A couple holds hands during the Sept. 24, 2023 Marriage Anniversary Mass at St. Stephen Cathedral in Owensboro, sponsored by the Office of Marriage and Family Life. RACHEL HALL | WKC
Marriage and Family Life: Investing in strong marriages
BY DANNY MAY, OFFICE OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIFE
The biggest accomplishment for the Office of Marriage and Family Life during the 2023/2024 year was fully funding the $50,000 match from the Catholic Marriage Initiative (CMI), which took a little time, a lot of hard work, and many generous donors.
With our full match, added to the CMI $50,000 match, that’s a grand total of $100,000 that is being invested in building stronger marriages in western Kentucky over a three-year initiative from Jan 1, 2022-Dec 31, 2024.
A young engaged couple bows their heads in prayer during the Jan. 13, 2024 PreCana Retreat, held at Gasper River Catholic Youth Camp and Retreat Center in Bowling Green. RILEY GREIF | WKC
The $50,000 raised by the Diocese of Owensboro was a collaboration of community partners including the Michael Horn Family Foundation, 14 local Knights of Columbus councils, the Catholic Foundation of Western Kentucky, an Owensboro Health community health mini-grant, and 14 private donors.
One of the major focuses of the grant included expanding Grace Marriage to over 200 couples in 14 locations across the diocese. Other grant projects include launching Red Bird Ministries, a ministry for child loss; launching Life-Giving Wounds, a ministry for adult children of divorce and separation; and expanding marriage retreats in Spanish and English.
A couple holds hands during the Sept. 24, 2023 Marriage Anniversary Mass at St. Stephen Cathedral in Owensboro, sponsored by the Office of Marriage and Family Life. RACHEL HALL | WKC
This past October, we also hosted the first diocesan Safe Haven Sunday addressing the issue of pornography. Two other goals we completed in the past year were updating resources for couples in crisis and successfully hosting two Engaged Encounter marriage preparation retreats at Gasper River Catholic Youth Camp and Retreat Center.
Danny May is the director of the Office of Marriage and Family Life for the Diocese of Owensboro.
A young engaged couple smiles at each other during the Jan. 13, 2024 PreCana Retreat, held at Gasper River Catholic Youth Camp and Retreat Center in Bowling Green. RILEY GREIF | WKC
Originally printed in the June 2024 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
