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Marriage and Family Forum Series Begins in Madrid
Written by UPF - Spain
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Madrid, Spain - UPF-Spain initiated a series of monthly seminars on marriage and family with a meeting at the Peace Embassy on Jan. 31, 2009, featuring a lecture by a well-known professor from the University of Madrid.
The event opened with a report about the marriage and family initiative that Edward Hartley started in England. This inspired plans for a monthly series of educational programs for youth and adults in Spain.
The Unificationist Chorus for Peace sang a religious song, “Babylon.” One seven-year-old girl charmed everyone with her cute manners and lovely voice. They created a peaceful atmosphere and warmed the hearts of the 40 people in the audience.
The main speaker was a professor at the University of Madrid, Dr. José Manuel López Molina. A Catholic psychiatrist, he is well known for his university lectures and educational presentations. He spoke for around 30 minutes on the theme, “Priorities in Educating Young People,” followed by time for questions and answers. The content of his presentation was very educational.
Some highlights:
- The best thing that we can offer to young people are ideals, communicated not only by words but by our example. Our daily good manners, actions, and good accomplishments should be their reference points for growth and development. Our words and actions should correspond to each other, because actions are louder than words.
- Young people like to feel happy: they want to experience joy, they have passion for life, and they have so much energy. We as parents should not give them our burdens, crises, or problems. Everything we give them should be positive and constructive, things to help them to grow spiritually. Young people especially need to develop emotionally and learn to be strong when faced with the difficulties that life presents.
- They ask themselves: What is the meaning of my life? Who am I? What is my identity? What is my position at school and in my family? What shall I do with my sexuality? What are my talents and abilities? What kind of career should I pursue? They have many internal desires and concerns.
A toast for peace followed his presentation.
Armando Lozano, Secretary General of UPF-Spain, gave a PowerPoint presentation about UPF's Middle East Peace Initiative. A number of people from Spain have participated in this peace trips, and his presentation helped people feel the value and potential of this project.
The chorus sang another popular song called “We Are the World,” and all the audience sang together with them.
The Faith Link Project was introduced by a young woman, Jasmín López Hahn, who gave a well-prepared PowerPoint presentation. This initiative is also taking root in Madrid.
Awards were presented to two large families and one couple who have been married for 46 years. Recipients of the awards were invited to share something about their life experiences. One woman from the Dominican Republic talked about how her parents had married when her mother was 13 and her father was 20. Her mother gave birth to 23 children, but five died because of lack of medical care. Thus her mother raised 18 children. Now more than 50 years old, the daughter described her mother's devotion to her family and how she did her best without complaining despite their poverty.
Mercedes González, Coordinator of the Marriage and Family Initiative, gave closing remarks, followed by pianist Kenmei Miyamura playing a piece by Schubert.
Audience members reported that they learned a lot from the magnificent presentation by Professor López, and many expressed interest in attending the February seminar. Over refreshments, people enjoyed the opportunity to share their thoughts and express their hearts.
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