Transforming Families - Transforming communities...
Families are at the heart of our community, and to encourage family life we run Fuel. This is a programme that provides opportunities for families to grow in faith whilst enjoying each other’s company with fun, fellowship and food.
Fuel is a family-based opportunity founded on the principle that spiritual formation and discipleship are rooted at home as part of family life. In Deuteronomy 6 we read “ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up...”
What would this look like in the 21st century? Fuel is an attempt to encourage families to grow in faith together and to support parents in their role as they set the spiritual temperature of their family.
Fuel does not require a ‘2.4 children’ family! The model of extended family may be phasing out of our society, but one of the central principles behind Fuel is to share this meal with others. This will mean inviting friends, neighbours, or wider family to be part of your meal. Couples, singles, families, empty-nesters and grand-parents can all be part of Fuel and share meals with their network of friends and family. This may be the most exciting element of Fuel as it provides a way for us to live out our faith in a way that is accessible to others.
The Jewish Sabbath meal the ‘Shabbat’ is the foundation for Fuel. This is the key family meal of the week and happens every Friday evening at sunset. It is a time for the whole family to be together and affirm their commitment to God and to each other. The meal consists of thanksgiving, blessing and prayer and its purpose is to place God at the centre of the family and prepare the family for the Sabbath.
The first chapter of the Fuel Handbook contains a customised version of the Shabbat meal which will work as a whole unit. If you would prefer a more flexible approach there is a chapter containing Contemporary Twists, with starters, main courses and desserts. These can be used in whatever order you feel works for your family. Finally there is a chapter containing some ideas for one-off special meals that provide opportunities to grow family relationships.
We are asking everyone who would like to be part of Fuel to have one special meal a week where you spend some time together. The day, timing and format of the meal is completely flexible and this will mean choosing a time that works for your family. The ideas in this Handbook are designed to be practised by families and then extended by sharing with friends. The timing of the meal is not important but it is important that everyone is involved.
The handbook is not an exhaustive list and we are always looking for new ideas to add to the ‘library’. If you have particularly effective ways of spending time together, particularly if food is involved, please share them so we can all benefit from our different experiences.
Hoping that the sharing of a few of these ideas will provide your family with a greater sense of connection with each other and with God.
