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J 4 PAGE 2—The Georgia Bulletin, January 8,1981 - The Family In Action - Reaching Out To Children BY THEA JARVIS The holidays are over. Throughout the state, parents resume their daily grind, and children return, however reluctantly, to the duties of the schoolroom. But what happens to the children when school is over and parents are still at work? For many, the familiar white and red minibus makes its pickup at the neighborhood school, depositing the children at a nearby day care facility. There, strangers, more or less well-intentioned, take responsibility for their well-being for the next several hours. For others, perhaps the older children, an empty house stands waiting at the end of the school day, with a t.v. for company and maybe some homework to do before dinner is begun. The problem of caring for children while parents work to make ends meet is a double-edged sword with no easy solutions. In a no-win situation, the child is frequently caught in the middle. It is this child whom St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Tucker reaches out to in its after-school program. “Our pastor, Dr. Joe Sandifer, was looking for a way to use our facilities that would somehow meet a community need,” says Mildred Wilson, St. Andrew’s Director of Children’s Work who is in charge of the program. “He became aware of elementary school children going home without anyone there to supervise them.” What evolved from this need was an after-school alternative to day care and empty houses, using church property which, during that time slot, would otherwise go unused. “Our program is open to first through sixth graders and includes outdoor exercise, games, art activities, and tutoring,” continues Mrs. Wilson, noting that the program is offered at a cost slightly below the going day care rate. A typical winter’s day at St. Andrew’s finds a small but energetic group of youngsters romping in a neat, well-equipped playground complete with sandbox, swings, climbing gym, slide, and playhouse. Marlene Warren, director of the afternoon activities, and her assistant, Mercer theology graduate Chris Hicklin, place themselves squarely in the middle of their young charges, enjoying the play with the children. Following their time outdoors, which has been preceded by a nutritious snack, the children follow Marlene and Chris inside for some blind-man’s bluff, quiet table games, reading, and art in bright, spacious surroundings - two oversized classrooms that offer a ready welcome to the children. Mrs. Warren, who holds a masters degree in early childhood education, has designed the program with a focus on older children. It is this age group which is frequently neglected in the day care system. “Traditional day care puts all ages together and tends to generalize them as ‘children’” observes Marlene. “Here, we are able to give our attention to the older child, from six to twelve years. We don’t have to concentrate on infants and toddlers.” “When the children first started coming,” she continues, “they asked if they could watch t.v. - that was what they usually did in their day care programs when they weren’t playing with the nursery level toys. They haven’t asked for it since.” It is easy to see why. Rodney, a first grader, is too busy playing chess with the set he received for Hannukah. Mark, the backgammon champion of the group, is very concerned with keeping his title. Sisters Nina and Sonya are deep in a game of “Marco Polo.” And Tracy has developed a consuming interest in “bird seed,” a wonderful blend of M&M’s, peanuts, and raisins frequently offered as an afternoon treat. For the future, St. Andrew’s hopes to increase its after-school enrollment, running the program through the nine month school year and observing county holidays. For the present, the church sustains its pioneer status in the area of day care alternatives, winning some young hearts along the way. Family Issues Face Reagan WASHINGTON (NC) - As the administration of Ronald Reagan prepares to take office the question of the family and how the new government should deal with issues that affect it has become one of the many transition-period skirmishes taking place in Washington. The debate over how the new administration should address family policy has been going on since even before the Nov. 4 election. It pits groups which fought hard to short circuit last year’s White House Conference on Families against other organizations, including some church organizations, which think government needs to make a concerted effort to meet the needs of the modern family. At the center of the debate is the federal Office for Families, a little-known and still infant agency tucked away within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). President Carter announced formation of the office with much fanfare before 300 delegates at the annual meeting of the National Conference of Catholic Charities in 1979. That, though, was before the White House Conference on families became so controversial. Reagan questioned the work of the conference during his campaign for the presidency and his Family Policy Advisory Board urged that the Office for Families be closed and that Reagan appoint a family policy czar, similar to the federal energy czar appointed during the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo, to oversee all federal activity involving families. But officials at both Catholic. Charities and the U.S. Catholic Conference think the Office for Families should not be terminated. “It would be a tragedy to abolish the one place where we’ve just begun to evaluate the effect of government policy on families,” said Mathew Ahmann, Catholic Charities associate director for governmental relations. The debate over the existence of the office has its roots in the debate that took place over the White House Conference on Families itself. On the one side are those who say the problem with families is that government has intervened too much in family affairs - providing contraceptives to teen-agers against their'parents wishes, for example - and that an Office for Families and the White House Conference on Families can only exacerbate the situation. On the other side are those who would argue that government economic supports such as Social Security, Medicaid and mortgage tax deductions have helped ease the strains on today’s family. A small government office concerned with family life, the argument continues, could monitor government’s effect on families, recommending new ideas that might further aid families and calling for abandonment of programs which create new strains on family life. Though the debate outside the transition goes on, there are indications that an actual decision on the office’s fate may be weeks or months away. MIRACLE BABY - Laris Calleja of Monroe, Wash., gently holds her premature baby daughter. The baby may be the first ever born to a mother