This past spring, Walnut Grove partnered with Pacific Oaks Academy, a private K-5 school in Camarillo, to host Ana Samuel, Ph.D, the Founder and Academic Director of CanaVox, for a fascinating presentation designed to give the Natural Law View of Marriage and Sexuality a voice.
On Saturday, April 18, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Mary Ortiz, Rosemary Kite, and Isabel Jones, members of our Board of Directors, and several frequent participants of other Walnut Grove programs, joined couples from diverse ages, circumstances, and world views to hear the most engaging and positive parenting tips for talking with children and adolescents about their own sexual identity and attraction.
Dr. Samuel drew from her new book entitled, Courageous Conversations, to distill key practical advice for parents, such as prioritizing the parent-child bond, early and often; tailoring the truth to their age; and teaching them first, before the world does. As she said, “Better a year too early than five minutes too late.”
She explored the cultural and ethical challenges facing parents today and the importance of avoiding the extremes of authoritarianism (with harshness and rigidity as a teaching style) or avoidance (with silence and fear of conflict leaving necessary conversations left unspoken).
She showed how embracing truth, love, and natural law can lead to a flourishing life for people of all faith traditions. CanaVox programs stress a “middle way” of calm accompaniment, with parents walking beside their children with courage, clarity and compassion.
Before finishing, we learned that CanaVox’s interfaith movement to help men and women formulate well-grounded secular arguments to better articulate convictions with truth and compassion now includes programs for Young Professionals (CanaVox YoungPro), College and Graduate Students (CanaVox Varsity) and middle and highschool students (CanaVox JV).
For more information, or to get your own copy of Courageous Conversations, go to: Canavox.com
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