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Listening for God in the Stories of Parents: A Phenomenological Study at the Service of Church and Academy

Abstract This paper presents the methodology of a study designed to explore how the event of parenthood affects adult perceptions of faith journey, especially as lived out through their involvement and experience with a community of faith. The study included twelve new parents in six different Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) Lutheran congregations and listened for how they experienced parenthood in terms of religious experience and if they perceived the congregation to have a role in this experience. This grounded theory study sought to explore if and/or how becoming a parent enriches the faith life of a person, as well as if and/or how this event affects a parent's involvement and experience with a community of faith.