A groom and bride hold hands on their wedding day. CNS FILE PHOTO/JON L. HENDRICKS
Holy Spirit Parish hosting Grace Marriage date night event
BY DANNY MAY, SPECIAL TO THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC
Holy Spirit Parish in Bowling Green, Ky., is hosting a date night event for married couples on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, featuring special guests Brad and Marilyn Rhoads.
Brad and Marilyn are the founders of Grace Marriage, a marriage ministry the Diocese of Owensboro has been using since 2019 and which Holy Spirit Parish began in 2022.
The event is being organized by David and Carolyn Fusting, members at Holy Spirit Parish who have been married for 34 years and serve on the Grace Marriage leadership team at Holy Spirit.
“Through our involvement in Worldwide Marriage Encounter, and now Grace Marriage, we have learned over the years that great marriages don’t just happen. It takes focus and work, but it is fun work,” David said.
The Fustings say the date night event is for any married couple, not only for couples currently participating in Grace Marriage.
Brad and Marilyn Rhoads of Owensboro, Ky., are the cofounders of Grace Marriage. COURTESY OF GRACE MARRIAGE
“The date night event starts at 7 p.m. so you can have dinner before if you want, and we got the dessert covered,” David said. “It promises to be an intimate setting where Brad and Marilyn will share their marriage journey and what led them to founding Grace Marriage, and they will share insights about a few things they have found to be really important to making great marriages.”
Carolyn added, “Grace Marriage was started by Brad and Marilyn Rhoads out of their own experiences and struggles in their own marriage and how God transformed the way they saw each other and their relationship. Some of what they learned and now teach is that praying for your spouse and your marriage is essential, spending intentional one-on-one time each week is necessary, and finding a community of couples committed to encouraging one another is an absolute blessing.”
To date, 200 couples in the diocese have completed at least one year of Grace Marriage. Teams are currently being formed in Paducah and Stanley as well. A list of all locations in the Diocese can be found at https://owensborodiocese.org/grace-marriage/.
“We hope this date night helps couples make a commitment in 2024 to putting a priority on having a marriage that is not only a blessing to them, but also makes a generational impact on their children and grandchildren, and truly is a sweet representation of the Gospel message to the world,” David said.
To RSVP for the date night event, couples can register on the Holy Spirit event page: https://holyspiritcatholic.org/grace-marriage.
Danny May is the director of the Office of Marriage & Family Life for the Diocese of Owensboro. Learn more about his office at https://owensborodiocese.org/office-of-marriage-family-life/ .
