(L-R) Arthur and Georgia Isaacs along with Pastor Victorian Pamore and his wife at movie night at the Aston Rutty Centre, which was promoting strong family values.

The Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Churches of Cayman Brac celebrated July as ‘Family Month’ with a number of activities promoting strong family values and healthy lifestyles.

The SDA said the observation was primarily geared at maintaining the rich culture of a solid family structure predominantly practiced by members of the community. The activities also sought to build stronger relationships within families.

The month started with a sunset worship by the beach and ended with a bonfire on the South Side of Cayman Brac. Several panel discussions were held during the month including “how to make the family stronger, with emphasis placed on the financial, spiritual, social and emotional aspects of the family”.

Georgia Isaacs, who spearheads the Family Life Ministry on the Brac, made a presentation on the “Foundations for a successful family life”. The presentation highlighted some key characteristics that a family should possess if they are to enjoy a good life.

Mrs Isaacs encouraged the audience to “protect the sacredness of the home” (Joshua 22: 26 - 28, 34; Luke 11:7) by making it a citadel of peace and the fortress and bulwark of society. She admonished each member to guard the family identity and keep the family altar alive.

She encouraged persons to “show affection for each other” (Rom 12:10; Eph 4:32).

“The emotional well-being of each family member influences the stability of the whole family. Love in the family cannot grow without expression,” she said.

Joan Matthews handled another discussion on the issue of maintaining good family relationships.

First Elected Member for the Sister Islands Juliana O’Connor Connolly took part in the seminars and made a presentation at the Heritage House on the importance of education as it relates to a successful family.

She made reference to when she was growing up, saying that students in the old days were not as fortunate as today’s with state-of-the art facilities and different modes of transportation to reach school.

Students were committed and knew that attaining an education could help their family in the future especially those who considered themselves not having surplus resources, she said.

On Tuesday, 22 July a movie was shown at the Aston Rutty Centre, “Madea’s Family Reunion”, in keeping with the theme ‘when the Lord builds the house it stands’. The movie incorporated a unique fusion of soapy melodrama, poetry, spirituality, romance, and raucous humour.

The storyline centred on a pair of half-sisters struggling to overcome the oppression of their materialistic mother who is pushing a daughter into marriage with an abusive fiancé. One organiser said that it may be a bit jarring at first to veer from harrowing scenes of domestic abuse to hilarious scenes, but the aim of showing the movie was to genuinely inspire the church and community in overcoming difficult relationships especially when it pertains to marriage, as well as depicting the importance of family togetherness.