WHEN asked by a member of their bridal party what was the best thing that happened to them during their engagement, Max Vickerson and Hannah Harris agreed that it was doing the Embrace mentoring program for six weeks during October and November last year.
“It prepared us so well and gave us an exciting vision and mission for our marriage,” they said.
“The six sessions with our mentor couple challenged us to go deeper and explore the sacramental understanding of our relationship as well as dealing very frankly with intimacy issues which too often are glossed over because of embarrassment.”
Hannah relished the opportunity to discuss their respective values, expectations and dreams for their relationship.
“The sessions were invaluable in revealing our family values and patterns of relating, which we subconsciously adopt and act out,” she said.
“I learnt that in some situations, Max’s ways of relating were very different to mine and if we were to grow together, we needed to better understand our origins.”
For Max, the practical exercises included in each session were a real bonus.
“They provided a tangible way for me to put the theory into action. I found that by using them, I grew in my appreciation of Hannah and my capacity to be more intimate in our relationship,” he said.
Piloting the Embrace program were Mike and Lisa Humphrys, Hannah and Max’s mentor couple.
“This is an innovative and exciting course for both the mentor and engaged couple,” said Mike.
“It draws upon the best of relationship education, the profound insights of the late Pope John Paul’s theology and practical tools that turn key concepts into everyday actions that impact on your marriage immediately.”
Lisa added: “Embrace provides a strong foundation for couples to build a marriage with a mission to love each other.
“It challenged us to go deeper in our relationship as we shared our experiences with the engaged couples, who valued the mix of prayer, theology, relationship insights and practical tools for making their marriage a sign of God’s presence in the world.”
This new course for engaged couples was developed by a team of couples from Celebrate Love, including co-authors Byron and Francine Pirola from Sydney, and is grounded in the Theology of the Body.
Like the Celebrate Love seminar, it integrates the teachings of the Church with contemporary research into relationships for a dynamic and relatable program.
What distinguishes Embrace from other courses is the mentoring format. Each engaged couple meets with a trained mentor couple who personally coaches them throughout six sessions.
Each session has DVD based input, couple exercises, practical relationship tools, Theology of the Body insights related to the topic, facilitated discussion, and take home exercises.
“We have set ourselves the goal of training 1000 mentor couples over the next three years,” said Byron Pirola.
“What is really exciting about this format,” said Francine Pirola, “is that every parish can now offer marriage preparation within the parish.
“Today many engaged couples book to marry in a church, but have little or no contact with any parishioners.
“With Embrace, those couples can sit in the lounge room with a parish couple (their mentors), who can offer them, not only instruction in the course, but support and encouragement throughout the early years of marriage.
“The mentor couple provide an important, living link with the parish community, and with them, the invitation to be part of that community.”
Embrace incorporates many of the concepts of the Celebrate Love weekend seminar for married couples. In fact, the initial training for Embrace mentors includes a Celebrate Love seminar.
Four Celebrate Love seminars will be held in Brisbane archdiocese this year. The first will be held on March 18-19 at St Joseph’s Parish Hall, Corinda, the second at Noosa District Parish on May 20-21, the third at Aspley parish on July 1-2 and the final one on the Gold Coast on August 5-6.
Two couples, Andrew and Liz Buchanan and Gavin and Michelle Duffy, who attended the first Celebrate Love seminar in Brisbane last July will present some of the talks for these marriage enrichment weekends.
“We were so impressed with the weekend seminar and its impact on our marriage that we wanted to get involved, so we decided to undertake the training to become seminar presenters,” said Liz.
“Celebrate Love promotes a really healthy perspective on sexuality and intimacy, and deals a lot with the differences between the masculine and feminine perspectives.
“We’ve been married for 12 years, and the Celebrate Love seminar truly challenged and inspired us, because it showed us how much more potential there is to grow in our patterns of relating to, and loving, each other.”
Andrew added: “Men and women often express their love differently, and sometimes this can be a source of tension.
“The Celebrate Love weekend gave us clear and practical steps for building unity and understanding.
“It really has been an important opportunity for growth in our marriage. I’d recommend that all married couples make the small investment of a weekend to do the seminar, and discover how much richer their marriage can be.”
A National Leadership Development Conference is being held in Sydney this weekend will include training for the first batch of Embrace mentors. Other training opportunities will be available in other cities during the coming year. For couples interested in training as Embrace mentors visit www.embrace.org.au
Three ways to enrich a loving relationship
THE Celebrate Love seminar is a marriage enrichment program.
First run in Australia in 1992, 800 couples have since attended one of 56 seminars held around the country.
Passionate Love is a residential retreat designed specifically for couples who have previously attended a Celebrate Love seminar.
Embrace is the latest initiative and is a mentor based six session program for engaged couples preparing to marry in the Catholic Church.
2006 Celebrate Love seminars
March 18-19: Corinda Graceville Parish
July 1-2: Our Lady and St Dympna Parish, Aspley
August 5-6: Gold Coast
September 9-10: Noosa District Parish
To book your place at one of these Celebrate Love seminars phone Paula on (02) 9662 7272 or visit www.celebratelove.com.au
For further information phone Mike and Lisa Humphrys on (07) 3265 2752 (home) or (07) 3336 9340 (work).
