LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1975, Page 367

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PARISH SERVICES 367

child relationships including Effectiveness Training for Lu-
therans. and the production and dissemination of media re-
sources.

A. Planning a Ministry with People in Families

The Synod's Director of Family Life Education (Evan
Temple) helps establish and support our network of 38 District
education executives and their appointed family life consultants.
In this biennium seven consultant training sessions were con-
ducted in different regions of the United States. The District
consultant is equipped with a planning process which can be
used with District and parish groups wanting a program of per-
sonal and family growth. The consultant is assisted to gain com-
petence in identifying and diagnosing the needs of families
as they live toward the 1980s. He is equipped to design programs
which, it is hoped. will meet the identified needs. He is exposed
to resources of material and people that can be helpful for a
wide variety of such programs. Some of these program re-
sources are listed below.

In the past 2 ycars 32 Districts received specialized help
from the Director of Family Life Education in program planning
and implementation.

So that the Synod's Director of Family Life Education can
be better equipped to provide service to the District consultants,
he affiliates with the National Council on Family Relations. the
Association of Couples for Marriage Enrichment, the Family
Ministries Staff of the Major Denominations of the United
States and Canada, and the National Alliance for Family
Life, Inc.

B. Marriage Enrichment and Marriage Education
and Counseling Seminars

The quality of marriage relationships and the level of joy
generally experienced by Lutheran couples and families indi-
cates that we have only just begun to enrich the lives of those
contemplating marriage. those now married. and those ending
a marriage relationship. God intends that marriage is to be a
blessed experience. To help make it so. the Board of Parish
Education is involved in these enriching activities.

We are continually studying and searching for an adequate
definition and description of marriage that is wholly Biblical.
We listen to husbands and wives articulate personal and familial
needs so we can plan study courses. retreats, seminars. and
other experiences to help meet those needs. We assure the
married persons of our church that a basic mission upon which
Christ has sent us is to build up ourselves and each other in our
relationship with Him, self. spouse, and children, and to show
that these God-given relationships have a direct effect on all our
living. We have discovered specific maladies which disrupt the
marriage relationship. The Synod’s Marriage Education and
Counseling Seminars are proving to be most effective in helping
pastors deal with these problems. These seminars are supported
by four boards of the Synod. the Wheat Ridge Foundation. and
cooperating Districts. Rev. Edwin Fritze serves as the director
of this project.

Authorized for a 4-year term by the Denver convention
in 1969, reaffirmed for a second 4-year term by the New Orleans
convention in 1973. the Marriage Education and Counseling
Seminars for pastors. directors of Christian education, teachers.
and other professional church workers continue to serve as an
enthusiastically received means of personal and professional
growth.

Twenty-nine seminars have been held throughout the United
States and Canada, encompassing all continental synodical
Districts. In addition, as authorized by the New Orleans con-
vention, four 1-week follow-up. advanced seminars have been
held. Some 760 pastors and 650 wives have participated in the
seminar experience. Responses, as indicated in written evalua-
tions, have been overwhelmingly positive. Requests from
participants are virtually unanimous for a continuation of the
program into new Districts and for repetition in those Districts
where the program has already been held.

The program consists of two kinds of seminars. Program
“A” is a 2-week (Monday through Thursday noon) program
involving the church worker the first week and including his
spouse the second week. Program “B” is a 1-week (Monday
through Thursday noon) program involving both husband and
wife. Program “‘B" is a follow-up, advanced type of seminar
intended primarily for those who have previously participated

in a Program "A™ seminar. All but two Districts of the Synod
are scheduled to have completed both an “A and a *B" seminar
by the end of January 1978.

The program is designed so that during the first week of
Program A‘ the church worker concentrates on those factors
which make for effective counseling. Dynamics of human be-
havior, reality of feelings, the art of communication, counseling
processes, and practicum in counseling compose the schedule
for this first week.

The second week of Program *‘A,” in which the spouses are
involved, also concentrates on healthy marriage relationships.
Definition of marriage and divorce. dynamics of marriage inter-
action, sex facts and attitudes. crisis intervention, premarital
counseling, parent-child relationships. development of parish
programs of family ministry. and the role of the pastor's wife are
items dealt with during this week.

For the week of Program **B” the schedule includes a study
of values and value clarification, understanding emotions
and defenses, marriage counseling and practicum. death and
grief counseling, divorce counseling. problem solving, and the
theological perspectives of counseling.

During all 3 weeks of both Programs *A™ and “B.” encounter
group experiences are provided for all participants. These are
led by highly trained. skilled, and experienced Lutheran
professional people. The benefits in growth that have been
experienced by the participants have made this aspect of the
program a strong element in the popular acclaim that has been
given the total seminar project.

As with so much in life, so also with regard to this Marriage
Education and Counseling Project. the value and benefits of the
program must be experienced: it cannot be explained. That
those who have been participants are the strongest supporters
of the program on synodical and district convention and con-
ference floors. and that so many are willing to take the time and
spend the money that participation requires. is evidence that the
program is serving a real. felt need in the personal and pro-
fessional lives of our church workers. The rich blessings of God
on this program are manifestly in evidence. The Synod is to be
commended for sponsoring and supporting it. A pioneering
venture, it has not been done in any other denomination but
arouses much interest among all who hear of it. It would cer-
tainly be in the interest of effective ministry for all our church
workers to avail themselves of this project of continuing edu-
cation.

C. Parent/Child Relationships —
Effectiveness Training for Lutherans

Whether a family is a blessing to its members and its society
or not usually depends on the effectiveness of the parent/child
relationships. Effective parenting can and does happen when
the parent understands his/her role and practices the skills
that are needed to develop and maintain a loving relationship
during the short time parents and children live together.

The Board of Parish Education recognizes the necessity of
concerted efforts for parent education. The subject is continually
on the agenda of the family life consultants, and there are on-
going discussions of staff and other parent educators as objec-
tives and program plans are carried out. Our parent-education
program is designed to remind parents that they are first and
foremost individuals with specific personal needs that must be
met if they are to function well as parents. We work toward
clarifying the roles of mother and father and show how these can
serve in the joint venture of parenting. We listen to the dual
and single parents, discover their needs. and plan studies
and growth sessions.

The National Lutheran Parent-Teacher League is primarily
involved in this facet of family life education. Its materials
and workshop/conventions, which in the last biennium were
held in California, Indiana. Minnesota, Illinois. and Michigan,
speak to the individual. the spouse. and the parent. It is
presently involved in expanding its program to involve more
than just the elementary school parish. The National Lutheran
Parent-Teacher League is for all families and offers program
helps and leadership training for any parish wishing to focus
on a ministry with families.

Effectiveness Training for Lutherans

In this age of strife and contention. with traditional beliefs
and values questioned or ignored. the Lutheran family is also