ELCA NEWS SERVICE

August 25, 2004

'Good Grandparenting' ELCA's Mosaic Television Fall 2004 Release
04-155-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "Good Grandparenting" is Mosaic Television's Sept.
1 release, a 30-minute program that examines today's grandparenting roles
in a faith context.
     Mosaic Television is a quarterly video program produced by the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) through the church's
Department for Communication.  It is intended for educational use in a
variety of congregational settings including Sunday school classes, adult
forums, youth groups, women's and men's groups, new member classes, church
council meetings, committee meetings and other organizational meetings.
     The program includes discussion on the attributes of grandparenting,
how faith plays a role in being a grandparent, and how grandparents can
use their talents to influence their grandchildren positively.
     "Nearly 60 million Americans are over the age of 55, and
grandparenting roles once modeled by their grandparents have changed
dramatically," said Tim P. Frakes, Mosaic Television producer, ELCA
Department for Communication.
     Because Americans are living longer, divorce rates are up and there
are more single parent homes, new roles have emerged for grandparents as
primary care givers, Frakes said. For example, older adults sometimes
fulfill non-biological grandparenting roles by being "surrogate"
grandparents, he said.
     "Four million grandparents are primarily responsible for raising
their grandchildren," Frakes said, yet some grandparents are legally
prevented from seeing or even contacting their grandchildren, he said.
     "Good Grandparenting" includes interviews with a variety of people.
Several grandparents and great-grandparents share their experiences in the
program, as do family ministry professionals, legal experts and staff of a
special camp for grandparents and their grandchildren at Shetek Lutheran
Ministries, Slayton, Minn.
     Mosaic Television is available in VHS and DVD formats. Some ELCA
colleges and universities carry Mosaic on local cable channels.
     Each issue includes a user's guide with a synopsis of each segment
and discussion questions. Annual subscriptions are available through the
ELCA Department for Communication.
-- -- --
     Specific information about Mosaic Television subscriptions and the
content of each issue are available on the Web at
http://www.elca.org/mosaic/ or by contacting the ELCA Department for
Communication by phone at 1-800-638-3522, ext. 6009.

     Editors: Digital photographs that accompany "Good Grandparenting" can
be requested by e-mail at [log in to unmask] or by phone 1-800-638-3522, ext.
6009.


For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news