CFC Youth for Christ Year 1: FAMILY CULTURE (2009 EDITION) 2

CHAPTER 1
THE FAMILY‐FOCUSED ACTIVITIES AND
THE FAMILY CULTURE
A. RATIONALE:
The family is an important part in the formation and life of a person. It
is where
the person learns and establishes his values, beliefs and experiences
that eventually
mold him to be what and who he is. The family can either be the
source of love, blessing
and inspiration or can also be a cause of brokenness and frustration in
the person. But
whatever the situation of the family is, it is still a very important part in
the formation of
the young.
CFC Youth for Christ (YFC) believes in the role of the family, most
particularly the
parents, in the growth and formation of their children. Although YFC is
a support group
for young people ages 13‐21 in a stage of their life where they are
forming their own
identity and building their own dreams, we cannot discount the fact
that YFC cannot do
these alone. YFC provides only a supplement to the kind of
environment the youth
experiences in his/her home.
Through the years, YFC saw the need to reinforce the importance of
the family in
molding the young. YFC then seeks to bring the YFC members back to
their family and
acknowledge more strongly that the molding in their own family takes
precedence in all
other support groups for the young. And YFC seeks neither to alienate
nor to replace
the family. Hence, YFC introduces the Family‐Focused Activities,
one of which is the
Family Culture.
B. OVERVIEW OF THE FAMILY‐FOCUSED
ACTIVITY
The Family‐Focused Activities was envisioned because of the need
to nourish
the membership level by strengthening family relationships.
The objectives of the Family‐Focused Activities are as follows:
1. To allow the young to realize and claim God’s plan for their present
and
future family.
2. To teach the young to bring Christ to their family.
3. To strengthen the family relationship.
4. To grow in their love for siblings.
5. To encourage non‐CFC Parents to love and value community.
6. To create an alternative environment for family fellowship.
CFC Youth for Christ Year 1: FAMILY CULTURE (2009 EDITION) 3
The following are the different Family‐Focused Activities; each will
happen every
year within the 3‐Year Pastoral Formation Track of YFC members:
Year 1: Family Culture
Year 2: Parent’s Honoring Night
Year 3: Best Weekend
a) Mother‐Daughter Camp
b) Father‐Son Camp
C. OVERVIEW OF THE FAMILY CULTURE
The Family Culture activity is conducted to a new member of YFC 3
months after
the member undergoes the Covenant Orientation. After learning
how to love, to honor
and to serve the family, this one‐day activity seeks to reinforce and
strengthen their
appreciation for the family, believe in the plan of God for the family
and how to respond to the God’s plan for the family.
D. OBJECTIVES
1. This formation track aims for the YFC members to acknowledge,
appreciate and
understand the distinct culture in each of their family.
2. This seeks for the YFC members to believe and understand that the
Lord has a
unique plan for their family.
3. This aims to let YFC members realize that we are to fulfill God’s
promises to our
respective families.

PICTURE PERFECT
TALK ONE OF THE YFC FAMILY CULTURE
SESSION DYNAMICS
DESCRIPTION OF THE SESSION:
This is the first of the three sessions of the Family Culture. This session
is activity‐based
with two related parts which will be done one after the other. All the
participants and group
facilitators in the activities are expected to share about their family.
The speaker also handles
the whole session which includes giving the instructions and the
processing points of the two
activities.
OBJECTIVES:
1. Let the youth appreciate their family.
2. Identify and understand their family culture.
3. Lead the youth into a realization that their family is a blessing to
them.
PROFILE OF THE SPEAKER:
A YFC leader who appreciates his/her family regardless of the
brokenness he/ she
experienced in his/her family.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
1. Bring a Family picture or individual picture of the members of the
family or a close
relative whom they consider as a family
2. M&Ms or Nips (coated chocolate candies, in different color‐coatings)
DYNAMICS:
1. The speaker starts with an overview of the first session.
2. The speaker shares about his/her family and then asks the
participants to share the
same to their smaller group.
3. After the group sharing, the speaker will call on one representative
from each group to
share to the assembly.
