Celebrating Family Diocesan Projects: Archdiocese of Birmingham 

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The Archdiocese of Birmingham has received a grant of £25,000 from the Celebrating Family Fund to develop resources for young people (17-21) with which to understand more clearly both the realities and the meaning of parenthood in their lives.

The support structures for marriage and family life in the Archdiocese of Birmingham are largely centred on parishes and Catholic schools (of which there are 246).  There is close cooperation between parish and school, and local schools are often the focus for parish visitations.  This works very effectively at primary level, principally through school events and sacramental programmes; and to a lesser extent at secondary level (although this has been enhanced in recent years by the development of the ‘All That I Am’ programme).  However, contact with 18-25 year olds is often intermittent and in some cases non-existent.  There are currently very few catechetical and formational resources available for young adults, which help them discern the call to family life and its associated roles and responsibilities.  The Archdiocese realised that it needed to build a bridge between the work of schools and that of the parishes to ensure that it did not lose touch with its young adults in the years between leaving school and ‘settling down’.  In Archbishop Vincent Nichols ’ words, the Church needed to ‘mind the gap,’ by starting a conversation with 18-25 year olds, which would lead to a deeper reflection on the Church’s teaching on marriage and parenthood in the 21^st Century.  This would help young adults to build strong families; learn from their experiences both good and bad, and to appreciate that their identity is genuinely imbued with a sense of God.

‘Becoming a Parent’

Archbishop Vincent Nichols conceived of the ‘Becoming a Parent’ project while he was Archbishop of Birmingham. He was particularly committed to engaging with all young adults including those whose experience of family life is less positive.  His application to the Celebrating Family Fund was framed to build on ‘All That I Am’ (a comprehensive programme of sex and relationship education for Catholic school children in Years 5 -13) by helping 18-25 year olds to explore the physical, spiritual, emotional and moral implications of becoming a parent. A structured programme of resources, under the working title ‘Becoming a Parent’ was planned, complemented by new catechetical and liturgical materials.  It was also envisaged that training would be offered to clergy, teachers, youth leaders and young people themselves (as peer leaders).

The Project Working Group

Birmingham’s application was successful and colleagues responsible for editing and producing ‘All That I Am’ were appointed to develop the project, and service a Project Working Group. Thérèse Gordon acted as project administrator for the first two years, before moving to a new post within the Diocese.  A Steering Group was also convened to drive the project forward, chaired initially by Archbishop Vincent Nichols and comprising: Jack Scarisbrick (LIFE), Olive Duddy (NFP), Fr. Jonathan Veasey (Director of Religious Education, Birmingham ), Fr. Peter Conley (Moral Theologian) and Bernadette Hunt (Advanced Skills Teacher in SRE and co-author of ‘All that I Am’ Letters). When in May 2009 Archbishop Vincent Nichols was appointed to Westminster , he asked Bishop David McGough to chair the Steering Group and arranged for Edmund Adamus, Director of the Department for Pastoral Affairs, in Westminster Diocese, to join the Project Working Group.

Initial Findings

The experience gained in writing  ‘All that I Am’, and collaborating with the Department of Health, proved invaluable, and the same empirical methodology was adopted for ‘Becoming a Parent’.  A defining principal of ‘All that I Am’ was the consultation with teachers, health officials and most importantly, the children themselves.  So, questionnaires were distributed to young people and adult workers in various school and parish settings (including sixth forms, universities, chaplaincies, retreats and youth centres), which sought to clarify their relationship aspirations in life.  Members from the Project Steering Group visited several of the participating settings to talk to the students and felt that while students were committed to their respective families, they were also aware of the tensions therein.

Based on these initial findings, the key themes for the new resource were agreed, and a writing team was engaged (led by Tony Castle and graphic designer Andrew Mathias). The writing team included moral theologians with experience of working with families, Marriage Care professionals, teachers and health care professionals. Their work was subsequently reviewed by a team of professionals from the youth and social work field and by a cross section of young people in parish, school, university and Young Offenders’ Institute (YOI) settings.

‘Choose Life, Choose Love’

The first draft of the ‘Choose Life, Choose Love’ resource was produced in 2010, and presented under five headings: Identity, Marriage, Now or Tomorrow, Wonder of the World and Triumphant Being.  The Working Group discovered early on that independent access to the internet was an issue for young adults from urban priority schools and for the respondents from YOI's.  Although it had been envisaged that ‘Choose Life, Choose Love’ would primarily be an introductory booklet supported by an on-line commentary, it quickly became apparent that it would be important to ensure that the resource, in its fullest form, could reach those on the social and ‘electronic’ margins.  It is envisaged that the booklet will be supported by a virtual learning platform to help stimulate face-to-face discussion. The Project is also exploring ways of supporting those who do have access to the internet.

The Pilot Study

In the summer of 2010, the resource was piloted in a cross section of urban, suburban and rural schools, a Catholic university, parish youth groups and a YOI.  The response was mixed.  Most of the respondents liked the appearance of ‘Choose Life, Choose Love’; while some indicated that  it lacked substance.  Others thought that it was out-of-date and idealistic – ‘Young people have lots of other influences and pressures on them in today’s world when making decisions.’  And some felt that it only ‘scratched the surface’.  Others were more positive, including one respondent who said that it reminded them ‘that love is the foundation of all relationships’. There was general agreement that more practical support was needed for those with difficult home lives and for better guidance on issues including domestic abuse, marital breakdown, contraception, abortion, homosexuality, peer pressure and drug abuse.

The Project Timeline

The Project Team realised that ‘Choose Life, Choose Love’ would have to be revised to reflect the real experience of 18-25 year olds and to provide comfort and consolation as well as direction – specifically for those young people with a negative experience of family life. The resource is currently being redrafted in light of this – offering a more secure introduction, a clearer narrative and better continuity between pages.  It will also address the need for better guidance on the various Catholic support agencies and services available to young adults.  The next tranche of consultations on the re-draft will take place in summer 2011, and ‘Choose Life Choose Love’ is expected to be published in autumn 2011.  The launch will be preceded by training and accompanied by a  Pastoral Letter by Archbishop Bernard in December 2011, and a second Pastoral Letter by Archbishop Vincent at Pentecost 2012.

For more information please contact Project Manager Fr Joseph Quigley. 

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