Tapestry of Faith: Families: A Jr. High School Youth Program that Explores the Diversity, Commonality, and Meaning of Families

Taking It Home: Families Function: Families Work

Part of Families

Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

DURING TODAY’S SESSION . . .

We talked about the work that is involved in being part of a family. We wrote job descriptions for each family member.

EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER: TALK ABOUT . . .

Now that you have had a chance to learn a bit about the work of families, how does it apply to the work in your household? Make a list of the jobs in your household and who does them. Include things like make the money and do the homework. Don’t forget things like driving family members to activities and school. Is there some way you could lend a hand? Is this a topic for a family meeting or dinnertime or a car ride conversation?

EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER: TRY . . .

Do any of the family jobs have the element of ritual? For example, does someone always wear the same clothes while doing a job or always perform the job at the same time of day? Is there anything spiritual about the work that keeps families functioning? What would “ritualizing” a job, in order to highlight the spiritual work of supporting our families, look like? Taking such a step could be fun!

A FAMILY GAME

Check out FlyLady.net. FlyLady has a free online and e-mail system for organizing your home. She sends e-mails to remind you of the daily chores of the house. Each week she has special areas of the house to concentrate on. She reminds you to take care of yourself and not to try to be perfect. Subscribe for a month. What happens when you use her system to help with the housework? What is her point of view? What are her biases?