4. The speaker will then give the processing points of activity.
5. The session will end with a prayer.
CFC Youth for Christ Year 1: FAMILY CULTURE (2009 EDITION) 7
ACTIVITY:
1. The speaker will show to the participants the coated chocolate
candies in different
colors asking them what they see.
2. Then the speaker will show his family picture and will introduce the
members of the
family one by one. (In introducing, it should not just be the name but
also a short
description of each family member. (E.g. educational background, and
physical
description, character, etc.)
3. The speaker will also share to the group the culture that they
practice in their family. i.e.
kissing of parents every mass during the peace part, practicing the
gesture of “bless” as
a sign of respect, family dinner every birthday, terms of endearment
etc.
4. The speaker will show the picture of his/her family and will share the
positive traits of
each family member. He/she should look beyond the perfect picture.
(i.e. My dad is
strict but that is his way of loving us, my sister might be stubborn but
she taught me to
extend my patience)
5. The speaker will ask everyone to form a group of 4‐6 members and
everyone will be
asked to share on the following:
a. Introduce the members of their family
b. The common activities, language, terminologies, practices,
traditions in their
family
c. The positive traits of each family member. (at least one good trait or
the thing
that they learn from each of the family member)
6. The group discussion will allow the participant to appreciate their
own family. Each
group will have a facilitator for the discussion.
7. A representative from each group will be called to share his/her
family to the whole
assembly.
8. The speaker will give processing point followed by a prayer.
CFC Youth for Christ Year 1: FAMILY CULTURE (2009 EDITION) 8
PICTURE PERFECT
TALK ONE OF THE YFC FAMILY CULTURE
EXPANDED TALK OUTLINE
I. INTRODUCTION
God chose to bring us here on earth with a whole package – our family.
We have
different set‐up and composition in the family. Some of us don’t have
siblings while
some have a dozen of it; some are not living with both parents, while
others are living
with their parents and even other extended family; and the list of
different family setups
can go a long way yet we belong to a family. Like the M&Ms that we
have, these
come in different colors but the same chocolate is inside it.
II. UNDERSTANDING OUR FAMILY CULTURE
Our different family set‐ups have our own way of nurturing the
relationships
among family members. God has His own way of bringing the family
together or
somehow giving us a personal experience with each of the family
member. We made
memories and experiences and eventually observe certain practices
and traditions that
sustained the relationship. From the sharing, we learned that:
1. Family Culture is a set of practices, traditions, events, languages
that we first and
regularly experienced in our family. We have different set‐ups and
different
culture that defines the uniqueness of our family.
2. Different families have different family cultures, different
practices/traditions,
language, and endearments we call each other.
3. The differences of our family cultures do not define the kind of
family that we
have. (e.g. What can be a common/usual activity for one family may be
a
precious moment to another.)
4. There is no standard of what a family culture should be. Different
families have
different hobbies and pastime activities.
III. LOOKING BEYOND
As we live each day, we realize that there is more to our family
members than
what we see. Our family culture allows us to see the uniqueness and
goodness of each
and every member of our family.
CFC Youth for Christ Year 1: FAMILY CULTURE (2009 EDITION) 9
a. Through our parents/guardians
When they discipline us and give us rules to follow at home, this can
be
their way of showing their love and concern for us. It is important that
we see
beyond the actions that they are doing and appreciate the reason why
they are
doing this.
b. Through our siblings
When we have small fights and misunderstandings with them, we need
to realize that each of our brother/sister is different from us and we
ought to
respect that the differences that each has. We need to love them the
way they
are and always have the posture of forgiveness, humility, and respect.
More than just appreciating the uniqueness of our brothers and sisters,
we could use these things to grow in our relationship with them. We
will soon
realize that the greatest friends that we can have are our siblings.
These are the
people that we can ultimately trust and lean on.
IV. CONCLUSION
More often than not, what our family is to us is just a matter of
perspective. Let
us be thankful for our families because they are gifts from God. We
now realize that
each member of our family has a special touch in us and us in each of
them. They
contribute to who we are right now and the dreams that we want for
our future
families.
