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June 30, 2006
June 27, 2006
The Prayer Corner
Black Expressions has partnered with www.DailyGuideposts.com to share in the Guideposts Prayer Ministry. Our prayer partner has served those who need prayer support for many years and is committed to the pledge to pray for all prayer requests by "name and need." Log on today to submit your prayers!
Here are a few recent prayers by our members. Please join us in praying with them. Tuesday, June 27, 2006 7:29:06 AM | |
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Monday, June 26, 2006 10:24:57 PM Thanking and praising God for his continuous blessings. Would you please pray for me and my family that we will grow stronger in our relationship with the Lord and with each other. We have been through the storm and rain, but the sun is going to shine if we just hold out. God bless you. — Paulette | |
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Monday, June 26, 2006 10:17:03 PM please pray for my friend nicole h.she's going through some medical diffulty's and for family. than you katie — | |
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Monday, June 26, 2006 10:13:41 PM What a wonderful thing to do. Prayer is such a wonderful thing to bring us all together. My name is Orlantha and this prayer request is for my loving grandmother Mittie Ealy who is 92 years old and dealing with a heart ailament. She is such a dynamic woman. We just came in from an awards ceremony that awarded her a scholarship at Malcom X College. I pray for her complete recovery so that she may continue on her journey to her others with her foundation Ealy's Early Achievers. — Orlantha |
June 26, 2006
Interview with Kuae Kelch Mattox
1. Why is it so important that African American families to plan family
reunions?
better way to strengthen those roots than to plan a family reunion. Reunions
celebrate heritage and personal history across family lines and generations.
They remind us, as African Americans, from whence we came, and encourage us
to ³keep on keepin¹ on,² promoting unity and passing down tradition and
heritage to our children.
where the family, and extended family, has been the center of African
tradition for centuries. But the institution of slavery disrupted the role
of the family, and as black families worked to rebuild, the extended family
played a crucial role. The growth in family reunions is symbolic of the push
to reach back to that rich heritage.
Ione Vargus, founder and director of The Family Reunion Institute at Temple
University in Philadelphia, the only institute of its kind in the country
dedicated to serving as a resource to families planning reunions. According
to Dr. Vargus, family reunions help provide a sense of identity, a feeling
of self worth and self esteem. Those attributes can go a long way toward
strengthening many generations of black families.
heritage and multigenerational support for black families with children
encourages families to plan reunions and celebrate those strengths.
Remember, family members will be coming together to have fun, so plan
activities that will encourage that spirit. Early on in the planning
process, ask family members what activities they might like to have. Give
family members a chance to showcase their talents and use their abilities
and interests to pick appropriate activities.
reunions. Invite family members to bring their old photos and memorabilia
and possibly set up a table with everything on display. Create a family tree
wall chart to display on a wall and ask family members to fill in the
blanks. In addition to family trees and charts, there are many different
ways to recount stories. Make sure to use as many available methods as
possible to preserve your precious history record stories from family
elders; videotape your activities at the reunion. The Family Reunion
Institute also recommends organizers tap into genealogical societies,
genealogists and other resources, many of them online, to help trace family
roots.
scavenger hunt. Put together a sheet or booklet with family related
questions. Award prizes to the family members who have the most answers
correct.
eating food? so do your best to make it good and plentiful!
many experts suggest that organizers don¹t just limit themselves to that
time. If organizers poll family members and find out that most of them would
like to go skiing for their family reunion, another season such as winter
may in fact be the best time. Another ideal time to plan it might be around
a relative¹s birthday, wedding anniversary another important family
milestone. The other thing to keep in mind is that some hotels offer
discount rates during off-peak times, so price may also be a dictating
factor in determining ideal time.
like to have. If the idea is to get folks together so they can get to know
one another, organizers might want to look for a place that is away from
traffic and hustle and bustle so everyone can spend time concentrating on
each other. On the other hand, if the goal is to also spend time doing other
things, like shopping, entertainment and amusement-type activities, begin to
look for places that allow you to accommodate those interests.
local Convention and Visitor¹s bureau might be a good start, as well as the
local Chamber of Commerce. In addition to hotels, reunion experts encourage
organizers to think out of the box a little bit? a reunion could be held at a
local museum, in a park, on a college campus or at a conference center.
