Peacemaking Begins at Home: Family Resources 2004
Each year, the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship joins with other denominations to cooperatively produce resources for use during Family Week. In previous years we provided this resource to churches in the form of a poster that was mailed out from our offices. This year, all participating denominations moved to a new format. The resources are available online at www.ncccusa.org/. Print copies may be ordered for $10 from the Rev. Garland Pierce, Associate Director for Education and Leadership Ministries, National Council of Churches, Suite 880, 475 Riverside Dr., New York, NY 10115.
Family Week is traditionally celebrated one of three times a year. Churches in the U.S. have had a tradition of celebrating it the week preceding and including Mother's Day. After the attacks of September 11, President Bush established a family night in September. His goal was for families to take the time to eat together and talk with one another. This has now become a new tradition and a time to again celebrate family. The third date of celebration is the week of Thanksgiving. Many communities use this traditional time of gathering to extend to a celebration of family and home.
This year's resources focus on the theme, "Peacemaking Begins at Home." The United Nations has declared the first decade of the twenty-first century to be the "Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World." The resources provided on the Naational Council of Churches' website relate to the Family Pledge of Nonviolence and are designed to engage families in conversations and activities of peace and nonviolence. The activities are appropriate for use in the home, primarily by families with children or by congregations in planning intergenerational events.
Go to The Institute for Peace and Justice, www.ipj-ppj.org, for the "Family Pledge of Nonviolence"; "Reflections for Parents on the Preschool Pledge of Nonviolence"; "Families Creating a Circle of Peace" (in English and Spanish), and additional leadership resources and workshops. All are available from the Institute for Peace and Justice, 4144 Lindell Blvd #408, St. Louis, MO 63108; 314-533-4445.
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