Care for Families Struggling with Infertility

It would be an unusual (and small) congregation that did not have at least one married couple trying unsuccessfully to conceive. Even when marriage is not delayed until later in life, one in five couples experience at least one period of twelve months trying to conceive a child without success (the technical definition of “infertile couple”). The desire for children is biblically praiseworthy, and typically the couple are not the only ones hoping for a child/grandchild. The frustrations are compounded, then, by news about medical interventions that might help (such as IUI, IVF, or surrogacy) but are biblically questionable. This seminar will consider the pastoral opportunities to care for families caught up in these challenges. Careful attention will be given to the spiritual complexity infertility, the biblical principles that must be taken into account when considering the array of solutions currently available, and the specific limits that can make some forms of medically assisted conception—including IVF–biblically permissible. The seminar will be appropriate for all ages, but crucial parts of it might not make sense for children and may need parental explanation afterwards. This discussion will help the generations in the church talk about difficult things productively, thus helping to knit us together.