Family Peace Association encourages families to explore and affirm their core values together as they grow to become God-centered families. Family workshops are becoming a successful model to facilitate exchange between parents and children on important subjects such as values and traditions. Here is a story from a family who attended a recent family workshop hosted by the Family Peace Association in the United States.

Dad was usually reserved at home. He said little, smiled little. But today, he joined his son and daughters in a play as part of a three-day family workshop that explored the universal principles and values of their heritage and how it informs how their family should live as global citizens. He and his son exchanged lines that made the audience laugh. He tried to suppress his own smiles as his daughter joined in with their own punch lines.

Competing in a game of soccer with the whole family.

The family had decided to attend the unique summer workshop together. The workshop was hosted by Family Peace Association USA, organized by a high school student for his Boy Scout Eagle Project. The workshop explored America’s founding principles and how they might be applied more broadly to global citizenship.

Dad initially came to make sure his eldest daughter was cared for; she was recovering from surgery on her foot, which made walking and sitting difficult. He wants to make sure she could get up the stairs, got food and water, and to help ease her pain however he could.

As the days progressed, a deeper purpose emerged as father, daughters, and son explored principles and values together. They began to engage in conversations that are difficult to broach on an everyday basis. They began to share about the values that they aspired to embody as a family.

Sometimes they sat together, parents and children in the same group, sharing and listening to each other. Other times, they sat in separate peer groups, dad with other parents, the children with other young adults. With peers and with one another, they talked about God and His presence in their lives and the world and topics ranging from love to service and goodness.

In self-study sessions, father, son, and daughter had time to delve into research of topics like men and women and ideas that were inspired by God to take risks and strive to make a better world. The workshop provided a shared experience for the family to explore their family’s values together.

Sharing his reflection of the family workshop.

“As an immigrant, I was so inspired to come here with my children to learn how God was involved in the founding of this nation,” reflected dad, who is originally from Japan.

As they studied together, they discovered new things about each other and shared on perhaps the most important things, in ways that they wouldn’t have been able to do in the milieu of every day.

Mom came on the third day to help cook lunch. At the closing they stood together as a family in the closing photo, a memento of the three days that they took to explore and outline the principles and values that they as a family honored, and how they wanted to manifest in in their daily relationships and lives.

No doubt, it would be the first of many they would attend together as a family.