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Spiritual health and happier families could be the results of a video and speaker series underway at St. Ambrose parish in Latham.

The theme of this year's three-session speaker series is "family." St. Ambrose is using topics discussed at this year's Synod on the Family and preparing parishioners for the Year of Mercy that's about to begin for the Catholic Church.

The three talks in the series are titled, "The Journey of the Holy Family: A Biblical Reflection;" "Joyfully Complex: Parish Families and the Life of Our Community and The Church;" and "The Modern Family: Reflections on the Synod of Family." One of the talks has already been held; the final one will be Dec. 17, 7 p.m.

The second "Joyfully Complex" session is Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. It is unusual: It features a panel of families from the parish answering questions and was moderated by Tom Acemoglu, pastoral associate for evangelization and catechesis.

"My hope is that it will spur a conversation," Mr. Acemoglu told The Evangelist before the session. "We have to really focus on what these families are going through."

The panelists are parishioners who have "interesting situations," Mr. Acemoglu said: widows, married couples and parents of teenagers and parents of children who have disabilities.

"It's just folks who represent the community," he said.

As moderator, Mr. Acemoglu is asking questions about the struggles families face, the complexity of today's world, balancing hectic family life and "best-kept secrets" to raising a family in the Church.

St. Ambrose parish has a lot of new, young families attending Mass, said Mr. Acemoglu, who's trying to shape the faith formation program around family life, as well.

At Christmastime, many families come back to church. This is an opportunity to welcome them, Mr. Acemoglu noted - and supporting the family unit is very important.

Many families need a helping hand these days, he said: "We've had a lot of conversations about the contemporary status of the family. It's a very lively time for the Church. Some of the hot-topic issues that came up from the synod are issues that are really sensitive for the American family and the American Church.

"I look around the community and I see people and I see stories," said Mr. Acemoglu, a lifelong parishioner of St. Ambrose. "I can think of parishioners whose children are gay and lesbian. How do you reach out to their kids and tell them that they have a home here?

"We have to meet people where they're at. Whatever life has brought them, the mission of the Church is to be with them and to create a home for them. These people feel hurt in so many ways, because they aren't [made to feel] welcome."

Mr. Acemoglu hopes that the discussions on family will address some of these issues and ease some of the pain and isolation families may feel in the Church.

"These parents think they made a mistake," he said. "But the reality is that we live in a world that is very complex."

(Watch the series at www.stambroselatham.com/media.)[[In-content Ad]]

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