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	Alternative Halloween Celebrations Thanksgiving Celebrations for the Home Plan for some time during the holiday to be a time of rest. Set aside a minimum of one hour for your family to take a walk together or to sit together and listen to soothing music or to sit in silence for a while then talk together. 2009 Advent Home Worship Advent is the season when we prepare ourselves to receive God's gift of Jesus. It is a time of "getting ready" for the celebration of Christmas. Here are some ways you can prepare yourself and your family for celebrating Jesus' birth. 2009 Christian Home Month: Families Called to Love 2009 Christian Home Month: Families Called to Love -- Introduction The Christian Home Resources are designed for use by family ministry leaders, family life council chairpersons/coordinators, and family ministries teams in local congregations. 2009 Christian Home Month: Families Called to Love -- Worship Service Resources The following helps are suggested for use in a worship service where families are lifted up. See also the United Methodist Book of Worship. 2009 Christian Home Month: Families Called to Love -- Family Covenant for Love 2009 Christian Home Month: Families Called to Love -- Family Devotional Times When planning family devotional times, consider: (1) What is the purpose? (2) When is the appropriate time? 2009 Christian Home Month: Families Called to Love -- Congregational Activities for Christian Home Month 2009 Christian Home Month: Families Called to Love -- Retreat Model The following is offered as a guide to those congregations who wish to have a churchwide retreat using the theme, "Families: Called to Love." 2009 Christian Home Month: Families Called to Love -- Planning Calendar (April 2009-April 2010) 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)