As Valentine’s Day approaches, this appears an ideal opportunity to share, with you and your parish, some of the work that goes on to support the couples of our diocese and beyond.

• Online resource produced by our Archdiocesan MFL Team in response to the Amoris Laetitia Family Year, explores the role of Love in our lives, its joys and sorrows, its compulsiveness and barriers, its rewards and challenges…. all over the kitchen table and a cuppa with a friend; What is Love? What is Love all about? Why is it so difficult to Love sometimes? And why do we spend so much time thinking about Love? Or Do we?
  This series of 8 episodes can be used by individuals, couples, groups of friends or parish groups to explore the true meaning of love, as well as how and why we need to ‘Grow IN Love’

• For our engaged couples preparing for marriage in the near future, there are the Marriage Care ‘Preparing Together’ and ‘FOCCUS’ Preparation programmes now available Face-to Face (and online ‘Preparing Together Anywhere’). These courses should be booked via the Marriage Care central booking system via their website https://www.marriagecare.org.uk/marriage-preparation-2/
• As with all relationships, marriage needs working at. Couples wishing to develop and strengthen their relationship may find an enrichment programme a helpful process; the following organisations provide such opportunities and online resources:

• Marriage Encounteralso Engaged Encounter
• Cana Retreats
• Smart Loving

• All relationships, whether solid and loving or stressed and fragile, experience challenges which test our ability to support and understand each other as needed or appropriate, and we may struggle with the promises we made to each other. Most of the time, couples will resolve their own differences through mutual sharing and listening, working together to find the best way forward. However, should things become strained and resolutions difficult to achieve, seeking support from others can be beneficial, especially relationship support with an impartial perspective.
• • For those couples experiencing challenges or difficulties in their relationships, where relationship counselling would be helpful, please refer them to the Marriage Care Counselling Service again via their website
    https://www.marriagecare.org.uk/how-we-help/relationship-counselling/
  • Retrouvaille offer a lifeline to couples who feel their marriage needs re-focusing. The word “Retrouvaille” simply means “rediscovery” and their programme offers couples the chance to rediscover themselves, their partner, and a loving relationship in their marriage. If couples are thinking of separation, divorce or are already separated, but want to try again, then Retrouvaille may well help.
• Finally, for those couples experiencing separation, divorce and the subsequent fall out, Restored Lives offer a variety of support for a variety of situations and perspectives including some one-off/ stand-alone sessions detailed at the foot of this email. Full details of the Restored Lives services can be found on their website https://www.restoredlives.org/

Joanne White
Archdiocesan Marriage & Family Life Worker/ Co-ordinator