The Lord has a great plan for our family. He has placed us there for a
specific
reason and this reason will ultimately allow Him to fulfill that great
plan. Let us be open
in being instruments to fulfill the Lord’s plan. Let us be hopeful that the
Lord will fulfill
His plan in His time.
CFC Youth for Christ Year 1: FAMILY CULTURE (2009 EDITION) 10
MY FAMILY AND I
TALK TWO OF THE YFC FAMILY CULTURE
SESSION DYNAMICS
OBJECTIVES:
1. For the participants to know, understand and believe in the great
plan of the Lord for
the family
2. For the participants to be encouraged to have a vision for their own
families according
to the great plan of the Lord for the family
SPEAKER’S PROFILE:
1. Preferably a sector youth head or any of the YFC top leader of the
area
2. A youth leader who knows and who can handle sensitive issues
about the family.
ACTIVITY DYNAMICS:
1. The speaker will show a piece of wood and will ask them what they
see at an instant.
2. The speaker will call out few participants to answer.
3. This time the speaker will ask the participants to look beyond what
they see.
(Participant should see the end product of the wood like a house or a
chair, a table, etc.)
4. The speaker starts the talk proper.
5. Before ending the whole session the speaker will lead them to a
reflection and ask the
participants to write a prayer for each member of their family.
CFC Youth for Christ Year 1: FAMILY CULTURE (2009 EDITION) 11
MY FAMILY AND I
TALK TWO OF THE YFC FAMILY CULTURE
EXPANDED TALK OUTLINE
“As for my family and me I will serve the Lord…” (Joshua
24:15)
I. INTRODUCTION
In our first activity today, we talked about the culture of our own
family. It’s
amazing to realize that we have different culture inside our family that
one way or
another defines who we are at present. This culture makes our family
special and
unique from the other families.
We have to look into what is beyond our family’s situation. The world
dictates that
we can live without our family and sometimes implying that we can
survive without
them. What would we become if we haven’t experienced the first love,
our first adviser,
our first friend, and many more first that we only experience inside our
home.
II. GOD’S PROMISES FOR THE FAMILY
As we have seen the uniqueness in our own family, we also open our
eyes to the
future that still awaits our families; a future that the Lord held
preciously in His hands; a
future filled with hope, healing, and love.
A. God’s promise of Hope
God is at work in our family. Despite the misunderstandings and
differences
that we have, He has promised us the gift of transformation. God is
assuring us that
He will not waste the learning that we have from our experiences now.
These will
even be a means of the Lord to teach us to continue hoping for our
family.
In the same way, as the Lord is transforming our families, He is also
preparing
us for our future families, through the learning and situations we are
experiencing
now. That is why the role that we play in our families is important.
God’s promise of hope does not mean we should just leave everything
to the
Lord, but rather, we should allow God to use us and prepare us to be
the vessels of
God’s fulfillment of His plans to our families.
CFC Youth for Christ Year 1: FAMILY CULTURE (2009 EDITION) 12
*Note to the speaker: Consider that there might be extreme situations which
are seemingly
impossible to resolve. (e.g. When both parents who are separated may have
their own
respective families already, the focus on this should be on hoping a better
family of their
own)
B. God’s promise of healing
God is promising us His power of healing. Despite conflicts, and
misunderstandings, God is assuring us that eventually all our
relationships will be
fully healed.
We, too, might have our own resentment, prejudices, our biases,
against our
family members but healing is still possible. Healing can start with us.
The actions
that we make towards our family members and our change in
perspective can
contribute greatly towards healing within our families.
These bring about not only healing among family members but also
healing
within ourselves. Eventually, these promises of healing will give way to
restoring
relationships with our family members.
C. God’s promise of love
Our first experience of love is within our family. Our parents provide
and take
care of us because of their love. Our siblings gave us the first
encounter of
friendship.
There may be moments that it will be hard for us to see/experience
God’s
love but God is promising us that in spite and despite of every situation
we face,
God’s love will always be there. It is important for us to hang on to this
promise and
continue loving them. Let us not stop making them feel that they are
loved by:
a) Loving them despite the most uncomfortable circumstance,
b) Not giving up on loving them,
c) Remembering that they are gifts from God and there is something
we can
learn from them,
d) Having the initiative to concretely show that love is unconditional.
