Interfaith Council Issue Forum: Family Values in Jax - May 19th, 7:30 PM, Family Life Center

Sarah Troup on May 1, 2009

 

Family Values in Jacksonville: Faith Groups Speak Out

Tuesday, May 19th, 7:30-9:30 p.m. at Southside Methodist Church, south end of their facilities, at  3120 Hendricks Ave. Sponsored by the Jacksonville Interfaith Council

 

Our scriptures and beliefs all support the family as the foundation of our faiths. Our faiths and families nurture the values with which we live our lives. In the 21st century, the family in Jacksonville looks different than Biblical or even frontier American families did. Fifty per cent of American marriages do not last a lifetime. Most women work outside of the home, by financial necessity and/or by choice. Many families with children have only a single parent resident in the home. Extended families may live thousands of miles away. Most families have complicated, busy schedules and often do not spend much of their time together. Given the realities of the 21st century Jacksonville family, what do our congregations and faiths teach us about appropriate family values?

 A panel of Jacksonville faith leaders will address the following questions during an evening of discussion among people of faith in Jacksonville. 

 

  • 1. What has your faith taught you about appropriate family values?
  • 2. What does your faith teach about parents' appropriate responsibilities and boundaries?
  • 3. How does your faith deal with conflicts between spouses?
  • 4. How does your faith respond to the different kinds of families in your congregation and in Jacksonville today?
  • 5. How do your members find balance between home and work, family, friends, and civic responsibilities?

    • The panelists are: Helen Godwin, President of the Jacksonville Interfaith Council and an active Methodist, David O'Byrne, a marriage and family counselor at Catholic Charities, Rev. Deborah Jackson, St. John's Episcopal Church, Rabbi Joshua Lief, The Temple, and Rev. Dr. Nicholas Louh, St. John the Divine Greek Orthodox Church. The moderator will be Dr. John Young, Unitarian Universalist Minister and Adjunct Professor of Religion at UNF. The moderator will make an opening statement and introduce the panel. The panelists will each address the initial question for about 3 minutes. Then, the panel will discuss the other four questions with each other for about 25 minutes. All those who attend will be sitting in tables of eight that mix congregations so that each table has diverse participants. They will spend the next 10 minutes deciding upon two questions that they would like the panel to address later, and then the small groups will spend their remaining 30 minutes in their small group discussing the topic. In the remaining 40 minutes, the panel will address some of the questions raised by the small groups. A member of the Amity Turkish Center is providing free cheese or vegetarian pizza for the participants. Please join us! Help us to build bridges of love and justice!