March 2010 Marriage and Family E-Newsletter
Please share this newsletter with your partners in ministry.
Visit For Your Marriage Page for Catholic marriage resources.
- YOU HAVE OPTIONS! FACET IS HERE
- FOCCUS WANTS EMAIL ADDRESSES
- SPANISH MARRIAGE WEBSITE LAUNCHED
- DISTANCE-LEARNING MODULES FOR TRAINING NEW VOLUNTEERS
- FOCCUS-FACET FACILITATOR TRAINING COMING UP
- NFP EDUCATION RESOURCES AVAILABLE NOW
- MORE MARRIAGE ENRICHMENT WEEKENDS
You Have Options! Facet Discussion Inventory is here!
View Slidecast on FACET
FACET, by the publishers of FOUNDATIONS Newly-wed Newsletter, is taken on paper answer sheets. FACET also includes a take-home section for extended discussion. Results are 5 pages and are emailed to the facilitator. Facilitator’s Guide is available free on the FACET website. Easy to administer in Pre-Cana (you are sure that the couple finished!). Anyone experienced with FOCCUS facilitation will find FACET easy and effective.
- Interested in using a FACET instead of FOCCUS? Want to know more? Email Lauri with your comments lprzybysz@archbalt.org
- Ordering FACET: You may now order FACET from the Archdiocese when you order your marriage preparation packets. FACET statements and answer sheets will be printed in a special edition of Perspectives on Marriage Workbooks.
- FOCCUS will still be available (see below)
- Parishes may elect to use either the FACET inventory or the FOCCUS. Both are good tools for discussion. Each has its own good features. Choose the inventory that best suits your program. Specify when ordering packets.
- Try FACET Now! Cost: $20, plus reusable statement booklets (need 2 @ $5) = $30. Or order FACET packages, same price as FOCCUS packages, $50. Call or email Lauri lprzybysz@archbalt.org, 410-547-5420.
FOCCUS Wants Email Addresses
FOCCUS now uses the couple’s email addresses as their User IDs. We will ask their permission for this one-time use. Going forward, FOCCUS application forms will ask this permission. Any FOCCUS applications you have, please write a note at the top of the page “I give my permission for FOCCUS to use my email address as the User ID only” and ask the couple to sign beside it. Sorry for the extra step—FOCCUS keeps multiplying conditions.
FOCCUS-Facet Facilitator Training or Refresher*
Facilitator training for using Pre-marriage Discussion Instruments will be available 3 this year. Clergy and lay persons designated by their parish are welcome to learn how to best facilitate discussion. FOCCUS Facilitator manual is $50 (Current FOCCUS facilitators, $10, if you already have your FOCCUS binder.)
March 27, St. Joseph, Sykesville. Saturdays, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Registration Form
Spanish Marriage Website Launched
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) launched a new Web site in Spanish for couples. The Website, completely in Spanish, is the Hispanic version of the popular For Your Marriage website, although it is not a translation of it. Includes advice, stories, testimonials and other resources to liven up daily life, along with valuable information about common challenges for couples and how to overcome them in healthy and respectful ways.
The PorTuMatrimoni site also contains information for couples preparing for marriage with reflections on topics such as:
- How do we know if we are ready to make this important decision?
- How can I be sure this is the ideal person for me?
- How can we nourish our married life in mind, body and spirit?
Distance-Learning Modules For Training New Volunteers
New Sponsor Couples, Pre-Cana Team Members, and Remarriage Sponsors are more precious than gold! Capture their enthusiasm when they come forward to serve in your parish by registering them to take a enriching and fun home-study training course.
No need to wait for a scheduled training near you. Spouses work together at their own pace to complete the course that teaches them how to use the Archdiocesan Marriage Preparation packets and outlines, catechizes them about the Church’s teachings on Marriage, and enriches their own marriage.
Note; Sponsor Couples using FOCCUS also take FOCCUS-FACET Facilitator Training (a one-session in-person workshop – see below*). Contact Lauri Przybysz lprzybysz@archbalt.org to learn more and to register for one of the training modules.
NFP Education Resources Available Now
Check out the NFP page on the Archdiocesan Website for links. If you need a new video to use in Pre-Cana or Sponsor Couple sessions, a good 22-minute presentation that includes Catholic moral teaching, Plan Your Family Naturally, is available for $15. Order from Diocese of Rockville Center/Office of Faith Formation, 50 N. Park Ave. PO Box 9023, Rockville Center NY 11571-9023, 516-678-5800, or contact the Respect Life Office.
More Marriage Enrichment and Renewal Weekends
Marriage Encounter: Make a healthy marriage even better. 2010 Dates: August 13-15, and November 5-7. Register
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Lauri Przybysz, Coordinator of Marriage and Family Enrichment, lprzybysz@archbalt.org 410-547-5420.
