CONSTITUTION OF PARISH FAMILY SERVICE CELLS

A.    The Parish Family Service Cell (PFSC) is a coordinating body of the representative families of the Parish for the needs of the Families, through Families and by representative Families to build up the domestic Church as envisaged by the Church documents.

 B.     Role of the PFSC

• To provide Family Catechesis.
• To build Christ centered homes that pray.
• To recognise the equality and human dignity of all, especially the woman and girl child.
• To prepare Natural Family Planning instructors in each Vaddo/Sector/Somudai of the Parish.
• To make spousal couples aware of social evils.
• To conscientise the families about the anti-family/ anti-life tendencies.
• To counsel and support families in crisis.
• To help create a sense of belongingness to one’s own family.
• To make the parish a communion of families.

 C.    Mission Statement

To build stable Christ centered happy families which will strengthen spousal relationships and promote effective Christian parenting.

D.    Vision

• Make the family aware of its role and mission (Educational)
• Development of a healthy family life (Preventive)
• Reaching out to families in distress (Therapeutic)

 E.     Tasks of the PFSC

                       i.            Educational and Preventive Programmes

• Marriage preparation (Remote, Proximate, Immediate)
• Creative Natural Fertility Management
• Pro-life issues and the Family
• Family Enrichment Programmes
• Sessions on Parenting Skills
• Family get-togethers
• Celebration of Wedding Anniversaries
• Retreat and encounter Sessions for spouses
• Care for Elderly and the Aged
• Helping Inter-faith Marriages
• Exposure to Family Movements

                         ii.            Therapeutic Programmes

• Family Help Line
• Crisis Counseling
• Reconciliation of Marriages and Families
• Rehabilitation of Broken Families
• Rescue Battered women

 F.     Constitution of Parish Family Service Cell

• The Parish Family Service Cell shall consist of the following persons chosen by the Parish Priest in consultation with the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC):

→ One Priest

→ One Woman Religious

→ One Representative Spousal Couple from each Vaddo/Sector/Somudai.

→ One Medical Doctor

→ One Medical Nurse

• They will choose from among themselves a coordinator, an assistant coordinator, a secretary, a joint secretary and a treasurer to form the executive committee of the Parish Family Service Cell of the Parish.
• There will be no raising of funds for the PFSC. Instead the PFSC will submit the budget of their programmes form either the PPC or Fabrica, as deemed acceptable.
• This Team will be responsible to co-ordinate the Family Apostolate in each Vaddo/Sector/Somudai of the Parish.
• They will meet at least twice a year to animate Family Life in the Parish. The rest of the functioning will be through the PPC.
• They will send from among themselves representatives for the training of trainers (ToT) courses for Family Cell Animators ‘Kuttumb Seveche Adhari’ conducted by the DFSC. Details of such courses are put up on the website www.familyservicecentregoa.org  or by phone from DFSC, Goa offices at Panaji and Margao.
• The Parish Family Service Cell will be trained and strengthened by the DFSC.