Bulletin announcements for Marriage in Christ Seminar [Parish team leaders: Use the examples below and update with details for your specific Marriage in Christ Seminar. The text is suggested, but not mandatory. Feel free to edit.]
Basic/Simple Announcement
Marriage in Christ Seminar for all married couples. Develop daily habits of prayer, kind actions, and meaningful conversations to grow your relationship. Join us at [location] on Thursdays, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m., January 28, February 4, 11, 18, 25. Childcare is available. To register, please contact [NAME] at [EMAIL] or [PHONE]. Cost is $25/couple married five years or less; all others $85/couple. For more information, visit www.archspm.org/MarriageInChrist.
For Sunday, 6-weeks prior to start of the Seminar at your parish
The Marriage in Christ Seminar: Friendship with God, Friendship with Our Spouse, In the Holy Spirit, is a five-week seminar is for couples who desire to strengthen their marriage, who want to establish good patterns of prayer & friendship or who are facing transitions in their lives, e.g., having children, the empty nest, or retirement. The Marriage in Christ seminar invites couples to renew their love and affection for each other and for the Lord, to deepen their unity as a couple and to celebrate the presence of God in ordinary life. God Our Father desires to renew marriage through the power of the Holy Spirit. Let Him begin with yours! The Marriage in Christ seminar will be held at [location] on Thursdays, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m., January 28, February 4, 11, 18, 25. Childcare is available. To register, please contact [NAME] at [EMAIL] or [PHONE]. Cost is $25/couple married five years or less; all others $85/couple.
For more information about the Marriage in Christ Seminar, visit www.archspm.org/MarriageInChrist.
For Sunday, 5-weeks prior
The Marriage in Christ seminar is five weeks long (one 2-hour evening per week). It is for all marriages, not just those who are struggling or newly married. Each night includes a short talk, small group discussions men with men and women with women; and private discussion time for each couple. On the fourth night, we have an opportunity to invite the Holy Spirit to be more part of our marriage.
“I didn’t have great expectations for the seminar. I was thinking, ‘I don’t need this.’ If you were to ask me how I would have rated my marriage, I probably would have said that we were in the 80th percentile —I’m in marketing and so I round up! We came anyway, and week after week we did the homework. To my great surprise and joy, I found myself loving my wife in new, tangible ways. I found her doing things for me that were new and that were pretty delightful. There was a new affection in our relationship. When we prayed together on the fourth night, it was like looking into the face of the young lady that I married 33 years ago. It was very moving. Through the power of the Holy Spirit which we prayed for in the Marriage in Christ seminar, I have more love and affection for my wife than I did five weeks ago when we started.” The Marriage in Christ seminar will be held at [location] on Thursdays, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m., January 28, February 4, 11, 18, 25. Childcare is available. To register, please contact [NAME] at [EMAIL] or [PHONE]. Cost is $25/couple married five years or less; all others $85/couple.
For more information about the Marriage in Christ Seminar, visit www.archspm.org/MarriageInChrist.
For Sunday, 4-weeks prior
Please join us for the Marriage in Christ seminar. Over time, busy couples can fall into a rut and we begin to take our spouse for granted. We can forget how much we love each other. The five- week Marriage in Christ Seminar offers daily activities that couples can do in as little as 15-20 minutes a day. These activities are designed to deepen our friendship with God and with our spouse. The format for each day is easy to follow. Couples pray together each day, talk about things the things we used to talk about when we were getting to know each other. The Marriage in Christ Seminar offers practical suggestions for putting our love into action and deepening our friendship.
“The Marriage in Christ seminar offers small practical steps that are so achievable. Thank you so much. It was such a blessing for us. Great practical things to do immediately to make and see changes in our relationship. Thank you for caring and putting the importance of marriage into practice for us.” “The Marriage in Christ seminar has confirmed our friendship and given us a deep gratitude for it.” The Marriage in Christ seminar will be held at [location] on Thursdays, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m., January 28, February 4, 11, 18, 25. Childcare is available. To register, please contact [NAME] at [EMAIL] or [PHONE]. Cost is $25/couple married five years or less; all others $85/couple.
