Inside Out Workshop
Inside Out Workshop 2
2/9 & 2/23 & 3/9 at 7 PM
Inside Out Movie Night
Inside Out 2: Fri., 1/31 at 7 PM
All ages event - Popcorn and lemonade included.
Join us to watch Inside Out 2. The movie showing leads into our parenting series of discussions highlighting many of the dilemmas faced by parents - dealing with a child's emotion, navigating change, and building resilience.
God Works from the Inside Out
Join us in a series of parent workshops to discuss the nature of emotion through the lens of the two Inside Out films. Our experienced workshop leaders (Pastor John Bletsch and Dr. Anne Law) will integrate a spiritual and psychological approach to build a strengths-based approach to parenting.
During the time devoted to the parent workshop there will be simultaneous programming for elementary (K-4th) and youth group age children (5th-12th). Childcare for children younger than kindergarten will be provided. Please register below.
In this series we will address the spiritual and psychological nature of emotion through the lens of the two Inside Out films. The films deal with the complexities of the emotions of the central character Riley at the ages of 11 and 13. They showcase many of the dilemmas faced by parents – dealing with a child’s emotion, navigating change, building resilience. In your experience you may also have faced similar challenges. What is my child feeling? How can I prepare them to face a challenge? When are they ready for more independence? How do I help my child recognize and grow their strengths? Raising children in a competitive environment can sometimes feel isolating, and our series of workshops are designed to strengthen your sense of community and solidarity with other parents. With the guidance of our workshop leaders and support from one another, you can begin to identify your core values as a parent and learn some strategies to help build strengths in your parenting. Our approach is grounded in two tenets. First, we approach emotions a gifts from God, and recognize that knowing and understanding ourselves will strengthen the divine within us (adults and children). Second, we understand that psychological science can be an asset in helping us understand the complexity of what we feel and how we express those feelings, and in so doing we enhance our ability as parents to respond effectively to children’s emotions.
In three sessions that follow each film viewing, children will meet in two separate age groups – elementary school and middle school. Each group will be led by experienced adults with activities focused on themes from the film such as: identifying your feelings, responses to our feelings, managing intense feelings, sharing feelings with other, understanding others’ feelings, and the complexity of feelings such as joy and sadness together. Adult parents will meet with our two workshop leaders who will break down the spiritual and psychological dimensions of each film, and share insight into how parents can use this information to build resilience in their children. We will address issues such as identifying our own core emotions, building emotion regulation, the importance of identity, the demands of extra-curricular activities and school, peer relationships and bullying, what is age-appropriate in terms of independence and technology use. We believe there are no “one size fits all” answers to dilemmas of parenting and each family needs to consider its values and aspirations. We further believe that raising children is a sacred responsibility, and it is our goal to provide a community-based resource from which to learn and deepen our understanding of our role as parent.
Dr. Anne Law is a developmental psychologist with special interests in family, gender and developmental transitions. She and her husband Gene have two adult daughters who were educated in the TE school district, and they have been members of St. Matthew's for over 35 years.
Workshop Registration Form
Please email dcm@stmatthewsvf.org for further information.