Mark and Donna Dorth are seen in an undated photo. The two serve as a sponsor couple for marriage preparation at their home parish of St. Mary of the Woods in Whitesville. COURTESY OF DORTH FAMILY
Christ-centered
Whitesville sponsor couple helps engaged couples learn ‘Church’s vision for marriage’
BY ELIZABETH WONG BARNSTEAD, THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC
About eight years ago, Mark and Donna Dorth were invited to consider serving as a sponsor couple for their parish’s marriage preparation – and as of this summer the two have taken 11 engaged couples under their wings.
The Dorths, who belong to St. Mary of the Woods Parish in Whitesville, say they hope to help engaged couples gain “a little better understanding of the Church’s vision for marriage.”
St. Mary’s uses the “Joined by Grace: Preparing for the Sacramental Journey of Marriage” program published by Ave Maria Press, which the Dorths say works well with the incorporation of a sponsor couple.
“It is all Christ-centered, in how Christ is there for us in the good times and bad times,” said Donna.
The two said they try to start meeting with the engaged couple as soon as possible, since “we don’t want to do a week before the wedding!” said Donna.
Their pastor, Fr. Brian Roby, connects the Dorths with the newly-engaged couples and “we get at least a six-month time frame” to meet, said Mark, referencing the Church’s standard requirement of being engaged for at least six months prior to the wedding day.
“We just love our couples,” said Donna. “We get to know them, we ask how they met and we share how we met… by our second meeting we feel like we really know them.”
Her husband added that, “by the second session we know if they like cookies or pie, or coffee or bottled water!”
The Joined by Grace book is “very thorough,” said Donna. It “discusses how to build a sacramental marriage and “how, through marriage, Christ shows us his love. It’s a great program; we love it.”
“Each of our sessions ties into one of the sacraments,” said Mark. For instance, the concept of self-gift is explored through the lens of the Eucharist; healing in marriage is discussed while talking about the Sacrament of Reconciliation; and serving others through one’s marriage is seen as a parallel to Holy Orders.
While they use the book to guide and structure their meetings, the Dorths said their conversations are organic, casual, and they often share examples from their own marriage and life together.
These long-term friendships bless both couples mutually.
“We send them a text on their anniversaries that we’re thinking and praying for them,” said Mark.
The Dorths said they are invited to many weddings through the relationships they build with the couples. Later on, they have even been invited to the baptisms and First Communions of the couples’ children.
Their success as a sponsor couple has resulted in their pastor relying on them on a regular basis.
“Fr. Brian usually emails us that ‘we’ve got another couple if you’re ready!’” said Mark. “We started with couple #11 in the evening of the day that couple #10 got married.”
This year, the Dorths have been married for 44 years after meeting as students at Western Kentucky University’s St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Campus Center.
They credit their marriage’s longevity to a strong foundation supported by the priests that guided their own marriage preparation experience: Fr. Ray Goetz and Fr. Jerry Riney.
Donna said she and her husband “would highly encourage others” to consider becoming sponsor couples, and to learn whether their parish provides the opportunity for sponsor couples within their marriage preparation program.
Mark agreed: “If you’re married, you’ve got something to share.”
To learn more about marriage preparation options in the Diocese of Owensboro, and to learn if you can become a sponsor couple, visit https://owensborodiocese.org/marriage-preparation.
Originally printed in the August 2026 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