Remember, the reunion activities do not have to be held in the same location
where relatives spend the night. Use your creativity and imagination to pick
a nice place where you know your relatives will have fun.
5. How much time should organizers allow themselves to plan a family
reunion?
planning, so the key here is to start as early as possible. Depending on the
size of the family, some reunions need one, sometimes two years of planning
ahead of time. Committees should be established from the beginning,
involving members from each branch of the family, and a timeline should be
set for completing tasks and assignments. One of the most important
decisions will be to set a date, and stick to it, so family members can get
it on their calendar. Another important task is to compile a mailing list of
all family members. Once the date for the reunion is set, an immediate ³save
the date² mailing should go out. Committees should meet on an as needed
basis and send periodic updates to family members.
supreme here. Some of the most popular keepsakes include imprinted t-shirts,
mugs, family cookbooks, custom family memory or history books. Others
include: personalized calendars, paperweights, button name tags, family tree
prints, mouse pads, decorations and table settings. There are many companies
that will do custom work to create a keepsake that family members will
cherish for years to come.
resources to help organizers along. The internet is probably one of the best
resources to track down relatives in other parts of the world. Some of those
websites include:
Johnson and Debra Johnson Knox and Get the Facts on Anyone by Dennis King.
detective. Start talking to them to gather clues about family members. Take
notes, pulling out identifiers such as geographic locations and schools.
Sometimes those informal chats with family members will lead you to the
reunions?
As we all know, family is the very root of African American culture. What
better way to strengthen those roots than to plan a family reunion. Reunions
celebrate heritage and personal history across family lines and generations.
They remind us, as African Americans, from whence we came, and encourage us
to ³keep on keepin¹ on,² promoting unity and passing down tradition and
heritage to our children.
Of course, the rich history of family reunions can be traced back to Africa,
where the family, and extended family, has been the center of African
tradition for centuries. But the institution of slavery disrupted the role
of the family, and as black families worked to rebuild, the extended family
played a crucial role. The growth in family reunions is symbolic of the push
to reach back to that rich heritage.
Our upcoming May issue includes an in-depth reunion feature written by Dr.
Ione Vargus, founder and director of The Family Reunion Institute at Temple
University in Philadelphia, the only institute of its kind in the country
dedicated to serving as a resource to families planning reunions. According
to Dr. Vargus, family reunions help provide a sense of identity, a feeling
of self worth and self esteem. Those attributes can go a long way toward
strengthening many generations of black families.
Black Family Today magazine with permanent columns and news dedicated o
heritage and multigenerational support for black families with children
encourages families to plan reunions and celebrate those strengths.
2. What types of activities do you recommend for families?
According to the Family Reunion Institute, the possibilities are endless.
Remember, family members will be coming together to have fun, so plan
activities that will encourage that spirit. Early on in the planning
process, ask family members what activities they might like to have. Give
family members a chance to showcase their talents and use their abilities
and interests to pick appropriate activities.
Those activities might include:
• Talent shows
• Family history skits
• Planting a tree to honor a loved one
• Relay races
• Craft corners for kids
• Choir singing
• Family story time with the kids
• Recognition ceremonies
• Arts and Crafts exhibits
• Fashion Shows
• Music and poetry
• Golf outings or other sports activities
The sharing of family history has become a major activity at family
reunions. Invite family members to bring their old photos and memorabilia
and possibly set up a table with everything on display. Create a family tree
wall chart to display on a wall and ask family members to fill in the
blanks. In addition to family trees and charts, there are many different
ways to recount stories. Make sure to use as many available methods as
possible to preserve your precious history record stories from family
elders; videotape your activities at the reunion. The Family Reunion
Institute also recommends organizers tap into genealogical societies,
genealogists and other resources, many of them online, to help trace family
roots.
