For the Good of the Family

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The African American Church has always played an important role in improving the lives of African Americans. It is appropriate and significant that we begin to deal with the breakdown of the family in the church,” said Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell, Associate General Secretary for Justice and Advocacy for NCC.

“This conference ["Breaking the Silence", held in D.C. next week] will equip African American church leaders and congregations to strengthen Black families and the community as a whole,” she said.

The training is aimed at empowering and equipping clergy and laity to address family issues in a way not taught in Sunday school or seminary. The conference will also focus on the development of tools and messaging around support for low income families.

Knowing that children who do not live with both biological parents are twice as likely to be poor, to have birth outside of marriage, to have behavioral problems and to not graduate from high school, participants will address the issues that undermine African American families, particularly low-income households, from entering into and maintaining healthy families and strong marriages.

This is fantastic. Anything that helps us knit families together more closely and root them in the Christian faith seems to me to be a good thing -- a necessary corrective to the growth of 'secular' culture and 'secular' parenting, which seems more often to be dysfunctional than not these days. Not that Christian families are immune from harm, but I think loving and obeying Christ has got to be the place to start to put our own families, and our culture, back together. Pray that this conference may be successful.