Focus on the Family Canada
| Type | Religious organization in Canada |
|---|---|
| Legal status | active |
| Purpose | advocate and public voice, educator and network |
| Headquarters | Langley, British Columbia. |
Region served | Canada |
Official language |
English French |
| Affiliations | Focus on the Family. |
| Website | focusonthefamily.ca |
Focus on the Family Canada (French: Focus Famille) is a Canadian affiliate of the American evangelical Christian organization Focus on the Family. It was founded in 1983, and is based in Langley, British Columbia. The organization's official name as a registered Canadian charity is "Focus on the Family (Canada) Association."
Focus on the Family Canada is "committed to helping families thrive." Its mission is to "encourage and strengthen the Canadian family through education and resources based on Christian principles"; its purpose is to "love God and our neighbours by serving Canadian families and encouraging them to pursue a growing relationship with Jesus Christ"; and its guiding principles include the preeminence of evangelism, permanence of marriage, the value of children, the sanctity of human life, the relationship of church, family and government.[1]
Ties to Focus on the Family USA
Focus on the Family Canada is operated and directed independently of Focus on the Family USA. However, some ties do exist between the two organizations. Between 2000 and 2003, the Canadian affiliate received $1.6 million in services from the larger American organization. Two members on the board of directors of Focus on the Family Canada, Tom Mason and Jim Daly, are also vice-presidents of Focus on the Family in the United States. Other than receiving financial support from Focus on the Family USA between 2000 and 2003, Focus on the Family Canada relies fully on donor support for its operations.
Activities
The primary focus of the organization is to provide encouragement and resources to Canadian families. Resources include a Canada-wide radio broadcast, magazines for all age groups, free counselling and counselling referrals, marriage and parenting seminars, and books. Focus on the Family Canada's ministry covers issues ranging from parenting children with disabilities to money and time management to dealing with conflict in marriage and infidelity.[2]
Focus on the Family Canada also provides care and support services for pastors, ministry leaders and their families in the form of retreats, pastors' events, and the Clergy Care Network website.[3] In 2008, Focus Canada began the Kerith Creek ministry retreats for married couples and ministry leaders near Calgary, Alberta.
In the fall of 2009, Focus on the Family Canada launched a parenting website called "Kids of Integrity: Tools for Growing Godly Character." The website provides over 20 lesson plans intended to help parents, grandparents, caregivers and others develop positive character traits in children - traits such as honesty, generosity, respect and self-control. The lessons are designed to engage children ages three to ten and can be downloaded from the Kids of Integrity website free of charge.
Also in 2009, the organization announced plans to erect its own building under the fundraising campaign called "Building Families, Building Hope":
We feel that God is leading us to establish a permanent home that will allow greater opportunities to share His blessing with Canadian families. Not only will this home serve as the cornerstone of the ministry for years to come, but it will also save as much as $400,000 annually in rent, which we will use to reach even more families with practical advice and Biblical truths.[4]
Operations in Canada
The organization has funded efforts in the courts and in its media broadcasts to help "preserve traditional values and the institution of the family."[5] It is opposed to same-sex marriage, LGBT adoption (and LGBT rights in general), abortion, pornography and premarital sex. Focus on the Family promotes child discipline and supports the continued legality of spanking as a form of discipline for children.
Focus on the Family Canada has also established the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada/Institut du Mariage et de la Famille Canada (IMFC). The IMFC is located in Ottawa, Ontario, near Parliament Hill, where the staff conduct and compile social policy research from Canada and around the world. The IMFC’s mission is "to positively influence public opinion and promote public policy that values human life, the pre-eminence of marriage and the institution of the family."[6] Its involvement in social issues is not limited to activism, as it has intervened in court cases such as one case in 1999 where it supported denying same-sex couples the right to apply for alimony from one another.[7] The organization had intervenor status in the precedent setting case of Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law v. Canada (Attorney General),[8] in which the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the legality of child spanking in Canada.
In addition, the organization publishes Today's Family News, a monthly e-newsletter that provides family-related news stories, research and analysis making headlines across Canada.
Organization
Presidents of the organization include: Bruce Gordon (?–1998), current Deputy Chief of Staff to PM Harper, Darrel Reid (1998–2004),[9] Terence Rolston (2004–present).
A former member of the board of directors of Focus on the Family Canada is Sharon Hayes, who from 1993 to 1997 was a Member of Parliament belonging to the Reform Party of Canada.
References
- ↑ Focus on the Family Canada, About us
- ↑ Focus on the Family Canada, About us
- ↑ Focus on the Family Canada, Pastors
- ↑ Building Families Building Hope
- ↑ Focus on the Family Canada, About us
- ↑ IMFC, About us
- ↑ "Canada Rules 'Spouse' Includes Homosexuals - NYTimes.com". select.nytimes.com. May 21, 1999. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
- ↑ [2004] 1 S.C.R. 76, 2004 SCC 4,
- ↑ Gilgoff, Dan (February 19, 2009). "Focus on the Family's Growing Influence—in Canada - God & Country (usnews.com)". usnews.com. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
External links
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