Prevention in family services : approaches to family wellness / edited by David R. Mace.
- Date:
- [1983], ©1983
Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Credit: Prevention in family services : approaches to family wellness / edited by David R. Mace. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![Smith [211] married couples for two or three evenings. Couples can be invited to read and discuss some good books on marriage from the church library or from the pastor. The pastor may require several premarital counseling sessions, perhaps two with the couple together and one or more with each privately. The pastor can conduct the rehearsal so as to prepare for the wedding as a celebration in worship and commit¬ ment. Many pastors encourage a final postwedding interview from one to six months after the wedding. Couples may be expected to take part in a marital growth group about a year after marriage or a weekend retreat followed by a marital support group. Programs of this kind are described in earlier chapters of this book, so they need not be further elaborated here. AFFIRMING ONE'S BODY AND ONE'S SEXUALITY Another necessary element of family wellness is the affirmation of one's body and one's sexuality as a good gift of God, accepted and enjoyed responsibly, not rejected or abused. Some churches say that they believe persons can be fully human only when that gift is acknowledged and affirmed by themselves, the Church, and society. We call all persons to disciplines that lead to the fulfillment of themselves, others, and society in the stewardship of this gift. Medical, theological, and humanistic disciplines should combine in a determined effort to under¬ stand human sexuality more completely. Education in sexuality is a joint task of church, home, and school. In each setting, sex education is best done in the context of family life. Churches have an opportunity to assist parents in being the best possible sex educators with their own children. SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION Pastors and other professional church leaders need to be helped to understand the value of families and the importance of family minis¬ try, so that they are emotionally committed and highly motivated to](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b18037604_0214.JP2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
