The Family Life Unit of St Peter's Parish in Carenage is certainly ending the Church year with an interesting and very beneficial programme.
The programme comprises four sessions on helping family life in the parish. The first was held on Friday, October 3 with a session for the parents of recently baptised babies. It was entitled "Good Parenting".
It began with prayer led by parish priest, Monsignor Cuthbert Alexander who remarked that the idea of the programme was excellent; something was sorely needed to keep parents in touch with their religious practices, since after baptism they are seldom seen again until their children are about to prepare for the sacrament of First Holy Communion.
Shirley Smith then gave a short report on what the Family Life Unit is all about. Joan Thomas then took over of the programme. Thomas explained that the Unit has as its patron Our Lady herself.
She then introduced her first guest Juditha Fitwilliam of St John's Parish in Diego Martin. Fitwilliam gave a splendid rendition of the Ave Maria to the delight and appreciation of all present.
The guest speaker then offered her advice and suggestions for good parenting to the new parents. She recalled the good old days when everyone was everyone's parent not only the biological parent and suggested that we need to return to those days when children were loved and respected by all. She also said that parents should return to those days when they accompanied their children to Sunday Mass and not only send them.
Finally another member of the unit, Gloria Cunin took over and asked each parent present to put the name of her family written on a heart, on a tree set up next to a beautiful back drop of the Holy Family.
This she said was our own family tree which will be kept so that when other parents attend the other sessions, their names would be added and finally there would be a family tree with all the names of the new parents.
The programme ended with the blessing of Monsignor and the final hymn Bind us together led off by Juditha again. |
