Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, October 15, 1994                   TAG: 9410170052
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CODY LOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CHURCHES FIGHT CHILD VIOLENCE

That's the kind of statistic Diane Kelly, executive director of the Mental Health Association of the Roanoke Valley, hopes will shock religious congregations into paying attention to the problem of violence by and against children.

And that is the focus of this weekend's Children's Sabbath services being held throughout the Roanoke area.

Congregations of Jews, Catholics and Protestants are focusing on the issue during this third annual Children's Sabbath, sponsored nationally by the Children's Defense Fund. In the Roanoke Valley, the Mental Health Association is co-sponsoring the event for the second year, helping coordinate the distribution of materials to churches that request it.

Approximately 50 congregations - twice as many as last year - are marking the occasion in some way in the Roanoke Valley this year, Kelly said. Most major denominations are represented, though some may not conduct their Children's Sabbath until a later weekend, Kelly said.

The observance actually began Thursday with a forum on dealing with troubled youths led by Roger Kent Peters, director of pastoral services for a Selinsgrove, Pa., center for mentally and emotionally disturbed people.

Peters described the advantages he sees in integrating religious ritual and practice in a clinical setting for treating the mentally ill and retarded.

Also at that forum, Marcia Brumburg, director of the children's educational program at Beth Israel Synagogue, described the efforts of the local chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews to recognize high school students who are performing acts of kindness and service that might not otherwise be noted.

The Rev. Larry Sprouse, pastor of Melrose Baptist Church, detailed an outreach of his church to a group of mentally disabled men who live at the Virginia Baptist Children's Home. While some had misgivings about possible disruptions in the church's worship service, Sprouse said the positive effects on the church have been tremendous.

Churches and synagogues were provided with sample educational material for children and adults, as well as sermon and homily outline samples for worship leaders.

Christian youth material, for instance, includes exercises designed to encourage nonviolent problem-solving and becoming aware of violent acts or attitudes in the news and entertainment media. Adults are encouraged to get involved in providing nonviolent, positive alternatives - such as movies or teen clubs - for their children.

Sample newsletter and bulletin-insert material includes the Children's Defense Fund's position that keeping guns in a house is dangerous and that the Second Amendment to the Constitution does not guarantee individuals the right to keep arms. It also contends that heavy exposure to violence in TV shows and movies leads to aggressive behavior in children and urges parents to not allow their children to watch violent programs.

The Mental Health Association does not endorse every position taken in the Children's Defense Fund material, Kelly said. Congregations are free to pick and choose from the material - or take an entirely original approach to the issues.

What is important is for congregations to address the problem of violence against children from their own faith perspectives, Kelly said.