CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Family — it's a topic Tanya McBride Skeen felt the communities here could not speak enough about. The mayors of Charlottesville, Staunton and Waynesboro agreed.
In November each signed proclamations promoting strong families, and at the urging of local Latter-day Saints, declared that one night a week should be set aside for family home evening.
Sister Skeen, director of Waynesboro Virginia Stake public affairs, said stake members asked local mayors to support family home evening as part of National Family Week, first proclaimed in 1972 by President Richard M. Nixon. Since that time U.S. presidents have continued the tradition of National Family Week, which occurred this year Nov. 19-25.
"We wanted to make National Family Week something special," said President Brent Christensen, first counselor in the Waynesboro Virginia Stake presidency. "We wanted to strengthen families in the community by sharing family home evening."
As a result of the LDS effort, the mayor of Charlottesville, Va., J. Blake Caravati, proclaimed during city council meeting Nov. 4, every Monday evening as family night.
"By this proclamation I encourage all Charlottesville family members to schedule time to be at home this one night a week, to dedicate this time to family activities, to the teaching of family values, to play a game, discuss accomplishments and goals, plan future outings together or to simply be together," wrote Mayor Caravati in the proclamation.
Staunton Mayor G. John Avoli and Waynesboro Mayor Charles L. Ricketts also issued proclamations; Mayor Avoli proclaiming every Monday night as family home evening — because "strong families create strong communities" — and Mayor Ricketts proclaiming a night be set aside weekly as family home evening "because in today's complex society quality family time does not occur automatically." Sister Skeen said other cities in the stake's vast boundaries may follow suit.
"We are continuing this effort through our stake and are hopeful that other mayors will also make this proclamation," she said.
Giana Miller, also a member of the Waynesboro Stake public affairs council, coordinated efforts in Staunton and Waynesboro. Both city leaders responded well to invitations to support family night, she said.
"We expressed our feelings," she added. "We told them the proclamation would be something that could be used as a tool to help the families in the community get back to getting away from the hurried, scurried busy life. . . . This was a tool that could be used to strengthen the family."
She noted that Mayor Ricketts of Waynesboro told about the fact that there are so many problems relating to families these days, so many things that pull families apart.
Mayor Avoli also noted that he wants to support the resurgence of the family structure. "Positive things can happen in the community as a result of strong family values," he said.
Sister Miller said positive things will indeed happen as a result of the proclamation. "Charlottesville, Waynesboro and now Staunton. This is incredible," she said of the way in which the concept of a night set aside to strengthen families is being embraced. "It's like a wave catching hold."
To further support the concept, several wards in the stake have held family home evening open houses — complete with displays of family home evening resources, home storage resources and family history resources, said President Christensen.
"As a part of that effort we asked every ward in our stake to hold an open house at their [meetinghouse], where they teach the principles of family home evening," President Christensen said. He called the open house held in Charlottesville 1st Ward a "resounding success." Members made available to their guests non-denominational family home evening books and the Church's Family Home Evening Manual. The youth, he said, put on a family home evening program and led the music, as would be done in "a typical home evening in the home." (Such open house events are to take place on a night other than Monday.)
This was not a proselyting effort, he added. "It was very much designed to teach people to strengthen their families and how to have family home evening and build on family strengths in the community."
Sister Skeen said that one community member noted how impressed she was with the LDS families she met during the event. "She observed that there was a common aspect shared amongst the members and that it was a spirit of happiness."