Metropolis of Atlanta Family Life Ministry Advances
The Metropolis of Atlanta Family Life Ministry reports dramatic progress in its programs and training due to the grant support of $200,000 for 2014 and 2015 received from Leadership 100.The Family Life Ministry offers clinical and spiritual tools, concepts, resources, and skills via psycho-educational workshops, seminars, and retreats for clergy and lay families, married couples, singles, divorced, those preparing for marriage, and bereaved individuals; as well as via an active online presence on its blog and social media.
His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta has a vision for the Family Life Ministry that guides the work of the ministry's committee. He envisions a ministry that will not only positively impact the lives of the faithful of his Metropolis, but of the entire Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Further, in the spirit of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America to which he and the Metropolis of Atlanta belong, he envisions a ministry which will impact all the Orthodox faithful of America and all over the world, no matter what their "jurisdiction," that the work of this ministry may serve the whole flock of Christ.
The Family Life Ministry is building and distributing curricula for its workshops, seminars, and retreats, conducting them in parishes of the Metropolis of Atlanta, as well as developing and implementing new curricula on an ongoing basis. In addition, the Family Life Ministry trains qualified clergy and lay volunteers in leading these psycho-educational events, as well as training all clergy in basic counseling skills, techniques, and principles which are consistent with and can be combined with Orthodox Christian spirituality.
The Family Life Ministry maintains and updates a blog (www.familylifeministry.atlanta.goarch.org) that is regularly accessed by people all over the world. This blog offers online materials such as articles, videos, reflections, hierarchal encyclicals and other letters, clinical tools, and resources that combine the clinical with Orthodox Spirituality in order to help the faithful quickly and efficiently. Writing on the blog is done not only by ministry board members, but by qualified guest authors as well.
The blog further promotes the work of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, her ministries, and other pan-Orthodox ministries such as the Orthodox Christian Network, the International Orthodox Christian Charities, and other popular (qualified and clergy-approved) Orthodox blogs. The blog is promoted via the Family Life Ministry's social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets. The strong online presence is essential to reaching the faithful when they have immediate needs, to evangelize to non-Orthodox who may see the posts, and to offer the faithful an outlet through which to offer feedback and ask questions related to these topics that can be answered by reliable, qualified sources.
2015. stMetropolis-wide implementation of the Family Life Ministry's work is supported and required by His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios, beginning with mandatory implementation of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America's pre-marital curriculum, "Journey of Marriage." Completion of this course is required of all couples seeking marriage in the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta beginning September 1, 2015.
