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Pastoral Care
FAMILY SUPPORT
Parents, do you ever get discouraged when you see how our society is moving further away from God’s design? When I see and hear about how the family unit is breaking down, I get discouraged. The divorce rate is up, the number of youth suicides is forever climbing, abuse is always evident. God’s design for the family is being pushed further into the background. I believe that the more our society moves away from the family unit, the more our society is going to crumble. Our society should be based on the family unit. Don’t hear me saying that we shouldn’t be concerned about the special groups that need to be cared for, but the CENTRE of our society needs to be based on the family. I believe that is God’s design from the very beginning. As I see the ongoing effects of the breakdown of the family unit, I’m encouraged that there are groups that are working hard supporting the family. One organisation that you may know well is ‘Focus on the Family’. The founder is Dr James Dobson and they are celebrating their 25th anniversary. Focus on the Family is a non-profit organisation that produces internationally syndicated radio programs in 9 languages in over 98 countries. Their mission is ‘to cooperate with the Holy Sprit in disseminating the Gospel of Jesus Christ to as many people as possible, and, specifically to accomplish that objective by helping to preserve traditional values and the institution of the family’.
I enjoy going onto their web site, www.family.org, looking at the hundreds of resources they have for the family. My children grew on reading the kid’s magazines that were sent to them each month and listening to the stories of ‘Whit’s End’ on tape. The sites for younger kids provide fun articles, recipes, activity suggestions, poems and games. The teen sites not only prepare their readers for the adult years, but tackle transition and cultural issues teens are facing today.
There are also magazines and sites for parents, single parents, young families, pastors, physicians and many others.
It’s great to know that Australia has a ‘Focus on the Family’ office in Melbourne that supports families in many ways. Lloyd Brennan and myself have being running the ‘Drug Proof Your Kids’ program for the last 3 years that was design in the Melbourne office. Their web site is www.families.org.au
As you can tell, I’m a real supporter of ‘Focus on the Family’. I encourage you to have a look through the web sites and judge for yourself. I believe that parents need all the support and encouragement they can get.
Terry Beavan
Pastoral Care Coordinator
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