“Faith is learned when it is woven seamlessly into the fabric of daily family life.”
This comes from the introductory chapter of Faithful Families: Creating Sacred Moments at Home, written by the Rev. Traci Smith and published by Chalice Press. The Faithful Family series empowers families to practice their faith every day at home. We’ve helped thousands of families grow closer to God and to one another through simple faith practice. Through our work, we’ve learned the joys and challenges of helping mainline Christian families grow and share their faith by incorporating faith practices into daily family life. We know these books make a difference in families and worshiping communities.
We also know books alone are not enough.
Family Faith Every Day is an extension of Chalice Media’s Mission to create a world in which families can grow in their love through daily faith practices across generations.
FAMILY FAITH EVERY DAY HAS FOUR PRIORITIES
- Publish resources that help families practice faith-at-home.
- Support congregations as they teach families how to practice faith-at-home
- Research the effectiveness faith-at-home practices and share our findings with congregations and parents.
- Provide continuing education opportunities for faith formation leaders and pastors around faith-at-home practices.
CHALICE AND FAMILY FAITH EVERY DAY
Family Faith Every Day is a program of Chalice Media Group, a leading publisher in the progressive Christian marketplace and the publishing house of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for more than a century.
Family Faith Every Day is made possible in part by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative. Created in 2023, the initiative helps parents and caregivers pass on the faith to their children. This generous support allows Chalice Media Group to thoroughly research the ideas Traci Smith and the Faithful Families series has been road-testing for a decade as she’s put our bestselling Faithful Families books out into the world. This support also creates the opportunity to work directly with congregations and Christian educators and provide with direct support.
OUR TEAM
The Rev. Traci Smith is our Program Director. Traci is an ordained PCUSA pastor, parent, and author of Chalice’s Faithful Families book series. Traci’s personal and professional mission is guided by a simple statement that can be found on page one of Faithful Families: “Faith is learned when it is woven seamlessly through the fabric of everyday life.” Traci is also a keynote speaker, coach, workshop facilitator and writer, and her area of expertise is faith-at-home.
Dr. Dave Csinos leads the research for Family Faith Every Day. Dave serves as Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Atlantic School of Theology, an ecumenical seminary in Nova Scotia, Canada. Dave is the author or editor of seven books about faith formation and ministry and an in-demand speaker on these topics. A teacher, workshop leader, and conference speaker, Dave is also the founder of Faith Forward, a US-based non-profit organization that provides in-person conferences and training for faith formation leaders.
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PARTICIPATE IN FAMILY FAITH EVERY DAY
Applications will be open the week of May 6 for our Family Faith Every Day congregational cohorts. Selected congregations will receive $15,000 over three years to develop a parenting circle for parents of young children aged 0-3. In addition to the financial support, participating congregations will receive a small resource library, expert coaching with program director Rev. Traci Smith, and time for continuing education and growth through in-person gatherings. Cohort applications will be shared on the Family Faith Every Day Facebook page and Instagram page and emailed to those on our email list.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Family Faith Every Day, a new initiative by Chalice Media Group that will help parents and caregivers of young children incorporate faith practices into everyday family life, has received a $1.25 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.
The five-year grant, which Lilly Endowment made through its Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative, will support the creation of a teaching network, new curriculum resources, and academic research.
Check ChalicePress.com for information about connecting your congregation to Family Faith Every Day. Additional information will be provided through email, first through Chalice Press' list and soon on a FFED-specific list. You can also follow Family Faith Every Day on Facebook.
The initiative is the next step of Chalice’s bestselling Faithful Families series by author Rev. Traci Smith. An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Rev. Smith will serve as the new program’s director. Research will be led by Rev. Dr. David Csinos of Atlantic School of Theology.
"We know that faith formation begins at home and that forming good habits starts well before kindergarten,” Rev. Smith says. “It is a joy to have the opportunity to focus full-time on helping ministry leaders empower parents to help their children practice their faith through simple, daily practice. This initiative is a dream come true, and I am so grateful to Chalice Press and the Lilly Endowment, Inc. for making it possible.”
The program’s primary emphasis will work in depth with a core group of congregations that will receive financial support, expert coaching, and a new workbook, subsidized in part by the grant. The workbook will be available for purchase in 2025.
Family Faith Every Day has a strong research component undergirded by Dr. Csinos, Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and founder of Faith Forward. Through the Family Faith Every Day program, he will conduct research focused on identifying the effectiveness of particular faith practices in families with children from birth to age five.
“As a researcher of children’s spirituality and as a parent, I know what a difference that an early foundation in faith practices can make in the lives of families,” Csinos said. “I’m overjoyed to partner with Chalice Media Group and with Rev. Smith on this program.”
Smith and Csinos bring real-life experience to the project. Smith and her husband, Elias Cabarcas, are the parents of three young children. Csinos and his wife, Lydia Hood, are the parents of two young children with a third arriving soon.
Family Faith Every Day is an extension of Chalice Media’s mission to create a world in which families can grow in their faith and their love through daily faith practices and experiences across generations.
Initially published by Chalice Press in 2014 under a different title, the expanded edition of Faithful Families: Creating Sacred Moments at Home was published in 2017. Two additional books, Faithful Families for Advent and Christmas and Faithful Families for Lent, Easter, and Resurrection, have been added to the line. The original book was created in partnership with Young Clergy Women International.
Chalice Media Group is one of 125 organizations that have received grants through the Christian Parenting initiative. Reflecting the diversity of Christianity in the United States, the organizations are affiliated with mainline Protestant, evangelical, Catholic, Orthodox Christian and Pentecostal faith communities. Many of the organizations are rooted in Black church, Hispanic and Asian Christian traditions.
“We’ve heard from many parents who are seeking to nurture the spiritual lives of their children, especially in their daily activities, and looking to churches and other faith-based organizations for support,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion.
“These thoughtful, creative and collaborative organizations embrace the important role that families have in shaping the religious development of children and are launching programs to assist parents and caregivers with this task.”
Lilly Endowment launched the Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative in 2022 because of its interest in supporting efforts to help individuals and families from diverse Christian communities draw more fully on the wisdom of Christian practices to live out their faith fully and well passing on a vibrant faith to a new generation.
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe.
About Chalice Media Group
A St. Louis, Missouri-based ministry incorporated in 1911, Chalice is the publishing house of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Our legal name is the Christian Board of Publication, Chalice creates print and digital resources that support a faith community that is vibrant and energizing, a worldwide force for justice, peace, love, and multifaith cooperation. Chalice is supported by income generated by the sales of our books, summer camp curriculum, and congregational resources; a sliver of our income is provided by small donations from our website customers or individual donors. Chalice receives virtually no denominational funding. Learn more about our work at ChaliceMedia.org.
