Holy Trinity Church, Claygate

What is Family Time?

Family Time is a ten week course on family life and parenting children. It is a course about life skills that talks about adopting a life style that creates a rhythm in the life for families. The creators of the course, a couple who have five children, developed Family Time as a course that seeks to equip and envision you, not just for your children but for life!

Why have a course on parenting?

Parenting at times can seem like a constant juggling act as we race from one activity to the next. Family Time is an opportunity for parents to take time out to reflect and gain inspiration so we can confidently raise our families in an atmosphere of fun. When we become parents we are entrusted with lives that we will inevitably mould and shape - both by what we do and by what we don’t do. Our hopes, dreams and immense joy we feel as we give our new born baby their first cuddle can somehow fade as we face the day-to-day challenges of sleepless nights, toddler tantrums, getting homework done. Parenting is a skill and yet few of us are trained for it in any way apart from our own experience of being parented. Many of us are fortunate to have very positive experiences to draw on while some of us carry the scars from dysfunctional family backgrounds into our current family lives. Building on the previous successful parenting courses run at Holy Trinity, Family Time was developed as a way to support today’s parents to raise tomorrow’s adults. It has been run successfully in many churches, as well as schools, both here in the UK and abroad. It’s a very practical and ‘down to earth’ course.

Who is the course for?

It is for anyone who is a parent, from those who have young babies to those who have teenagers. If you are parenting on your own, or with a spouse or partner. If you have one child or ten! If you are a regular churchgoer or have never stepped foot in a church. For those who are finding being a parent ‘kind of tough going’ at the moment or those who are loving every minute of it!

Comments from others who have done the course:

“The course has given a real sense of direction for our own lives as well as the way we parent our children.”

“I have found the course very supportive and enlightening.”

“I feel I have been given a gift of a very full tool kit to use for the rest of my life.”

What format does the course take?

A typical evening begins with a talk which will be followed by refreshments and then smaller discussion groups. The topics covered include having a vision for our family, how to reach our children’s hearts, our examples as parents, love and relationships, communication, discipline, our values, faith and other influences on our families. The course has its own handbook as well as a book for further reference.

When does the course take place?

The course runs for 10 evenings and is usually held on Thursday evenings starting at 8pm prompt and finishing at 9.30pm. We hope to run our next course in 2008. The cost is £10 per family.

How do I find out more?

If you would like further information about Family Time please email the Church Office or Sarah Armitage.