For more information about the Marriage in Christ Seminar, visit www.archspm.org/MarriageInChrist.
For Sunday, 3-weeks prior
Have you ever spent $100 on a dinner at a restaurant with your spouse? It is easy to spend $100 on a couple of movie nights, especially if you buy popcorn and pop and then go out for coffee and dessert to talk about the movie. It is easy to spend $100 on a professional baseball game, a concert, or a play. Now think about the investment that you want/need to make in your marriage. Is your marriage worth $100? Join us for the Marriage in Christ Seminar. If you can’t afford the whole fee, but would like to attend, please let us know. We have scholarships or financial aid available. We also provide childcare, if you need it.
“I highly recommend this seminar to strengthen any marriage. It’s value? ‘Priceless,’” “I loved the seminar—being friends first—means so much. Worth every penny!” “$85 is a large amount, but the seminar has done great things for our marriage and that is priceless.” The Marriage in Christ seminar will be held at [location] on Thursdays, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m., January 28, February 4, 11, 18, 25. Childcare is available. To register, please contact [NAME] at [EMAIL] or [PHONE]. Cost is $25/couple married five years or less; all others $85/couple.
For more information about the Marriage in Christ Seminar, visit www.archspm.org/MarriageInChrist.
For Sunday, 2-weeks prior
Throughout the Marriage in Christ seminar and especially on the fourth night we pray for a renewal of the grace of the sacrament of marriage. It is as the Bishops say, “When Christian couples receive the grace of the Sacrament of Matrimony, Christ dwells with them, gives them the strength to take up their crosses and so follow him, to rise again after they have fallen, to forgive one another, to bear one another‘s burdens, to ―be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ, and to love one another with supernatural, tender, and fruitful love.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, spouses become willing to do the acts and courtesies of love toward each other, regardless of the feelings of the moment. They are formed by the self-giving love of Christ for his Church as his Bride, and so they are enabled to perform acts of self-giving love to the benefit of themselves, their families, and the whole Church. The Sacrament of Matrimony, like the Sacrament of Holy Orders, is a sacrament “directed toward the salvation of others; if [these sacraments] contribute as well to personal salvation, it is through service to others that they do so.” Those who receive these sacraments are given a special consecration in Christ’s name to carry out the duties of their particular state in life.” From: “Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan: A Pastoral Letter of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.”
“I saw my wife the way Christ sees her for the first time.” “In the past, we had been praying in parallel; now we are praying together. It is much more intimate.” The Marriage in Christ seminar will be held at [location] on Thursdays, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m., January 28, February 4, 11, 18, 25. Childcare is available. To register, please contact [NAME] at [EMAIL] or [PHONE]. Cost is $25/couple married five years or less; all others $85/couple.
For more information about the Marriage in Christ Seminar, visit www.archspm.org/MarriageInChrist.
For Sunday, 1-week prior
The story of the wedding feast at Cana contains hope for all marriages, even the better ones. At Cana, we see the enthusiasm and joy that happens at every wedding. But, just like the wine at Cana, this initial enthusiasm runs out with the passage of time. Then, couples act only out of habit, not out of love and with joy. If we are not attentive and careful, sadness and boredom will descend upon the family. When this happens to a couple it must sadly be said of them, “They have no more wine.” The Cana episode points out how a couple can get out of this situation and even avoid falling into it: “Invite Jesus to your wedding!” He can repeat the miracle of Cana. You can ask him to transform your water into wine—the water of routine, lukewarmness, and habit. He will do so. He will make your love and joy even better than that at the start, just as he did with the wine at Cana. “Our life is chaotic and probably will be for a long time. But in the Marriage in Christ Seminar we experienced praying together on a daily basis. Now we are on the same page and we can face the chaos together.” “The Marriage in Christ Seminar has been transformative.” The Marriage in Christ seminar will be held at [location] on Thursdays, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m., January 28, February 4, 11, 18, 25. Childcare is available. To register, please contact [NAME] at [EMAIL] or [PHONE]. Cost is $25/couple married five years or less; all others $85/couple.
For more information about the Marriage in Christ Seminar, visit www.archspm.org/MarriageInChrist.