"Living Faithfully with Families in Transition" offers Biblical and other insights into the many forms of family life today

by Barbara Gaddis

[4-15-03]

The 209^th General Assembly (1997) handed the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy a daunting task when it asked for a paper to "examine the issue of changing families and the social structures that support families, with a particular focus on the impact of these changes on children."

A five year process of Task Force deliberation, Synod Consultation, and editing has produced a carefully drawn, theologically sound, Biblically informed, sociologically relevant document that at it's heart bids the church to exit the cultural warfare over so-called family values, and embrace, value, support and nurture the family of the twenty-first century in its variety of forms. The report does not take strident positions on one side or the other of the political spectrum. Instead, it presents a well-reasoned case for social policies that provide increased time for family life, adequate family-sustaining wages for all families, and reduced economic and consumer pressure on families. Further, it asks the PCUSA to renew its commitment to resisting forces that weaken family well-being, including materialism, consumerism, individualism, and discrimination based on race, gender, class, age, disability or sexual orientation.

All of these policy recommendations flow from four bedrock theological affirmations based on a careful study of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, and the Reformed confessions. First, that family life in a variety of forms is integral to human life. Second, that the Biblical tradition portrays God as working through diverse family structures. Third, that as important as family life is, the biblical tradition makes clear that one ought not promote one's own family over the well-being of others. And fourth, that by grace the church is called to live on the edge of social change, by calling the society to account for its treatment of families.

There are several compelling sections of the full report, worthy of a careful read. First, the stories at the beginning of the full report outline real life accounts of real families known to those involved in the writing of the report. At once endearing and frustrating, the stories make clear the social and economic problems facing families in the new century. The stories also signal that this report will not only be about the white middle class; there are sixteen stories that encompass a variety of family experiences across ethnic, cultural, economic, and racial lines. At the end of each paragraph, the reader is asked to consider two questions, "What should be the response of a just society? What should be the response of the Family of God?"

Second, throughout the report prayers are offered for the entire human family, for the church, for families, for children, for faithfulness, for redemption in failure, for healing, for vision. These prayers draw the reader from statistics and research to spiritual reflection, enriching the experience of reading the paper.

Third, using the best historical-critical methods and sources, the section on the Bible and the Confessions highlights what is known and unknown about God's intention for contemporary families. In quick fashion the report disposes of the notion that there is one and only one way God envisions families, laying aside the often idealized two-parent-two-child-mom-at home-dad-at-work family to embrace a fuller understanding of the Biblical and confessional accounts of God's work through varieties of family forms.

The bulk of the paper presents sociological, economic and anthropological data regarding contemporary U.S. families and how those data have changed or not changed over the past 30 to 50 years. It examines changing gender roles, divorce, single parents, teen-aged parents, step families, foster families, unmarried couples, families of one, couples of different faith traditions and ethnicities, families with members who need special care, employment, unemployment rates and distribution of income by race, and same sex families. Woven through the discussion is the impact of all these changes on the well-being of children.

"Living Faithfully with Families in Transition" will not please everyone. For example, the report carefully sidesteps the issue of endorsing same-sex families (citing the lack of consensus within the church), while challenging the church and society not to stigmatize or harm the children of these families. Conversely, the report refuses to endorse any family form as better than any other family form, citing Biblical, confessional, and sociological evidence that God is at work, and that children can be nurtured and raised well, in many family forms, if those families are supported by fair economic practices, by living wages, and by the faith community.

Finally, "Living Faithfully with Families in Transition" recommends the adoption of "A Vision for Family Ministries," a document based on the 1988-1992 work of the Presbyterian Mariners and others, that outlines ideas and principles to aid congregations in supporting and nurturing and advocating for the variety of twenty-first century families. In concise and poetic fashion "A Vision for Family Ministries" functions as a mission statement for the Church's work with families, and a summary of the report.

"Living Faithfully with Families in Transition" will be debated by committee 07, National Issues.

The author

The Rev. Dr. Barbara Gaddis is a family counselor in Boone, Iowa; she chaired the task force that drafted the report on "Living Faithfully with Families in Transition"

Other opinions:

The right side of the Presbyterian Church is responding to the world with various degrees of criticism.  Some samples: