Every child needs to be loved and cherished. Yet bringing children into a family is not always easy.
In this episode of Three Minute Ministry Mentor Dr. Danielle Tumminio Hansen and I talk about the intersection of the call to family and the call to ministry.
In her newest book Danielle takes a look at how we construct and understand family in an era when biology, adoptions, and heterosexual marriage are no longer the only pathways to defining family.
In an earlier episode of 3MMM, we explored how the two callings — to ministry and to family/community — are deeply intertwined. We also considered how the call to family or community is a matter of decision as well as inheritance. And we talked about how much we need places of belonging.
In this conversation Danielle shares her personal story about why she wrote a book about family, infertility, and surrogacy. She also tells us why she believes that no child can have too many people who love and cherish them.
Talking about family and what it means, and how we make it and where grace and love come into the equation, can be challenging. The stakes are especially high when someone faces questions about bringing children into a family,
In her introduction to Conceiving Family: A Practical Theology of Surrogacy and Self, Danielle says, “The collective story of intended parents, surrogates, and children is one about dreams –- dreams deferred and dreams realized. Humans thrive on their dreams, and sometimes the greatest fulfillment begins with the process of imagining what the future holds and who one will become in it.”
If you are a minister learning in practice, and preparing to serve alongside families, you can expect some challenges in your future.
You can expect conversations about what it means to be a family and to welcome children will likely be part of your work. Sometimes it may mean accompanying people through their dreams of welcoming children. At other times it can mean working through a thicket of difficult decisions. And it can certainly mean challenging conversations over the course of long physical and spiritual journeys.
Along the way you may find yourself giving pastoral and spiritual care through grief as well as joy. Conceiving Family can help you to be more prepared for your ministry with families.
This month we are giving away a copy of Conceiving Family. Everyone who is registered here at the site and/or for weekly emails will be part of the drawing!
