Annunciation Church & Ascension Mission
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIFE MINISTRY: S
trong families are a source of life and love — and for us as Catholics, marriage and family are the foundations upon which our Church community is built. Our parish’s Marriage and Family Life Ministry — working in tandem with the national Worldwide Marriage Encounter (WWME) organization — provides ongoing growth and development for couples and families through enrichment, fellowship, support, and spiritual formation. “Our tag line is ‘Strong Marriages, Strong Families, Strong Communities,’” says ministry coordinator Linda Lewandowski. “That’s what it’s all about.” The ministry originated in 2018 as an initiative within the West Hawaii Vicariate to provide marriage enrichment programs for married couples on the Big Island, as opposed to having couples travel to Oahu or Maui. Annunciation was one of the first parishes to partner with WWME to host a one-day Marriage Enrichment session that same year — the following year, the parish hosted a full Marriage Encounter weekend. “Participation in enrichment events helps couples with good marriages develop even stronger relationships between themselves, their family members, and their faith,” Linda says. “The format of the enrichments allows couples to hear other couples describe their experiences as well as learn about new tools they can use to improve their communication.” After couples have attended a Marriage Encounter, they are given the opportunity to continue growing with other Encountered couples in sharing groups. These groups meet on a monthly basis and provide ongoing support for their marriage relationship, family life, and relationships with others around them. “Monthly gatherings of couples over time build a solid community that can learn from each other, support each other, as well as become a strong force within our parish community — we become like a family,” says Linda, whose sharing group is called the Red Hot Lavas. “Prayer is always a huge component. We ask our couples to pray for other couples going through the same experience, and we’ve gotten great participation through that.” As interest in these programs grew, Annunciation moved forward to define and formalize the launch
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