"Gathering the Spirit" at First Baptist Church: Spirituality as a Protective Factor in the Lives of African American Children

Knowledge of human behavior in cultural context is the source from which all ethnic-sensitive social work practice emerges. Although research on resilience has burgeoned over the past several decades, relatively little is known about socialization contexts and practices that support the development of African American children. This article summarizes an ethnographic study describing the beliefs of African American adults about children's socialization and related socialization practices within the context of Sunday school, and how this knowledge was used to generate an ethnic-sensitive social work intervention designed to support the development of resilience in African American children.