Adoption/Foster Family Connection
“Religion that God our Father accepts
as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans …
in their distress…” James 1:27
It’s hard to imagine that there are still orphans today.
Often, we think of orphans as literary characters or children
of a former era. Yet, still, today, millions of
children are without parents — either temporarily or
permanently. At any given time, there are between 400–450
foster children in Cobb County, but only approximately 125
foster homes.
Although concern for foster children in our community was
voiced at FPC several years, it was not until the Spring of
2005 that this committee was formed. There is a real
need for Foster and Adoption support and the Adoption/Foster
Connection Committee (A/FCC) believes that God is calling
this congregation to action!
The purpose of the Adoption/Foster Connection Committee (A/FCC)
is to seek ways to relate the members of this congregation
to foster children in Cobb County by:
• promoting and providing opportunities for members
to become foster or adoptive parents;
• promoting and providing opportunities for members
to become Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children;
members of Citizens’ Review Panels for foster cases;
respite providers when foster parents need a break; mentors
for foster teens; or foster aunts, uncles, and grandparents
for children fostered within this congregation;
• supporting others who serve these children in any
way.
We see God is working on behalf of foster children in a number
of congregations in Cobb, and are excited to be a part of
that!
During 2006-2007, the AFFC has:
• Collected toiletry items needed by foster children taken into emergency foster care.
• Held a dessert to discuss adoption at which adoptive parents and prospective adoptive parents met to discuss avenues for adoption in Georgia. (September 2006). Featured speaker for this event was Lina Maxwell of Faith, Hope Adoption, a non-profit organization that helps families desiring to adopt find the right agency and also walks with the family walk through the adoptive process. Faith, Hope, Adoption has a grant which permits them to serve families for free.
• Held a two-week informational study on foster children in Cobb County to which all adult church school classes were invite. Guest speakers included a foster parent, a couple who adopted a Cobb Foster child, a former foster child who was never adopted, and representatives from juvenile court to speak about volunteer opportunities.
• Requested one months Sunday School offering for the Cobb Foster Parents Association, to buy meals for meetings and enable them to hold an end-of-the year pizza party for parents and foster kids, with small party favor for each child.
• Made a connection between FPC's Women on the Run and the Department of Family and Children's Services, in which Women on the Run collected new underwear and socks for foster children in time for Christmas.
• Requested the FPC Session to host a county-wide event on child neglect, sponsored by the Coalition for Child Abuse Prevention.
•Collected from the congregation ninety-seven prom dresses plus numerous pairs of dress shoes and evening bags to be given to foster teens this year so they can attend their proms.
•Observed National Adoption Month (November) with a table in the Gathering Space for the four Sundays, where the congregation could pick up information about adoption. Several families expressed an interest in adoption, and others dropped by to say what a blessing their own adopted children are
"Let the children come unto me..." 
On September 28 the committee sponsored a coffee/dessert at which adoptive parents and prospective adoptive parents met to discuss avenues for adoption in Georgia. At this time there are 120 - 150 children in Cobb County alone waiting for adoptive families, and many more in Georgia. Special guests were Lina Maxwell and Bridgett Ward from Faith, Hope, Adoption, an agency that helps prospective adoptive parents examine all the adoption options and walk through the process from start to successful adoption. There is no charge for their service.
Adoptive parents shared their varied journeys to adoption and agreed that adoption can be a gift birth mothers
give both to their children and to adoptive parents. The whole group agreed that there are persons and whole families in this congregation who would offer terrific homes to children who need them.
Our current and future efforts include:
• collecting funds to provide meals for a monthly foster
family continuing education dinner and encouraging other congregations
to join the effort;
• a toiletries drive through church school classes for
foster families in need of combs, deodorant, toothpaste, and
shampoo.
• We hope to sponsor an Adoption Sunday in the coming year to raise awareness of this need and possibility.
When we consider the number of current members who have worked
with foster children in the past and how God has blessed our
congregation with big-hearted members that might be willing
to be trained to work with foster kids, we are excited for
the future of A/CFF.
Won’t you consider joining the effort to care for the
“orphans” of Cobb County? We meet the last (not
the fourth, the last) Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. in
room 48 and welcome anyone who has a concern for foster children.
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