One fun activity to involve the kids could be a family trivia contest or
scavenger hunt. Put together a sheet or booklet with family related
questions. Award prizes to the family members who have the most answers
correct.
But perhaps one of the most important activities at a family reunion is
eating food? so do your best to make it good and plentiful!
3. Is there an "ideal time" to have a family reunion? If so, when?
While summer appears to be the most popular time to have a family reunion,
many experts suggest that organizers don¹t just limit themselves to that
time. If organizers poll family members and find out that most of them would
like to go skiing for their family reunion, another season such as winter
may in fact be the best time. Another ideal time to plan it might be around
a relative¹s birthday, wedding anniversary another important family
milestone. The other thing to keep in mind is that some hotels offer
discount rates during off-peak times, so price may also be a dictating
factor in determining ideal time.
4. How should family reunion organizers go about choosing a location?
Reunion organizers should first think about the kind of reunion that they¹d
like to have. If the idea is to get folks together so they can get to know
one another, organizers might want to look for a place that is away from
traffic and hustle and bustle so everyone can spend time concentrating on
each other. On the other hand, if the goal is to also spend time doing other
things, like shopping, entertainment and amusement-type activities, begin to
look for places that allow you to accommodate those interests.
Once organizers identify the kind of reunion they would like to have, the
local Convention and Visitor¹s bureau might be a good start, as well as the
local Chamber of Commerce. In addition to hotels, reunion experts encourage
organizers to think out of the box a little bit? a reunion could be held at a
local museum, in a park, on a college campus or at a conference center.
Remember, the reunion activities do not have to be held in the same location
where relatives spend the night. Use your creativity and imagination to pick
a nice place where you know your relatives will have fun.
5. How much time should organizers allow themselves to plan a family
reunion?
If there is one thing that almost all family reunions need, it is advance
planning, so the key here is to start as early as possible. Depending on the
size of the family, some reunions need one, sometimes two years of planning
ahead of time. Committees should be established from the beginning,
involving members from each branch of the family, and a timeline should be
set for completing tasks and assignments. One of the most important
decisions will be to set a date, and stick to it, so family members can get
it on their calendar. Another important task is to compile a mailing list of
all family members. Once the date for the reunion is set, an immediate ³save
the date² mailing should go out. Committees should meet on an as needed
basis and send periodic updates to family members.
6. What types of fun keepsakes should be provided for family members?
Once again, the sky is the limit and imagination and creativity should reign
supreme here. Some of the most popular keepsakes include imprinted t-shirts,
mugs, family cookbooks, custom family memory or history books. Others
include: personalized calendars, paperweights, button name tags, family tree
prints, mouse pads, decorations and table settings. There are many companies
that will do custom work to create a keepsake that family members will
cherish for years to come.
7. How can organizers locate family members in other parts of the world?
Locating family members can be tricky, but luckily there is a wealth of
resources to help organizers along. The internet is probably one of the best
resources to track down relatives in other parts of the world. Some of those
websites include:
www.reunion.com <http://www.reunion.com/>
www.genealogyforum.com <http://www.genealogyforum.com/>
www.ancestry.com <http://www.ancestry.com/>
www.rootsweb.com <http://www.rootsweb.com/>
www.familiesreunited.org <http://www.familiesreunited.org/>
There are also books that can help. They include Find Anyone Fast by R.
Johnson and Debra Johnson Knox and Get the Facts on Anyone by Dennis King.
Lastly, don¹t underestimate the power of other family members. Play
detective. Start talking to them to gather clues about family members. Take
notes, pulling out identifiers such as geographic locations and schools.
Sometimes those informal chats with family members will lead you to the
family members that you hope to find.