CFC Youth for Christ Year 1: FAMILY CULTURE (2009 EDITION) 13
III. HINDRANCES THAT WILL STOP US FROM EXPERIENCING
GOD’S PROMISE
As these promises are beautiful things, we should also be cautious
because the
evil one will not let us have all these unchallenged. He will surely
deceive and disillusion
us. He will feed us with false ideas that will hinder us from
experiencing God’s
promises; these are when:
A. We fail to believe – we don’t believe that our family is our hope
and that they are
the source of our strength. We see our family as the source of failures
and
disappointments because of the situation inside our home. We do not
see that at
the end of our entire problem, it is our family who will be there for us.
B. We fail to accept – we fall short accepting our family for who they
are and
whatever attitudes or characters they have. (e.g. family members who
have
different principles from us, a nagging mother, irresponsible father).
We
sometimes tell people that we hate our parents or siblings that we
made them bad
family members in the eyes of others.
C. We fail to recognize – we fall short in recognizing that our family
is a gift from God
and we should take care of it. We choose not to care; we don’t take
effort of
looking at the problems of our family and helping them solve it. (E.g.
we do not
correct our brothers or sisters that have vices like smoking, drinking
etc.)
IV. GROUP SHARING:
NOTE: It is encourage that siblings within the cluster should be grouped
separately. There should
be a maximum of 3 in a group.
Discussion Starter for Sharing of the situations of our family:
1) What is an ideal family for you?
2) What are your hopes for your families?
V. PROCESSING/CONCLUSION:
By now, we all realize that we have situations in our family that we
need to pray
for. Like the activity earlier, the wood – which may stand for our
situations, is all that we
see. We must realize that there is something more to look forward to.
We need to
remember that God is still at work in our families, that there is a vision
yet to be fulfilled
for us.
CFC Youth for Christ Year 1: FAMILY CULTURE (2009 EDITION) 14
We, too, need to realize that there we play an important role in
fulfilling the Lord’s
promise for our family. Let us remember that the future of our families
rests on how we do our
part in the fulfillment of God’s plan for us.
Despite all this, the Lord continues to bring about His promises of
hope, healing, and
love. Let us hang on to these promises and realize that there is
something that we can look
forward to. God is at work in our families and all we have to do is trust
in His love and
faithfulness to us.
PRAYER WRITING ACTIVITY AFTER SESSION TWO
1) The speaker will open the activity with a prayer. The prayer should
allow the
participants to be able to reflect on the situations of their families.
2) A reflection song should be played as the prayer starts. The song
should be about
fulfillment of promises, hope, or forgiveness.
3) The speaker will then give time for the participants to reflect on the
song and at the
same time write the prayer.
4) The participants are then asked to write a short prayer for each
member of the family.
5) After a maximum of 10 minutes, the speaker will then continue and
close the prayer.
CFC Youth for Christ Year 1: FAMILY CULTURE (2009 EDITION) 15
MY CHOICE, MY FAMILY
TALK THREE OF THE YFC FAMILY CULTURE
SESSION DYNAMICS
OBJECTIVES:
1. For the participants to make a personal response to God’s plan in
their family.
2. For the participants to identify concrete steps in making God’s plan
happen in their
families.
3. For the participants to start praying for their family.
DYNAMICS:
1. The speaker is introduced.
2. The speaker will conduct the opening activity first.
3. The speaker proceeds with the talk proper.
4. The sharers will be called before the concluding statement.
5. The speaker continues with the closing activity while the music
ministry plays the
reflection song.
6. The Cluster head/chapter head will lead everyone to a praisefest
where they will read
silently the prayer that they have made.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
• Pieces of bond paper
• Coloring materials
• Glue or paste
SPEAKER’S PROFILE:
1. At least a YFC Cluster Head member.
2. A YFC leader who can know the issues of the YFC members.
3. A YFC Leader who can handle sensitive issues about the family.
SHARERS’ PROFILE: (there will be 2 sharers)
1. A YFC member who did not appreciate his/her family before but now
practiced his/her
role as a son/daughter in the family.
