|
Marriage
Preparation
back to previous page
Sponsor
Couples Parish
Leadership
Information
courtesy of the Diocese of St. Cloud Family Life Office
A Sponsor Couple is a couple-to-couple ministry
in which married couples mentor engaged couples to help them prepare for
Christian marriage. The goal is to:
- Foster a sense of care and concern to the
engaged couples and help them prepare for their commitment within the
Church and community.
- Explore with the engaged couples issues
through the results of the marriage preparation instrument (FOCCUS).
- Help the engaged learn to pray together.
- Provide engaged couples an opportunity to
understand Sacramental Marriage through their own lived experience.
What does the training involve?
The six-hour training uses many different
learning modes; group interaction, lectures and role playing. Some topics
are:
- Role of the Sponsor Couple
- Working Together as a Couple
- Using the Relationship Assessment Tool (FOCCUS)
- Overview of Marriage Preparation
- Marital Spirituality
- Special Areas of Concern, i.e. cohabitation,
premarital sex, interfaith
Suggested
Qualities of a Sponsor Couple
- Believe in marriage as a permanent and
faithful commitment.
- Belief in God and Church are necessary to a
successful relationship.
- Are generous, warm and nonjudgmental.
- Are realistic and hopeful regarding the
day-to-day living of marriage.
- Are open-minded and can share their own lived
witness of the sacrament.
- Have the ability to listen well, reflect back
and encourage participation without threatening.
- Can be witnesses and companions with the
engaged couples in their continued search for a fulfilling and
successful marriage.
- Have been married for at least three years,
are following the teachings of the Catholic Church, and support the
diocesan guidelines in preparing couples for marriage.
- Endorse and support the teachings of the
Church such as birth control, premarital sex, cohabitation, etc.
- Understand the principle of confidentiality.
Information
courtesy of the Diocese of St. Cloud Family Life Office
St.
Mary's Parish Marriage Sponsor
Couples
~~~~~~~~~~~~~back
to top~~~~~~back to previous page~~~~~~~~
|