paralyzed from botulism during her first three months of pregnancy. The Callejas are members of St. Mary of the Valley parish in Monroe. Priests Sponsor Young Cuban Refugees MANITOWOC, Wis. (NC) - The young man lay sprawled on the living room floor staring in wide-eyed wonder at the brightly lighted Christmas tree. “Beautiful,” he said over and over again. For William Villega, 23, almost everything about America is beautiful - a dream come true. Villega is one of three young Cuban refugees living with priest sponsors in Manitowoc, Wis., since October. His sponsor is Father Philip Hoffmann of St. Paul parish. Andres Martinez, 17, makes his home with Father Ted Hendricks of St. Boniface parish. Ramon Onate, 21, resides at Sacred Heart parish rectory with Father William Zimmer, pastor, and Father Steve Modde, Silver Lake College chaplain. It took Father Hoffmann only a few days to decide to sponsor Villega after a friend who had worked at Fort McCoy during the summer told him the young man was deserving of sponsorship. For Villega, his best experience to date is the family he has now, a family which includes not only the priest but also his 61-year-old housekeeper and Father Hoffmann’s 17-year-old foster son, Kevin. Onate came to Sacred Heart rectory after his' sponsor could not house him. He was staying at a hotel, the money was running out and he was desperate. “He was adjusting. We got to be friends and were comfortable with each other,” Father Zimmer said about his decision to sponsor Onate. For Father Hendricks it was a series of events which helped him decide, including the arrival in the mail of a statue of St. Joseph and a Gospel which talked about, “I was homeless and you did or did not take me in .. . “I couldn’t find a footnote that excused me because I was a priest,” he said. But the incident which Father Hendricks will remember longest is the emotional meeting at a restaurant near the fort with a young woman whose mother was killed by a refugee. As he and Martinez prepared to leave, the woman told him, “Father, I know these kids need a chance. We just Authentic N.Y. Style Pizza Bambinelli’s Pizzeria Italian Restaurant Delicious Homemade Italian Dinners—Wine and Beer. Pizza by the slice, Neopoliton & Sicilian pizza. Now Open at Northlake 11-493-1311 We Cater - Pick Up Orders Mon.-Thurs. 11-11; Fri. & Sat. 11-1 A.M. Sun. 1-10 P.M. picked the wrong one.” It took a lot of courage for her to say that, he said, adding, “If it had been my mother ... I don’t think I would have been able to say that.” Learning English is the top priority for the refugees. The young men have been welcomed into the priests’ families and people in the three parishes, to a large extent, have been very supportive, the priests said. “This is what parish is all about,” Father Hoffmann said. He also said there are many other priestrs living in large, almost empty rectories who could do a beautiful job with this adult-to-adult type sponsorship. Family Life Rep. Named WASHINGTON (NC) - Father Thomas F. Lynch, family life and pro-life director of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., has been named family life representative in the U.S. Catholic Conference Department of Education. As family life representative, Father Lynch, 37, will coordinate all efforts in the USCC education department related to family ministry and, according to USCC officials, strive to promote a coherent vision of family ministry within the larger educational and pastoral mission of the church. This ad made possible in part by theCorporation for Public Broadcasting To Place Classifieds Call 881-9732 Charles Levy 23 yrs. experience means more more money value RX-7S Sports Car 21-30 MPG-E.P.A. est. GLC Custom Hatchback 35-43 MPG-E.P.A. est. SAVE GAS TODAY WITH THE ECONOMY LEADERS! GLC Custom Wagon 626 Sport Sedan 31-42 MPG - E.P.A. est. 28-39 MPG-E.P.A. est. 1 and 5 year warranties available' Over 200 late model tine'used tao to thoose from- .ill makes and model*- No waiting list / Free delivery to Atlanta customers. 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(NC) - “Families today have a great feeling of inferiority,” of not being able to cope with pressures in society, Father William Peters told priests at a parish family ministry program in Louisville. We need to understand where people in the parish are and what their spirituality is, said Father Peters, family life director in the Altoona-Johnstown, Pa., Diocese. There is loneliness and depression, “many families are scared” and there is a “sense of doom.” Having seen many families break up because of divorce and separation and other family life problems, Father Peters said, families are asking themselves, “When is it going to hit us?” Father Peters noted that the aim of the U.S. bishops pastoral plan for family ministry is “to make us more aware of families and where they are at.” Other speakers at the program suggested different ways of helping families. Thomas McGuiness of Family Ministry Associates, Long Beach, Calif., stressed the place of lay people in ministering to individuals and families. “Family ministry is rather simple. There are many ministry opportunities that exist in our own midst.” As examples he noted two individuals his family encountered - a lonely woman who just wanted someone to be with and a widower who wanted to talk to someone about his wife’s death. A Louisville couple, Sue and Chic Davis, urged parishes to hold “once a month family nights” to allow individuals to come together. Archbishop Thomas J. McDonough of Louisville told priests to “be as dose as you possibly can” to parishioners. “I believe in a ministry of the front door,” in which priests greet people in front of church, the archbishop said. “I think it’s good to get out and mingle with people.” Archbishop McDonough also urged priests to “be close to your own immediate family” and to remain close to one another in the “family of priests.” Father Peters recommended different ways to implement the bishops’ pastoral plan on family ministry. He said “ordinary things” can be done in a parish to make people “feel they belong” and that “they are not alienated.” “We need to develop traditions in the parish,” regardless of what particular activity, to give people a sense of identity with the parish, he noted. “People are looking for something they can hang on to.” He also urged awareness of the “many styles of families,” such as the one-parent family that may feel uneasy when the parish makes an announcement that “both parents” are invited to the church for a certain program. ESSAY WINNERS IN ATHENS - Knights of Columbus Council 6514 in Athens recently sponsored an essay contest for St. Joseph’s elementary school children with a “Spirit of Christmas’’ theme. Pictured above are Grand Knight John Tillitski, Sr. Helen Dolores, I.H.M., principal of St. Joseph's, and Sr. Edmunda, I.H.M. with winning essayists. 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