A message from the director

We are excited to share that our MFM Advisory Committee gathered for a quarterly meeting at the end of April. We shared accomplishments from the first quarter, upcoming events, and future goals in our office's four areas: Marriage, Family, Hope & Healing, and Human Sexuality. The Advisory Committee shared ideas, plus gave us critical and positive feedback.

Maria and I are working diligently to update resources for all ministries. Grandparenting ministry is going strong, as is the planning for LGBTQ+ Special Ministries. We have broadened our Marriage Enrichment speaker pool for the fall, as well as expanded our Bereavement Ministry by collaborating with Red Bird Ministries. In Fertility Awareness, we are excited to host our first Mother Daughter Cycle Prep Workshop at St. Basil in June.

Please feel free to share our monthly newsletter with others.

Peace and blessings,
Terri

Marriage Mentor Meeting

Marriage Mentors new and old are invited to attend a Zoom Office Hours on Tuesday, May 16th at 7PM to hear new updates, address needs, and answer questions. Email Terri to be included on the call.

Scheduling 2024 Marriage Enrichment

Nicole Melchi will continue to be available for events in 2024. Please reach out if you would like to schedule her to do a talk at your parish.

We are happy to bring Nellie K and her husband Neil for a series of "date night" talks. Nellie is a trained counselor and marriage mentor from St. John Bosco parish. Her passion is encouraging couples to develop, strengthen and deepen their relationship with the Trinity as they journey in marriage.

50th Wedding Anniversary Jubilee Celebration

Anyone married in 1973 is invited to attend the diocesan annual Wedding Anniversary Mass with Bishop Malesic on Saturday, June 24th at 9:30AM at St. John's Cathedral. The Cathedral will be open for seating at 9AM on a first come, first serve basis. Couples sit with their families. More information and certificate request can be found on our website.

Eucharistic Congress

The entire city of Indianapolis will be filled with 80K Catholics next June! This will be the first national Eucharistic Congress in 83 years! We invite you to take some time to think about participating as a family in the culmination of the Eucharistic Revival. There will be programming for all ages, and events will be held all around Indianapolis. Lucas Oil Field will be the main stage for events. Due to the different needs of families, our office is encouraging families to register on their own. Perhaps consider this 2024 family vacation! More details and registration can be found on the Eucharistic Revival website.

Grandparenting

The Anne and Joachim Grandparenting Workshop will be offered at St Francis De Sales on May 22 9am-1pm. Registration is available on our website. The goal of the workshop is to learn and develop a grandparenting ministry at your parish.

It is not required to attend the workshop to start a grandparenting ministry in your area. Terri has met with many parishes and helped develop their teams; including doing mini-versions of the A & J workshop for their individual meetings. The goal is to develop successful ministries at the parish level or amongst an area of cluster parishes.

Red Bird Ministries

The Red Bird Ministries app is a central place where families can come together and support one another through difficult times of loss. It's easy and effortless to navigate different resources, watch videos, and connect during weekly check-ins, family support office hours, prayer plans, monthly webinars, quarterly retreats, and more.

We encourage clergy to become familiar with the Red Bird website and app. There is a "clergy only" section in the app. and ask you to consider if your parish has the potential to foster this ministry, or if you know anyone that may be a good fit for supporting or guiding another through loss, please consider asking them to discern if this is an area where they could serve. The MFM office will support with facilitating the training to start the parish ministry.

Save the Date

On Thursday, September 28, Bereavement ministers and teams from parishes and Catholic Cemeteries will be invited to a continuing education day at Cornerstone of Hope. More details will follow.

Mother Daughter Cycle Prep Workshop

Saturday, June 10, 2023, 10am-Noon at St. Basil the Great, Brecksville

This workshop is designed for mothers and daughters as a preparatory first period course. Recommended for girls ages 9-13, this special time together will give mothers and daughters the tools to navigate puberty positively and confidently. The information covered will be comprehensive but age-appropriate, not just about periods, but about the whole menstrual cycle as a vital sign of health.

The workshop will be capped at 20 mother and daughter pairs ($25 each pair). Register here.

Save the Date

The MFM Office is collaborating with TOB CLE to offer a diocesan-wide study this fall based on Dr. Abigail Favale’s book, The Genesis of Gender. The study will be held simultaneously at five parishes across the diocese over the four Thursdays of September, beginning Thursday, September 7. More details to come!

Abigail Favale, Ph.D., is a writer and professor in the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame. A Catholic convert with an academic background in gender studies, Abigail writes and speaks regularly on topics related to women and gender from a Catholic perspective.

RESTORE Catholic
Restore is an online, self-led marriage resource that gives couples the opportunity and the tools necessary to heal and restore their relationship. There are two programs available that focus on communication, conflict resolution, and affair recovery. Pricing starts at $65.

Saturday, May 20 Marriage Enrichment - Date Night, 5:30 - 7:30pm, Our Lady Queen of Peace, Grafton.
Tuesday, May 22 Anne & Joachim Workshop, 9am - 1pm, St. Francis de Sales, Akron.
Saturday, June 10 Cycle Prep Workshop, 10am - Noon, St. Basil the Great, Brecksville.
Saturday, June 24 50th Wedding Jubilee Mass, 9:30am, Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.
Wednesday, July 26 Anne & Joachim Grandparent Pilgrimage, 11am - 2pm, St. Mary of the Falls, Olmsted Falls.