Being a parent is one of the greatest responsibilites that God gives a family. Two of the major decisions a parent will face are: How am I going to provide for the education of my children and how do I help my children gain a wise understanding of sexuality in our confusing culture.
West Church has gathered a panel of local Christian parents, each of who have chosen a different option for the schooling of their children.
There will be an important presentation from Massachusetts Family Institute about the recent Sex Ed mandate for public schools and how you can respond.
We will additionally hear from an experienced parent and Christian leader, Rev. Nick Granitsas, who has helped many families shepherd their children with their sexuality.
If you have questions about the potential options for educating your child or would like some guidance on how to address sexuality in the life of your young ones, we encourage you to join us for this FREE discussion being offered to you.
THAT’S NOT ALL!
To follow-up this panel discussion… Sundays, May 12th – June 2nd @ 10:30AM – Pastor Bill Shoemaker will be teaching a 4-Part series entitled: The Bible & Modern Sexuality
MEET OUR PANELISTS…
Rebecca Brinton; after completing years of graduate studies, Rebecca was blessed with a young family and found herself at a crossroads: should she continue to pursue her career plans in higher education, or commit instead to homeschooling her children? With God’s unfailing guidance through sometimes challenging and uncertain terrain, along with her husband’s unwavering support and involvement, she is now celebrating over a decade of formal, full-time homeschooling. A mother to five children, ages 10 to 16, Rebecca appreciates the perspective that ten years brings and the rich, often unexpected, rewards she’s been blessed with along the way. She currently volunteers as a youth teacher in her local Community Bible Study class, and in her free time she enjoys reading non-fiction, hiking with her family, and coaxing life out of her little flower garden.
Michelle Gandra was born and raised in Salem, MA. She grew up attending West Church and continues to call it her home church with her husband and their three children. Michelle attended North Shore Christian School from Pre-K to grade 8, where she now teaches Middle School Spanish and serves as the Dean of Students and Chaplain. Michelle studied Spanish, Communication Studies, and Youth Ministry at Taylor University in Indiana. She received her Masters in Counseling from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Michelle loves to minister to young people and considers it a privilege to teach middle schoolers at a Christian school.
Valerie Doering Crisman has been a pastor and youth pastor at Pilgrim Church in Beverly for over 15 years. She and her husband, Karl-Dieter, moved from Chicago to Lynn in 2005 when Karl accepted a position at Gordon College in mathematics. They have 3 children: Miriam (19), Kevin (17), and Charlotte (14) and also fostered and adopted children through Lynn DCF for several years.
Michael King is the Director of Community Alliances for Massachusetts Family Institute. For the past 8 years, Michael has been traveling across the state, speaking at over 200 different churches in Massachusetts. He has helped to build a highly influential and effective network of churches to protect religious liberty and the sanctity of life. Since 2020, Michael has worked with this church network to start 17 Church-Based Learning Centers as a solution for parents looking for affordable, academic alternatives to the public schools. These Church-Based Learning Centers are ministries of the church and help educate about 400 students across Massachusetts. National organizations are taking notice of this education freedom movement in a politically blue state and want to help increase the number of Church-Based Learning Centers in Massachusetts. Michael hopes to double the number of Church-Based Learning Centers in the next year!
Nick Granitsas was born and raised in Marlboro, Massachusetts, the son of a Greek Orthodox father and a Roman Catholic mother. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College and a Master of Divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He has been blessed to be married to his wife Joan for fifty-three years. They had seven children (four adopted and three natural; sadly, our daughter Wendy died unexpectedly in January), twenty-three grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter. Over the years, twenty-eight other children lived with them, including children who came to America as refugees from Vietnam and Cambodian, foster children, and three of their nephews. Before coming to Revere, Rev. Granitsas served three other churches. From July 1, 1974 to August 31, 2020, he served as the pastor of the First Congregational Church of Revere, MA. Since then, he has served as an Interim Pastor in Lynn, Carlisle, and currently in Malden. He has served in various leadership capacities in the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference (CCCC), including four years as national president. He is currently serving as an Area Pastor (21 churches and 55 ministerial members). He has been active in the community, having served in many capacities including nine years on the CAPIC (anti-poverty agency) board of directors, six years on the area board for the Department of Social Services (now Department of Children and Families), two years on the Governor’s Council on Refugees, six years on the Revere Human Rights Commission, five years on Revere’s Massachusetts General Hospital Health Center’s advisory board, and sixteen years as chairman of the board of A Woman’s Concern (now known as Learn Your Options), a pregnancy help center providing alternatives to abortion. He also served on boards for Lexington Christian Academy, North Shore Christian School, and the Evangelistic Association of New England (now Vision New England). In addition, he served as an adjunct faculty member of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary from 1980-2016, teaching the denominational standards course for the CCCC.
West Church Peabody – 27 Johnson Street, Peabody MA 01960 – (978) 535-4112