What is Family Ministry?

"Family ministry is of very special interest to the Church. 

By this we mean efforts made by the whole People of God through local communities, especially through the help of pastors and lay people devoted to pastoral work for families. They work with individuals, couples, and families to help them live out their conjugal vocation as fully as possible.

This ministry includes preparation for marriage; help given to married couples at all stages of married life; catechetical and liturgical programmes directed to the family; help given to childless couples, single-parent families, the widowed, the separated and divorced, and, in particular, to families and couples labouring under burdens like poverty, emotional and psychological tensions, physical and mental handicaps, alcohol and drug abuse, and the problems associated with migration and other circumstances which strain family stability." 

Message to Families from the World Synod of Bishops, 1980

Family Life Ministry supports families in building and sustaining loving relationships.

In calling God our father Jesus affirms familial love as one of the best ways of understanding God’s love. Family Life Ministry is based on Christ’s words:

"Love one another as I have loved you."

In washing Peter’s feet he showed us what this means in practice.

The Primary Aims of FLM are:

• To highlight the family’s mission 'to guard, reveal and communicate love'
• To support families in this mission and in their ministry to one another

In pursuit of these aims, FLM works:

• To affirm the holiness of family life
• To nurture loving, responsible family life
• To foster like-to-like ministry
• To enable family people to be leaders in this ministry
• To educate, inspire and support families  

Family Life Ministry invites families:

• To celebrate their love
• To deepen their love
• To share their wisdom
• To live their mission

"To you, Families, I repeat: Be not afraid! The Lord is calling you to become leaders of a new season of hope in the Christian community and the world."
Pope John Paul II - Address to world meeting of families, Rome, 1994

Family Life Ministry invites you to share in this mission by active engagement with:

• Parenting Programmes
• Marriage Preparation Courses
• Marriage Enrichment: Supporting couples after the wedding day
• Relationship Education
• Making family-friendly, welcoming parish communities
• Planning Family-centred events
• Home-School-Parish relationships

None of this can happen for families without you. Let us know if you would like to do something for families in your area by contacting the FLM office.

Download our 'Reawakening the Mission of the Family Leaflet' 

VISION AND AIMS OF FAMILY LIFE MINISTRY click http://www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk/flm/docs/VISION Jan 2002.pdf