Religion forum for the week of Feb. 16

Lynchburg News & Advance
Published: February 15, 2008

The Bedford Christian Fellowship focuses this month on the struggles of children, women and men living in single-parent households.

Single-parent households result from both personal choices and unplanned circumstances, including having a child when single, becoming a guardian of a child, divorce and death.

Child abuse in the United States increased 134 percent between 1980 and 1998, in step with the accelerating rate of children affected by divorce and sole parenthood, as reported by researcher Barry Maley.

Maley's writing includes, "… we must be wary of assuming that all sole-parent families, stepfamilies or cohabiting couples are inevitably risky for children, or that married natural parents are an absolute guarantee of safety and happiness, for this is clearly not so. What does seem to be the case is that, on average, the risk to children increases as we move away from an environment in which the biological parents of the child are married."

The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators reports that never-married mothers experience twice the rate of domestic abuse as married, divorced or separated mothers, and also suffer higher rates of violent crime. Also, the poverty rate for children of single mothers is 45 percent, compared with 6 percent for children living with both parents. A child born and reared outside of marriage is six times more likely to receive welfare than a child raised in a two-parent home, according to the index.

In addition, compared to children who grew up with both parents, the index says children who grow up with only one of their biological parents are:

--3 times more likely to have a child out of wedlock themselves,
--2.5 times more likely to become teen mothers,
twice as likely to drop out of high school,
--1.4 times as likely to be out of school and unemployed, and far more likely to experience a variety of mental and developmental problems, including depression.

A study by the Heritage Foundation of 6,400 boys over a 20-year period found those who grew up without fathers were two to three times more likely to commit crimes resulting in jail time than were those who grew up in traditional families. A number of studies confirm that almost 70 percent of inmates in juvenile correction facilities are children of single-parent homes.

A significant and rising number of Americans appear to regard childbearing as gratification to the adult rather than a duty to the child or to society. Personal fulfillment, not the best interest of the child, determines many adults' decisions to make choices that lead to single-parent households.

We, of the Bedford Christian Fellowship, believe experiencing a personal relationship with Christ, receiving a new heart and a renewed mind, moves individuals beyond the selfish nature.

We encourage every person in Bedford City and County to join with us in daily prayer that the Lord might lead our community to address the challenges of single-parent households and to provide individuals more chances for reaching full potential.
We know prayer is powerful. In addition to asking for your daily prayers on this topic, we invite the Bedford community to join with us on Sept. 11 (7 a.m. at Bedford Baptist Church) for a prayer breakfast.

The Bedford Christian Fellowship is an ecumenical group of Christian men, who meet monthly for prayer, fellowship and mutual support. The fellowship may be contacted in care of 1109 Park St., Bedford, VA 24523. For daily prayer support, call the Upper Room Toll Free Prayer Line at (800)-251-2468.

BOB CORNELL
Bedford