2. A YFC sibling who used to frequently fight with each other but is now
appreciating the
blessing of each other.
CFC Youth for Christ Year 1: FAMILY CULTURE (2009 EDITION) 16
OPENING ACTIVITY
1. The service team will distribute sheets of paper to the participants.
2. The speaker will ask them to draw on the upper right corner their
dreams for their
family. (if they have hard time drawing it, they can write their dreams
on that same
corner)
3. The speaker asks the participants to place the picture/s of their
family at the bottom left
of the bond paper.
4. The speaker then asks the participants to draw a ladder or staircase
steps from the
family picture leading to the vision they have for the family which is
drawn at the upper
right part of the bond paper.
5. The speaker then asks to ask the participants to write concrete
steps to fulfill God’s plan
for their family.
6. Share your vision/steps to the person next to you. Allow 3 minutes
for the sharing.
CFC Youth for Christ Year 1: FAMILY CULTURE (2009 EDITION) 17
MY CHOICE, MY FAMILY
TALK THREE OF THE YFC FAMILY CULTURE
EXPANDED TALK OUTLINE
I. INTRODUCTION
In the second session, we learned the plan of God for our family. We,
as YFCs
should believe that our family is at the heart of God’s creation. Our
family is united
through God, with God and in God. And our family is the source of love,
the same love
that comes from God. But we are faced with the hard and sad realities
that we have
imperfect families but still the plan of the Lord for our families still
stands. Here, we are
to proactively respond and know how to fulfill His grand promises for
us.
II. OUR RESPONSE TO GOD’S PLAN FOR OUR FAMILY
A. Value our Family – our family is priceless. Value the family you
have right now.
Whatever and whoever is inside that home, it is still our family that the
Lord gave to
value.
1. Serving our family – serving our family in small ways (e.g. cleaning
our room
and house, cooking for them, etc.)
2. Respect – Respecting our family members, (parents and siblings) or
even our
extended family (grandma, grandpa, etc.) in our words or in action.
3. Loving ‐ showing affection that would make our family see the love
for each
other, e.g. giving quality time for our family. (Dinner with the family,
playing
with your siblings, watching TV together, going to mass together)
B. Be grateful – Being thankful for the things that our family is doing
and giving for us.
1. Appreciating their effort‐ thanking them in small things that they do
for us.
(E.g. when they cook for you or prepare food for breakfast, expressing
words
of affirmation and love like sorry, thank you, you are welcome, please
etc…)
2. Remembering them in special dates – giving them something special
during
these occasions such as valentines, anniversaries, Christmas and etc.
3. Praying for them – including all the members of our family in our
prayer time.
CFC Youth for Christ Year 1: FAMILY CULTURE (2009 EDITION) 18
C. Be Obedient – Obeying them is our way of showing our love and
respect.
1. Acknowledging authority – God gave us our parents as our pastors in
this
world. As our parents and older siblings we ought to follow them as
people
who have authority over us.
2. Obeying their rules – they are the one who wants the best for us so
they would
not guide us in the wrong direction.
3. Accepting corrections – accepting our mistakes and listening to
them for they
love us and they want us to be on the right path.
(Speaker now calls the sharers before stating the conclusion)
III. CONCLUSION
God envisions for us to be “Families in the Holy Spirit renewing the
face of the
Earth.” The Lord is calling us to take part in the bigger mission of
“building the church of
the Home”.
Let us continue to believe and hope in this vision, that young as we
are, we have
a big role to play in making our vision a reality. Let us continue to
influence other people
in believing in this vision. Let us start now with ourselves and in our
own homes.
REFLECTION SONG
While they are doing their activity a reflection song is being played.
The song should
express being thankful to our family.
CLOSING ACTIVITY
1. The Speaker will lead the participants to a prayer. As the prayer
starts, the reflection
song will be sung.
2. During the prayer, the speaker will ask the participants to bring out
the prayer that they
made during the second session.
3. The speaker will give time for the participants to read and reflect on
the prayer.
4. The speaker will instruct the participants to keep it in their bible so
that they can read it
everyday in their prayer time.
5. The speaker segue the reflection song to the praise fest.