Family Life Commission organises Team Convention in Port Dickson

Noting that ‘The family is the life of the Church,’ the Archdiocesan Family Life Commission (AFLC) organised a Team Convention November 2-4 at the Port Dickson Golf & Country Club. All parish representatives and those involved in the Family Life Ministry were invited to forge acquaintances and unite all who are working towards the goals of the AFLC five-year pastoral plan.

The AFLC Team Convention was participated by 24 couples who came from the Church of the Holy Rosary, the Church of St Joseph, the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Church of St Francis of Assisi, the Church of the Good Shepherd, the Church of Jesus Caritas, the Chapel of Kristus Aman, the Church of the Assumption, the Church of Our Lady Of Guadalupe, the Church of St Ignatius, the Church of St Anne and the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Acknowledging that the age of the Millennials has dawned upon us, Dr Valerie Jacques, a Child Psychologist, presented the sessions themed Understanding the Millennials, to deepen the participants’ understanding of the Millennials and how to work towards reaching out to them.

Fr Edwin Peter, the Ecclesial Assistant for the Family Life Commission, came to support the participants. He was extremely pleased with the representation of all the language groups — English, Mandarin, Tamil and Bahasa Malaysia at the Team Convention.

The Celebration of the Eucharist was presided by Fr Kenneth Gopal, OCD who revealed that he is also a Millennial. In his homily, Fr Kenneth emphasised that in building the kingdom of God, we need to share God’s love with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength.

The Chair Couple of the Family Life Commission, Joseph and Anita Pragasam, facilitated the wrapping up session by asking the participants to discuss in their respective groups how they can help promote the understanding of the Millennials in their respective Family Life Ministry and in the BEC of their parishes. The different responses will be compiled and distributed to the various parishes to be implemented.
Just before the Team Convention concluded, Archbishop Julian Leow arrived to give a closing address.

Archbishop Leow acknowledged that it is not easy raising Millennial children through no fault of theirs and that it is important for parents and even grandparents to understand how to handle their children or grandchildren and prepare them for the real world.

Emphasising that every child is unique, Archbishop Leow called on all parents and grandparents to be sensitive to the needs of their children and grandchildren so as to pick up on what they are saying or not saying, to understand them, to try to ‘read their minds’ and know what they are thinking. He also stressed on the importance of good communication in the family and on journeying with these children to assure them that the family is supporting them through their struggles in life, that they need not suffer alone in silence.

 

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online

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