Family Life Programs

Published: October 25, 2008

The Family Life Office of the Diocese of Little Rock offers the following ministries. For the most current calendar information, visit the Diocese of Little Rock Web site: www.dolr.org/offices/familylife/calendar.php.

For engaged couples:

Pre-Cana Day is a one-day retreat for engaged couples to spend time together reflecting on their relationship and future marriage. Married couples present talks on topics such as the sacrament of marriage, communication, finances, love and sexuality, parenting and Natural Family Planning.

Nov. 15, 2008: St. Joseph, Pine Bluff
Jan. 17, 2009: St. John Center, Little Rock
Feb. 7, 2009: St. Boniface, Fort Smith
March 14, 2009: Christ the King, Little Rock
May 9, 2009: St. Boniface, Fort Smith
May 16, 2009: St. John Center, Little Rock
June 20, 2009: St. John Center, Little Rock
Sept. 19, 2009: St. Boniface, Fort Smith
Oct. 24, 2009: St. John Center, Little Rock
Additional dates to be added.

The Sponsor Couple program offers couple-to-couple ministry between married and engaged couples. The sponsor couple or mentor couple assists the engaged couple in reflecting on the reality of married life. Topics covered include the sacrament of marriage, family of origin, communication, finances, love and sexuality, parenting and Natural Family Planning.

Convalidation classes are offered for couples who are married civilly and wish to transition to a sacramental marriage.

Nov. 15, 2008: St. Vincent de Paul, Rogers
Feb. 21, 2009: St. John Center, Little Rock

Natural Family Planning is an effective, proven method of family planning and is the only one approved for couples to plan their families within the teachings of the Catholic Church. (Offered in English and Spanish)

Call the Family Life Office or visit the diocesan Web site to view the class schedule in Arkansas. Additional information and dates are available on the Couple of Couple League's Web site: http://www.ccl-ar.org.

For married couples:

National and Worldwide Marriage Encounters are weekend experiences for couples with good marriages who want to make them better. (Offered in English and Spanish)

Currently, National Marriage Encounter is held at parishes and World Wide Marriage Encounter is held at a retreat setting. For more information about NME visit the Web site: http://marriage-encounter.org. To learn more about WWME, visit http://www.wwme.org.

National Marriage Encounter: For more information, call your parish to find out if it offers this ministry.

Worldwide Marriage Encounter:

Feb. 13-15, 2009: Coury House, Subiaco Abbey
Sept. 25-27, 2009: Coury House, Subiaco Abbey

Encuentro Matrimonial:

Nov. 21-23, 2008: St. John Center, Little Rock
April 24-26, 2009: St. John Center, Little Rock
July 24-26, 2009: St. John Center, Little Rock
Oct. 9-11, 2009: St. John Center, Little Rock

The Retrouvaille program is a weekend experience with follow-up sessions that is designed to help heal and renew troubled and hurting marriages through relationship building and communication. Separated and divorced couples are also encouraged to attend. For more information, visit the Web site: http://retrouvaille.org.

Feb. 20-22, 2009: St. John Center, Little Rock
Sept. 18-20, 2009: St. John Center, Little Rock

Marriage Anniversary Masses are celebrated each year in the diocese to honor couples who have been married 25 or 50 years or more.

Nov. 23, 2008: St. John Center, Little Rock

For families:

The Father/Son Chastity and Mother/Daughter Chastity events are single session programs designed to provide an atmosphere of love and learning, to discuss the important topic of growing up, to learn about God's gift of human fertility, and establish a foundation for continued communication between fathers and their sons or mothers and their daughters.

Father/Son Chastity Day: Dec. 7, 2008: St. John Center, Little Rock

Mother/Daughter Chastity Day: March 8, 2009: St. John Center, Little Rock

Beginning Experience is a weekend for adults grieving the loss of a love relationship through death, divorce or separation, who are ready to come to terms with their loss and begin to move forward with their lives. For more information, visit the Web site: http://www.beginningexperience.org.

Beginning Experience weekends

Feb. 20-22, 2009: St. Scholastica Monastery, Fort Smith
April 24-26, 2009: Camp Christian, Choteau, Okla.
June 12-14, 2009: St. Scholastica Monastery, Fort Smith
Sept. 11-13, 2009: Camp Christian, Choteau, Okla.

For singles:

Singles ministries are available in the Central, Northwestern and Western Deaneries and in some parishes in Arkansas. The objectives for these organizations are to encourage a spiritual belonging with the Catholic Church, to instill an attitude of public service, and to develop Catholic social contacts.

For seniors:

The Senior Resource Ministry is a resource group for those involved in parish senior ministry. A Senior Day and Mass is offered each year in the fall and a newsletter highlighting ministries and stories about seniors is available online four times a year through the diocesan Web site.

Additional ministries provided in parishes are also promoted and assisted by the Family Life Office. These include programs for the divorced, widowed and separated, bereaved and for parenting and other family related issues.

For more information or to register for an event, call the Family Life Office at (501) 664-0340 or download the forms from the diocesan Web site at www.dolr.org/offices/familylife/services.php.

Click here to return to the 2008 Marriage & Family section index.