2009 Christian Home Month: Families Called to Love -- Planning Calendar
(April 2009-April 2010)

April: Begin plans for celebrating Christian Home Month in worship, in small-group gatherings, with a churchwide meal, and in homes. Ask families to bring to the church pictures and written statements about how they practice love for God and love for one another at home and in their communities. Use these to create a bulletin board and to put in the church newsletter and bulletin.

May: Carry out plans made for celebrating the Christian Home. Recognize women in the congregation who are mothers in families and mothers in faith.

Celebrate Pentecost Sunday. Invite congregation members to wear red on May 31. Make a Pentecost bulletin board decorated with a tree and ask individuals and families to add to the tree those in the congregation who have helped the church grow.

June: Recognize men in the congregation who are fathers in families and fathers in faith. Publish a devotional guide for families to use on vacation. Include Scripture, meditations, and prayers. Celebrate graduates. Invite each graduate to name someone in the congregation who has been a guide for him or her in faith.

July: Plan a fix-up day at church and invite families to help with projects of beautification for the church and the church grounds. Recruit a leader and set up a Companions in Christ study group using the study, The Way of Blessedness Participant's Book by Marjorie J. Thompson and Leader's Guide by Stephen D. Bryant (Upper Room Books).

August: Have an "end of summer" ice cream social. Ask church members to bring school supplies that can be given to local schools for families who cannot afford to buy supplies for their children. Pray in worship for teachers and for students as they begin a new school year.

September: Hold a parenting class for parents and grandparents. Use the Upper Room resource Parents and Grandparents as Spiritual Guides: Nurturing Children of the Promise by Betty Shannon Cloyd. Contact local hospitals to identify needs of new parents. Invite congregational members to bring in items needed by the hospitals for new babies and their families.

October: Celebrate the Children's Sabbath on the second Sunday of October. Call the Office of Children's Ministries, General Board of Discipleship 1-877-899-2780, ext. 7074 for instructions on how to get resources.

November: Provide a bulletin insert with prayers for families to use in celebrating Thanksgiving. Plan needed resources for celebrating Advent and Christmas in the home. Provide a list of places needing volunteers that would welcome families volunteering together for Thanksgiving celebrations for those who are without food and shelter.

December: Offer an Advent workshop for families. Invite individuals to bring to the church one Advent/Christmas decoration they use in their home and talk about why this is important to them. Provide a devotional guide for lighting the Advent wreath and praying together at home.

January: If you haven't yet used the "Family Covenant for Love," invite families to do so as a New Year's Resolution. Publish a list of "beat the winter doldrums" ideas. Include such ideas as playing a board game with the family; telling one another stories of ancestors; having a star-gazing night; picking a favorite Bible story and acting it out.

February: Celebrate Marriage Ministries on the Sunday closest to Valentine's Day. Recognize anniversaries, engagements, and milestones in the lives of couples in the congregation. Encourage families to have pancakes the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, remembering that with Ash Wednesday on February 17, we begin Lent and a time of study and self-denial.

March: Plan a retreat for couples. Use the Upper Room resource Love Never Ends or contact one of the United Methodist affiliate groups which has as its mission strengthening marriage. Call the General Board of Discipleship (1-877-899-2780, ext. 7170) for information on each affiliate organization.

Holy Week begins March 28 with Passion/Palm Sunday, so provide resources prior to that date for families to observe Holy Week and Easter.

April: Begin plans for celebrating Christian Home Month in May. Call the General Board of Discipleship (1-877-899-2780, ext. 7170) and request any new resources available for support of family ministries.

Resources that Support Ministries with Families

The Christian Home Month Resource, published annually by the General Board of Discipleship, is designed for leaders of family ministries. Available on the GBOD website, print copies are also available from the General Board of Discipleship, PO Box 340003, Nashville, TN 37203-0003. Phone toll-free 877-899-2780 Ext. 7170. Fax: 615-340-7011. E-mail: mnorton@gbod.org.

A recommended resource list for family ministries is available online at www.gbod.org/ministries/family/resources.asp.

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