Parenting Courses Sydney & Beyond

— Ann Cunningham, Parenting Course Developer & Educator

‘‘We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

The impact of Covid has been felt across all aspects of society and it was without a doubt a difficult time. Mothers Union Sydney parenting courses were no exception to being impacted. But we have a sovereign creator as the God over all events. As I look back on the last couple of years, I can see God at work through our parenting courses. Through the pandemic our aims within our parenting courses remained to continue to equip families in their parenting and to build community amongst Christian families. In reimagining our aims in a remote world, we have ended up with more to offer both our Christian families and those families who don’t follow Christ. The time to reflect on our parenting programs and the incentive to ensure we stayed relevant in an online world meant we became very certain of our aims and methods and proactive in our approaches.

Greater flexibility in how we can deliver the courses

As everything went to online, we initially were a little stuck. Our desire is for real time communities of families supporting one another and online is, in truth, not as good an option as face-to-face. We also encourage lots of sharing of ideas and experience and opportunities for discussion to start the process of consolidating the learning. This is harder online – we all know the awkwardness of zoom discussions! However, we resisted the temptation to just record courses (less chance of community development in that forum) and worked to create zoom courses which can be as interactive as possible. All our courses are now able to be delivered via zoom. While this is not the preferred method, it does allow for the courses to proceed if face-to-face is not an option. It often allows for both parents to attend, and it means that we are not limited to a geographical area. As we have continued to emerge from the pandemic the desire has been for face-to-face courses. What a blessing God has given us to have more options to bless families.

Changes to our parenting courses

The time in lockdown with few courses being run allowed us the opportunity to review our courses and presentation style. With the help of a gifted designer, we now have new look presentations which all have the same Mothers Union Sydney branding. As awareness of our parenting courses has grown, we have had churches request either additional courses or modifying current courses to fit with their situation. This has been an exciting time as we have had new courses created plus we have created a series of mini parenting courses that can be used in a variety of settings. I believe the impact of Covid meant we needed to learn greater flexibility and as people were undergoing incredible changes and stress, we needed to look to see how we can address those new needs.

Going forward, this allows us to expand how we can partner with churches to provide parenting courses that are tailored to their setting.

Greater reach to families around NSW and beyond

We have also had opportunities to travel around regional NSW, in the Armidale Diocese, to present seminars to six towns. Our Let’s Chat sessions are open to all on the Christian Parenting Australia Facebook page and Mothers Union members and are held every 6 weeks via zoom. They are allowing us to create a community of parents who can discuss parenting issues together. In August a trip to Thursday Island, four years in the planning, eventuated. The aim was to provide facilitator training for parenting courses for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

Naturally, Covid impacted the timing, however when it was finally able to go ahead it was clear that the timing was perfect. The time from conception of the idea to delivery, meant a few key preparation aspects happened. Firstly, the flexible shortened parenting courses which had been developed over the last year were the ideal format for the indigenous Mothers Union members. They were able to take the material and ensure it was culturally appropriate. Secondly, the Mothers Union North Queensland executive had facilitated many workshops with the Indigenous groups and so they were all very familiar with the process. It was a blessing to be able to partner with these families and to consider how they can now take the information and use it to equip families in their communities.

God indeed works through all circumstances and as we reflect we can see his hand – this is true in our parenting courses. Much to give thanks for and to continue to pray for this ministry.