So, you've been asked to serve as parish mentor couple! What does this mean?
Throughout the learning process of Thrive marriage preparation, the engaged couple has been interacting online with mentor couples assigned by the program for each part of the course. Now, the engaged couple will meet in person with a you, a mentor couple from their parish that has either been chosen by the couple or by your priest. As a parish mentor couple, you will accompany your engaged/newlywed couple as you both complete the four meetings listed below.
The following criteria are the minimum requirements for married couples to serve in the role as parish mentor couple.
You have been chosen because you meet the following criteria, in addition to your pastor's own requirements…
- You were married in the Catholic Church (validly and sacramentally) and are practicing the Catholic Faith at your parish. It is possible for one of the spouses to be a non-Catholic provided the marriage is valid, sacramental, etc.
- You are willing to facilitate all four meetings (hosting in your home is ideal but not absolute).
- You are known to be in good standing in the parish and provide a good public witness to living marriage well (respectful to each other and your children, no dissention from Church teachings, etc.)
What's the plan?
Thrive: Meaningful Marriage Meetings are designed to follow your engaged couple’s completion of the Thrive online marriage preparation course and have 3 main goals:
- The meetings provide a way to connect the engaged couple with another couple at their parish who can support their relationship in the first months and years of marriage.
- It provides opportunity for those engaged couples who are not connected to their parish or perhaps not going to Mass regularly or not living their faith very intentionally at the current time to be integrated more fully into parish life.
- It facilitates the formation of additional goals and resolutions about some of the most important things that provide meaning leading to happiness and joy in life and in marriage.
Before meeting with their parish mentor couple, the engaged couple will read the materials for that session and when appropriate do the activity or pre-meeting discussion together. The parish mentor couple will also need to become familiar with the session content before each meeting.
The handouts contain material for 4 meetings:
Prior to the couple’s wedding
- First Meeting: The Way of Gratitude- Becoming a Grateful Spouse
- Second Meeting: The Way of Mercy- Becoming a Merciful Spouse
After the wedding
- Third Meeting: The Way of Friendship- Developing Supportive Friendships
- Fourth Meeting: The Way of Prayer- Listening to God Together
Measuring Success
We will ask both the mentor couples and the engaged/newlywed couples to complete short initial online surveys once the first two meetings have been accomplished (any time prior to the engaged couple’s wedding), and then another set of surveys once the last two meetings have been accomplished (ideally within the first few months after the wedding).
There will be one set of surveys designed to capture the experience of the engaged couple, and another set to evaluate your experience as a mentor couple. Your survey buttons are found at the bottom of this page. Your engaged couple will find their materials on a separate page: https://kcsjfamily.org/meaningful-marriage.
