Family Wellness Update

The Metropolis of San Francisco Family Wellness Center continues to develop programming and ministries to serve the needs of the faithful thanks to a Leadership 100 grant. Programs now include a workshop entitled “Creating a Vision for Your Marriage”, aimed at engaged couples and newlyweds, which will be held in November at St. Anthony Greek Orthodox Church in Pasadena, California, led by Michael Kallas, a licensed marriage and family therapist, and a mental health advocacy group established at The Ascension Cathedral in Oakland, California, which sponsors monthly meetings and support groups.

In other activities, His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos, along with Family Wellness Director Kristen Bruskas, attended a recent special presentation “Overcoming the Stigma of Mental Illness” which was presented by Dr. Stephen Hinshaw, Professor and Chair of Psychology at University of California, Berkeley, and the parish of Holy Apostles in Shoreline, Washington is continuing its development of pilot programs in the areas of community building, Orthodox family support, parenting programs, and a cancer support ministry.

Plans are also being developed to coordinate a curriculum for an Orthodox grief and bereavement group, and the continuation of the Clergy Couples’ Retreat to include children within the coming year. For more information on the Family Wellness Center, please contact the Metropolis of San Francisco at 415.753.3075.