2011 Packet

A packet of materials is available for download. If you are unable to download the materials and would like to have a packet mailed to you, at the cost of $5, please contact Wilma Shuffitt at (888) 346-2631.

We hope your church will participate in all of the advocacy and prayer activities being suggested. May your participation be a joyful celebration of the many ways your congregation cares for children, learns from children, and enters into ministry with children.

Contents of the 2011 Light a Candle for Children Packet

• The Vigil brochure and insert outline steps for implementing your prayer vigil. You can print out copies of the brochure, add the insert, and give to everyone who participates in your congregation's vigil.
• The Prayer Vigil Calendar already has a number of prayer commitments from filled in. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) General Staff in Indianapolis, The United Church of Christ National Staff in Cleveland, The National Council of Christian Churches in New York, and the Children's Defense Fund in Washington D.C., have all taken a day to pray for children. All you have to do is fill in the rest of the forty days with people from your congregation and community.
• The Action Page for the 2011 Light a Candle Children Prayer Vigil is to study and take action on behalf of public schools.
• A Disciples Care for Children Button Order Form makes it easy for you to order these buttons that symbolize our efforts to minister to children, receive the ministry of children and enter into ministry with children. Many churches like to order these buttons for each of the people who participate in the prayer vigil. They are .45 each.
• The 2011 Response Form is helpful in our planning to know what your congregation did during the prayer vigil and Sabbath observance. Your ideas and activities are encouraging to others.
• CDF’s State of American’s Children, 2011.

• The Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS COUNT now includes community-level data in addition to city, state and national data. You will find here more than 100 indicators of child well-being, including economic status, health, safety, and risk factors. You can create your own maps, graphs, and charts as you tell the story of children in your community and state.
• "The Church and Children-Vision and Goals for the 21st Century." If your congregation has not yet studied this document on children from the National Council of Christian Churches, it is highly recommends you consider doing so. The study guide and policy statement is a free download from the National Council of Christian Churches.  
• Information for ordering the 2011 National Observance of Children's Sabbaths Manual. As you will see the manual is only available as a download from the internet.

Advocate All Year Long

You can advocate for children all year long by joining the Rapid Response Team. Additional resources you might find helpful include:

• Children's Defense Fund
• The Institute for Peace and Justice
• Disciples Center for Public Witness