Face to Face ~ Heart to Heart: This is the central message of the Metropolis of San Francisco Family Wellness Ministry. Our families and parishioners face with many challenges of living in a society wrought with divorce, addiction, abuse, and shifting moral values. The Family Wellness Ministry is committed to connecting individuals, couples, families and clergy through the heart toward healthy Christ-centered relationships. We are engaging in practical ways to build healthier clergy and parish families by offering resources, training, support, seminars and information to church communities throughout our Metropolis. In addition, the Metropolis of San Francisco Family Wellness Ministry partners with the Archdiocese Center for Family Care and many of our Family Wellness team members have been national presenters for various workshops and conferences.

The Family Wellness Ministry is here for you – individuals, families, parishes, clergy, young and young-at-heart – offering many exciting programs.

Reclaiming the Family Dinner

Reclaim your family time together by gathering around the table and giving thanks to God. With kids going back to school, there is no better time to make a family plan to intentionally disconnect from phones and electronic devices at the table. Experience the transforming power of engaging in face-to-face, heart-to-heart conversations with your family! Join us for the Family Wellness Ministry Challenge which includes praying before every meal, and engaging in Face-to-Face ~ Heart-to-Heart conversations with your family. Download our Family Meal Discussion Starters!

Articles & Resources

The Family Wellness Ministry website offers excellent articles and resources on a variety of family-related topics including marriage, family, parenting, addiction, grief, anxiety and depression. Take advantage of these free resources.

Clergy Couple Retreats

Starting in 2007, the Metropolis of San Francisco has been offering retreats for priests and presvyteres to support them in their marriages and ministries. As clergy are responsible for fostering loving relationships within the parish community, so must we direct attention toward nurturing healthy marriages in our clergy families. “The marriages of our clergy come with many challenges and many blessings. It is important that we address the uniqueness of their relationships and strengthen them in their commitment to each other and to the Lord,” stated His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos.

Regional Conferences

The Family Wellness Team wants to meet you Face-to-Face! We want to introduce ourselves to you, share with you who we are as well as share with you areas of our own expertise. We want to see family wellness ministries in your parishes! We want to hear and learn from you, your ideas, your struggles, and your dreams of what a Family Wellness Ministry in your parish could provide for those in your community. Four free regional conferences have been scheduled in 2017 throughout the various regions in the Metropolis of San Francisco.

The first conference was held on February 3 – 4, 2017 at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in San Francisco, and the second conference took place on May 19 – 20, 2017 at Saint Paul Greek Orthodox Church in Irvine, CA. Featured topics included: Raising Children with Emotional Intelligence, Why Marriages Succeed or Fail, and When Addiction Hits Home. The workshops will model ways on how to incorporate Family Wellness in your parish and offer concrete suggestions on how to build a Family Wellness Ministry within your church community. Two more conferences are scheduled for later this year: September 8 – 9, 2017 at Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church in Shoreline, WA, and November 17 – 18, 2017 at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Phoenix, AZ.

What is being said by the participants?

“Very informative and powerful” 

“I highly recommend attending this conference. It is a very interactive experience, manageable sessions, practical and doable guidelines, and understandable by non-counseling professionals.”

“Awesome exchange of ideas among participants and leaders”

“I attended in order to bring back information to my church. I didn’t realize how much I would personally benefit”

“Information that is directly applicable to life”

Family Wellness Leadership Team

Since 2015, the Director of the Family Wellness Ministry is Rev. Father Timothy Pavlatos. He brings with him years of pastoral experience as well as specialized training as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Learn more about Father Timothy and the leadership team.