2008 Christian Home Month: Families Called to Hope
Planning Resources for Congregations & Conferences

Christian Home Month 2008: A Retreat Model

Christian Home Month 2008: Worship Service Resources
These worship helps are suggested for celebrating Christian Home Sunday. This year Pentecost is May 11, which is also Mother’s Day and the traditional date for celebrating the Christian Home. You may want to change Christian Home Sunday to May 18, the Sunday after Pentecost. For additional resources, use The United Methodist Book of Worship.

Families Called to Hope
The Christian Home Month theme for 2008 is Families: Called to Hope.

Hopeful Living At Home

Family Covenant for Hopeful Living

Christian Home Month Planning Calendar (April 2008-April 2009)

Family Study for Lent
The church season of Lent is a wonderful time to start weekly family devotions.

African American Family Life Bibliography
Resolution 57, found in The Book of Resolutions of the United Methodist Church 2004, charges the General Board of Discipleship with providing a listing of resources and programs developed to strengthen African American family life.

Understanding People in Life’s Second Half
America is moving from being a youth-oriented culture to a senior-oriented culture as the Boomers enter life's second half.

Helicopter Parenting & the Millennial Generation
Nationwide, campuses are experiencing an increase in “helicopter parents,” who hover over their children and participate in decision-making in their daily lives.

Rite of Passage Prayers for Teens Receiving Their Driver's Licenses
The following are some ritual resources and prayers for use with youth receiving their driver's licenses. Families, congregations, and pastors should adapt them and include symbols, actions, and expressions that are full of meaning in such rites.

Grandparenting
According to the 2000 US Census, there are more than 4.5 million children under 18 living in grandparent-headed households. One-third of these children have no parent present in the home.

Intergenerational Programs — Faith-Based Possibilities
Faith communities are natural contexts within which to do intergenerational programming.

Are You Raising Your Grandchildren?
Raising grandchildren is a very demanding responsibility. It can tax your energy, stress the family finances, and change relationships within and outside the family.

A Grandparent as a Spiritual Guide
A brief review of The Grandparent Guide: The Definitive Guide to Coping with the Challenges of Modern Grandparenting.

Grandparenting Resources
Resources to support grandparents caring for children.

What the United Methodist Social Principles Say About Human Sexuality
The United Methodist Church has Social Principles (pages 95-122, The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church — 2000) that speak to issues in the lives of people. You may or may not be aware that there are paragraphs that address human sexuality. We have excerpted the portions of paragraph 161 that apply to human sexuality and have them here for you to read.

Christian Parents as Sex Educators: One Couple's Approach To Guiding Their Teenagers

Sexuality and Older Married Couples

Sexuality: What Does It Really Mean?
Sexuality is about who we are as whole beings made in the image of God. Sexuality is woven into who we are as spiritual beings.

Human Sexuality Education Resources
A summary of resources to be used in supporting individual and group study in human sexuality education.

Faith Development of Children
Covering the stages of faith development, this article begins with young children and goes through teen faith characteristics.

Physical Growth of Children
When we teach Sunday school or vacation Bible school, lead small groups of children, or work in child care, it is important that we realize the physical capabilities and needs of children.

Stepfamilies: How Congregations Can Provide Needed Support
Congregations can and should provide support for stepfamilies. But to do so, they need to understand some of the dynamics of stepfamilies.

Extending Hospitality to Singles in a Family-Oriented Congregation
We seem to be caught between a rock and hard place when it comes to ministering with singles.

Sociologists Find Stronger Relationships Between Mothers and Fathers In Religiously Active Families
Mothers and fathers in religiously involved U.S. families with early adolescents, those ages 12 to 14, are more likely to have significantly stronger relationships than families that are not religiously active. These findings were released by sociologists with the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR), based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
In today's society, people of all ages, both male and female, get caught up with appearances and with body image.

Exchanging Ideas for Family Retreats and Camps

A Service of Prayer for Marriages
and
Worship Resources and Prayers for Marriages

Family Prayers for Special Days in the Life of a Child
There are a number of occasions when families gather together in God's presence to pray about the special times in their lives. During these times the members of the household gather, place the child in the center, and offer one of the following prayers.

Ten Commandments for Family TV Viewing

A Collect for the Children of Iraq and Our Children

Prayers for Families in a Time of War

Web Resources for Helping Children and Youth Cope With Issues of War and Peace

Kids and War: Recognizing the stress ... helping them to cope

An Open Letter to an Eight-Year-Old Who Asks, "Why Does There Have to Be War?"

Celebrate Life's "Firsts"

Churches Can Be Advocates for Children
As think tanks, foundations, community groups, bishops, and child advocates search for ways to raise children out of poverty, integrate them into a caring community, and provide stability and purpose to their lives, we in the church carry a special responsibility to "make our family get bigger." Here are ways some churches can be advocates for children

Celebrate the New Year with Your Family
More often than not, New Year's celebrations are geared toward adults and focus more on the party than on the milestone of a New Year. You can celebrate the New Year in your home either on New Year's Eve, on New Year's Day, or during the first week of January. Here are some suggestions.

Epiphany Celebrations for the Home
By following the story in the Gospels of Luke and of Matthew, we know the wise men did not reach Jesus until sometime after his birth. Because of this, we separate the celebration of Jesus' birth from the celebration of the coming of the wise men on Epiphany (January 6)