A new program called "We are Family Community Lecture Series" begins Monday, Oct. 3, at 7:00 p.m. at the Admiral Congregational United Church of Christ, 4320 SW Hill Street, just off California Ave. SW. The monthly series, a shared effort between the church and its renter, A Child Becomes...Daycare, will address parent/child issues including positive discipline, bullying, nutrition, learning, and family legal planning.

Most lectures will be held on the first Monday of the month, and will carry a nominal fee of five dollars. Parents, grandparents, educators, and anyone with ties to young people are encouraged to attend. Next March, a fair will be held to share information about summer youth camps and activities.

Michelle Neal, or Shelley has been the director and pre-K teacher of A Child Becomes...Preschool for 20 years. She is a graduate of Seattle Prep High School, Matteo Ricci College and Seattle University, and is Head Cross Country Coach at West Seattle High School. She competes competitively for Brooks Sports.

"This whole series started because we wanted to do a joint project with A Child Becomes...Daycare, and five of us on a task force came up with the topics," said David Pelton, Worship Team Leader for the church.

Pelton, a West Seattle resident in the Belvedere neighborhood, grew up on a ranch in Montana, and moved to Seattle in 1989. He is a retired letter carrier in the postal service.

"I had a walking route that probably added years to my life," he grinned.

"We had many ideas for a program but this one floated to the top," he recalled. "We asked ourselves, 'Why don't we have a lecture series inviting professionals around the Seattle area and our community to talk about family issues?' and thus the name 'We are Family Community Lecture Series'. The series will be progressive, not 'old outlooks'."

"Simply put, we care about people and want them to be loved, honored and respected," he said. "But the only connection between our church philosophy and this lecture series is that it meets in our room. There will be no preaching. This series is simply about enriching families. We wanted to mostly involve (concerns about) infants to teens. The hot topic now is bullying, covered in our Feb. 6 lecture. Also covered will be cyber bullying.

"The highlight will be our summer fair on March 5," he said. "Community members can come in and sign up for programs offered by organizations like the 'Y' and the Parks Department, dance, and judo studios, and theater workshops. These summer activities fill up quickly that time of year. This will be one-stop shopping."

The first lecture offered:

Oct. 3 "Positive Discipline" presented by Karen Schrantz, M.P.A., with 15 years in the field, and a West Seattle resident.