The Faith of Girls Children's Spirituality and Transition to Adulthood

Exploring the spirituality and faith of girls on the verge of adolescence, this book presents fresh insights into children's spirituality and their transition to adulthood. Phillips has listened to girls' voices speaking in depth on the themes of self, God, church, and world, and reflected on their experiences and understandings in the light of current psychological, philosophical and sociological thinking, all placed into dialogue with a feminist approach to contemporary theology and bible. Phillips offers 'wombing' as a metaphor for their transition to young adulthood, and suggests strategies faith communities might adopt to companion girls more effectively through the fragility of puberty. This book will appeal to all those exploring areas of youth ministry, pastoral care, Christian education, nurture and childhood studies, psychology and theology.

Contents: Preface; Introduction; Breaking the silence around girls in transition; Methods for learning from girls; Girls in transitional space; Theological reflection 1: Lucy; Girls in Godspace; Theological reflection 2: Rosie; Girls in nurturing space; Affirming girls through transition; Bibliography; Indexes.

An Oxford graduate in Theology and formerly a secondary school teacher, I have been a Baptist minister for 20 years, first in a local pastorate and now as a theological teacher and Co-Principal of Northern Baptist College in Manchester, UK, part of the ecumenical Partnership for Theological Education. Besides teaching in the areas of theological reflection, children, and pastoral care, my other responsibilities include formation of prospective ministers and facilitation of learning in local churches. I have a long professional interest in the spiritual growth of children, for several years a member of the Consultative Group on Ministry among Children (CTBI). I have written study material published by NCEC including "Getting Across", and contributed chapters to other publications on children in the church. I jointly authored the original child protection guidleines published by the Baptist Union, 'Safe to Grow', and have worked with survivors of abuse, overwhelmingly women. This led to further work on pastoral and theological issues around the silencing of women and girls, which helped shape my doctoral thesis on the spirituality and faith of girls around the time of puberty. I now chair a Working Group within the Baptist Union of Great Britain addressing resistance to women's leadership, one consequence of which is the stifling of girls' aspirations.