of Common Prayer)
Prayer for Big Brothers/Sisters (from Changes)
Blessing for a Weaning Mother & Child (original)
 Liturgies and Prayers related to Childbearing, Childbirth, and Loss (Enriching our Worship 5) from the Episcopal Church.
Prayers Surrounding Adoption
Prayers Surrounding Loss of a Child
Prayers Surrounding Infertility
Prayers Surrounding an Unexpected Pregnancy
Prayers Surrounding Difficult Decisions
Prayers Following a Traumatic Birth
A Ritual of Remembrance after Loss (original)
A Video Meditation for Remembrance after Loss (original)

For Parents of Young & School-Age Children
We recommend Changes: Prayers and Services Honoring Rites of Passages from the Episcopal Church.
Download:
Moving from Crib to Bed
Becoming a Big Brother or Sister
Beginning the School Year
Becoming a Reader
Learning to Ride a Bike
Going away to Camp
When a Friend Moves Away

For Parents of Teens & Young Adults
We recommend Changes: Prayers and Services Honoring Rites of Passages from the Episcopal Church.
Download:
Reaching Puberty
Earning a Driver's License or Permit
Dating
Graduation
Going to College
Joining the Workforce
For a Journey

St. Gregory's Parent Picks Are there prayers, books, or resources that have been especially valuable to you?  Send your favorites to the youth and family minister so we can share them here with others. See some parent picks below:

Activities
Art Lab for Kids: 52 Creative Adventures in Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Paper, and Mixed Media by Susan Schwake and Rainer Schwake (shared by Leesy Taggart)

Ages 0-5
Becoming the Parent You Want to Be: A Sourcebook of Strategies for the First Five Years by Keyser and Davis (shared by Amy Baker)
The Emotional Life of the Toddler by Alicia Lieberman (shared by Amy Baker)
Mind in the Making by Ellen Galinsky (shared by Amy Baker)
What's Going on in There? How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life by Lise Elliot (shared by Amy Baker)
Your Self-Confident Baby by Magda Gerber (shared by Amy Baker)
1, 2, 3 the Toddler Years A Practical Guide for Parents and Caregivers by Irene van der Zande (shared by Amy Baker)

Behavior
Positive Discipline by Jane Nelson (shared by Sylvia Miller-Mutia)
1, 2, 3 Magic by Thomas Phelan (shared by Lynn Dolce)

Bullying
The Bully, The Bullied and the Bystander by Barbara Coloroso (shared by Amy Baker)

Communication
How to Negotiate with Your Child Even When You Think You Shouldn't by Scott Brown (shared by Amy Baker)
How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish (shared by Amy Baker)
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships by Marshall B. Rosenberg and Arun Gandhi (shared by Leesy Taggart)

Divorce & Separation
Good Parenting through your Divorce by Mary Ellen Hannibal (shared by Amy Baker)
Kidsturn, a nonprofit that helps families put "kids in the center of healing, not in the middle of conflict" (shared by Amy Baker)

Grief/Bereavement
Project Grace: Service Trips for Grieving Mothers, Fathers, and Families (shared by Cheryl Hendrickson)

Marriage & Parenting
(Find additional relationship resources on our Couples Group Resource Page)
And Baby Makes Three by John Gottman and Julie Schwartz Gottman (shared by Amy Baker)

Parenting (General)
Hold onto Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More than Peers by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate (shared by Amy Baker)
The Gottman Institute
Parenting from the Inside Out by Dan Siegel and Mary Hartzell (shared by Amy Baker)
Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child by John Gottman (shared by Amy Baker)
The Whole-Brain Child by Dan Siegel and Tina Bryce Payne (shared by Amy Baker)

Sexuality
Sex + Faith: Talking with Your Child from Birth to Adolescence by Kate Ott
Beyond the Big Talk: A Parent's Guide to Raising Sexually Healthy Teens - From Middle School to High School and Beyond by Debra W. Haffner and Alyssa Haffner Tartaglione
Not Under My Roof: Parents, Teens, and the Culture of Sex by Amy Schalet (shared by Lynn Dolce)
It's Not the Stork!: A Book About Girls, Boys, Babies, Bodies, Families and Friends (Ages 4-8) by Robie H. Harris
It's So Amazing!: A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families (Ages 7-10) by Robie H. Harris 
It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health (Ages 10+) by Robie H. Harris
Sex is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings and You by Corey Silveberg

Spirituality
Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting by Myla & Jon Kabat-Zinn (shared by Leesy Taggart)
The Way of the Cross for Parents by Susan Jones

Teens
Brainstrom: The Power & Purpose of the Teenage Brain by Daniel Seigel (shared by Lynn Dolce)
Lost & Found: Adolescence, Parenting, and the Formation of Faith by Amanda Millay Hughes (shared by Sylvia Miller-Mutia)