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Preparing for your marriage... |
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In addition to the many exciting preparations for your wedding, the reception, gown, flowers, music and pictures, there is also a gravely serious purose for the time of engagement and betrothal. It is a time to prepare for a lifetime together, called to mind by the old adage: "A wedding is but a day, a marriage a lifetime."
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At Saint John the Baptist Catholic Parish, preparation for your marriage begins with your first appointment with the officiating priest or deacon, who will conduct the canonical pre-marital inquiry into your eligibility and readiness for marriage, and give you specific information about the two options for marriage prepartion required by our Diocese.
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OPTION ONE: The first option for marriage preparation is our parish sponsored Mentoring Couple Process. In this program you will meet with an experienced and trained married couple, for an average of four sessions, each about three hours in length. During your first session, you will complete a FOCCUS (Facilitating Open Couple Communication, Understanding, and Study) questionnaire; a self-diagnosing instrument designed to help couples learn more about themselves and their unique relationship.
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The results of this survey will be the basis for your sessions with your mentoring couple, along with material from the manual, "A Decision To Love," given you by the priest or deacon at your first appointment. You will find the mentoring couples to be warm, gracious, and sensitive people, generously sharing the joys and challenges they have experienced in their own living of their sacrament of marriage. Upon completion of the mentoring sessions, you will receive a certificate, which you will give to the priest or deacon to become part of your permanent marriage file. Likewise, areas of concern or issues that may have surfaced during the mentoring process can be addressed. There is no cost to the couple for this program.
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In addition to the option above, a mandatory one-day workshop, God's Plan for a Joy-Filled Marriage must be attended. It is offered several times a year at various parishes in the deanery. There is no cost for the workshop and lunch will be provided. The certificate of completion must also be returned to the priest or deacon. Consult the Marriage Preparation brochure for dates, times, locations, and ho to register for this workshop.
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If you choose the Mentoring Couple option, please call the parish office (717) 235-2156 to arrange for assignment of a couple and to schedule your first appointment, or speak with the priest or deacon who will officiate at your wedding.
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OPTION TWO: The second option for marriage preparation is an Engaged Encounter Weekend, which is offered by the Diocese of Harrisburg several times each year. This group program is from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon, and is usually presented at a retreat house or hotel. It inludes the "God's Plan for a Joy-filled Marriage," workshop. There is a cost to the couple and details are available in the Marriage Preparation brochure. Often the parents of the couple will underwrite the cost of the weekend, as an early wedding gift. Again, a certificate of completion is issued and should be presented to the priest or deacon.
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We encourage couples planning to marry to complete your marriage preparation requirements very early in your engagement, so that as you prepare for this important day in your lives, you will grow even closer together in faith, hope, and love, and discover your mutually shared values upon which the success of your future life, marriage, and family will depend. "A wedding is but a day, a marriage a lifetime."
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