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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![[212] FAMILY WELLNESS THROUGH CHURCHES work for family wellness. The place to begin is with one's own marriage and family life (when the person is married). These church leaders also need professional training in family life. This training can equip them to be effective family ministers in the regular work of the church, using such varied occasions as member¬ ship training or funerals as family ministries as well as in special services to families such as marriage enrichment or counseling. Churches need to make optimum use of their members in family ministry. These efforts include involving family members in assessing their own needs and in developing ministries to meet those needs as well as in finding ways to make full use of professionals and other trained persons in family ministry. Programs can be developed to facilitate families helping families directly. This helping may be in meeting the instrumental needs as well as the expressive needs of families—from swapping skills in home repairs to family clustering. Churches can help families evaluate their lifestyles and assess their impact on the community. Families need to become aware of the implications of their lifestyle for community values and resources. This may be as important and pervasive as the kind of food we eat, the fuel we use, or what we invest in a wedding or a funeral. Families may be challenged to get involved in programs of peace and justice in the community, the nation, and the world. Family well¬ ness necessitates moving beyond one's own family to concern for others and for systems and structures as well as for individuals and groups of people. Local churches need to cooperate with other religious groups and family serving agencies in the community in developing those programs that can be done best through ecumenical approaches such as in helping couples prepare for marriage or in providing training for marriage and family enrichment leaders. Even though local churches are likely to be the units that develop family ministries, these churches need the help of highly trained family professionals and well-developed family life resources from the denominational level. Throughout the nation there is increasing concern for the quality of family life. In most of the churches there is a rising interest in giving a high priority to family ministries. More and more church leaders are speaking up for families, yet most of the churches are not supporting their words with actions. In fact, with the present economic pressures, many churches are cutting back on staff and resources for marriage](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b18037604_0215.JP2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
