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Sarah Johnson, author of Daring
to be Different: Being a Faith Family in a Secular World has devised a
set of questions:
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How
easy is it for a parent with young children to feel at home and
perhaps become involved in your
parish?
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Are
there activities for all age groups and for parents of all age groups?
See the chart developed by St Joan
of Arc parish in Highbury as an example.
The Family Worship
website has some interesting pointers and checklists for involving all
ages in Sunday liturgies.
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Is
support for parents included in programmes for Holy Communion and
Confirmation? Is there access to a parentcraft course such as that
offered by the Family Caring
Trust?
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Is
sufficient account taken of the logistics for families with several
children over a wide age range? Timetabling can be difficult enough
when parents are juggling work and home life
-
How
often does the parish take an audit of what support parents have in
their parish? Use or adapt a questionnaire
from the Everybody's Welcome resource
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Does
the timing of activities take into account the constraints on
parents’ lives placed by school term dates and holidays?
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A well
organised children’s liturgy group (with regular training and support
from their parish, deanery or diocese) can be crucial to making parents
feel welcome. See Liturgy of the Word
with Children published by the Bishops' Conference Liturgy Office.
"The joyful love with which our parents welcomed us
and accompanied our first steps in this world is like a sacramental sign
and prolongation of the benevolent love of God from which we have come.
The experience of being welcomed and loved by God and by our parents is
always the firm foundation for authentic human growth and authentic
development, helping us to mature on the way towards truth and love, and
to move beyond ourselves in order to enter into communion with others and
with God."
Pope Benedict XVI. Sermon at the Fifth World Meeting of Families,
Valencia 2006
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