COUNSELING SERVICES: (337) 261-5653
Referral counseling services are available for individuals, couples and/or families who are in need. A team of professional therapists give of their time and talent to those who request this service. They are trained to provide counseling in areas dealing with alcoholism and drug addiction, impotence, homosexuality or other sexuality difficulties, adolescents and their problems, anxiety, depression, fear, personal identity crisis and other individual, couple or family problems. A sliding scale fee is used; this simply means that the client is charged according to his/her ability to pay.
DIOCESAN MARRIAGE ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION: (337) 261-5653
An annual celebration is held on the last Sunday of April to honor couples who have been married 25, 40, 50, 60 or more years. The Bishop is the main celebrant of the Mass; certificates, suitable for framing, are given to each honored couple; couple receives a picture of them with the Bishop; and a reception is held in honor of all couples celebrating these special anniversaries. The celebration is held at different churches, large enough to accommodate the crowds, in the Diocese.
DivorceCare is a special weekly video seminar and support group for people who are separated or divorced. It's a place where you can be around people who understand what you are feeling. It's a place where you can hear valuable information about ways to heal from the hurt of divorce. There is no fee to attend. There is a workbook (optional) available at a cost of $10.00.
MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER - Victor and Mary Blair: 1-800-586-5469
Family Life Ministry wants married couples to experience marital enrichment and spiritual growth. A weekend designed for couples to dialogue in private on themselves, the vitality of their marriage, their marital relationship as it relates to God and their marriage in the context of the world community is made possible by Marriage Encounter.
MARRIAGE PREPARATION: (337) 261-5653
The programs, sharing with engaged couples the beautiful concept
and reality of Christian marriage, offers practical and comprehensive
preparation for sacramental marriage. Several options are available
in different locations to accommodate couples wishing to be married.
The options include:
ENGAGED COUPLES CONFERENCE (a one-day program)
ENGAGED
ENCOUNTER (a weekend experience)
RE-MARRIAGE IN CHRIST (a one-day program designed for engaged
couples entering re-marriage).
MOTHERS' DAY OF REFLECTION: (337) 261-5653
Retreat is held annually, the Wednesday prior to Mother's Day to assist women in their unique role of mothering. The retreat is held at Immaculata Center, 1408 Carmel Drive, (Breaux Bridge Highway) Lafayette, and features guest speakers who address specific topics pertinent to motherhood. Opportunity is also given for mothers to share in small groups and receive support from other mothers as they face the many challenges of today's modern mom.
NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING: (337) 261-5653
Natural Family Planning assists couples in planning or delaying childbirth without use of artificial contraceptives. It refers to methods of family planning which depend upon knowledge of the natural cycles of the body. The overall purpose of the program is to teach couples to assume major responsibility for the use and success of the natural methods of imparting specific knowledge regarding the functioning of the woman's reproductive cycle and its relation to the man's fertility, especially how to recognize the bodily changes in each phase of the cycle and how to apply that knowledge to the regulation of conception.
RETROUVAILLE: James and Karen Broussard - (337) 991-9627 / 1-800-470-2230
Retrouvaille is the name of a program designed to help heal and renew troubled marriages. The word "retrouvaille" simply means "rediscovery". The program offers you the chance to rediscover yourself, your spouse, and a loving relationship in your marriage. The program consists of a weekend and several follow-up sessions. On the weekend, a series of in-depth presentations are given to you and other couples like yourselves. Each presentation, given by one of three married couples and a priest, focuses on a specific area of the presentation, you will have a chance to reflect on it by yourself, then discuss it with your spouse in complete privacy. This program is designed for couples who think they have less than a complete marriage and are wiling to try to put the past behind and work at rediscovering each other in a new and positive way.
SINGLE AGAIN
MINISTRY - BEGINNING EXPERIENCE:
Lynn Manuel - (337) 831-6350
Beginning Experience is a ministry reaching out to divorced, widowed and separated men and women. It is a weekend program carried out by a team of volunteers, who encourage participants to share their needs and deal with the natural process of grief and loneliness. It provides an atmosphere of support and acceptance where individuals come together to re-evaluate themselves and their lives enabling them to move on to the future with renewed hope. It is a powerful experience designed with a technique of personal reflection and group dialogue especially adapted for the formerly married.
SINGLE
AGAIN MINISTRY - CIRCLE OF FRIENDS:
(337) 261-5653
Family Life Ministry strives to create marital relationships that will last. However, they do not let stand alone those who are suffering from a marriage that could not last. The CIRCLE OF FRIENDS is a program designed to help those suffering from separation, divorce or death of a spouse. The support group meets every Monday from 7:00 - 9:00 pm at Immaculata Center, 1408 Carmel Drive, (Breaux Bridge Highway) Lafayette.
Guest speakers address topics such as: pain of loss cycle, self-acceptance, helping children adjust after loss, financial and legal adjustments, new relationships, dealing with feelings, trust and forgiveness, single parenting, annulment and remarriage questions and being divorced and Catholic.
Interested parties could check their local church parish for similar single again programs.
Office of Family Life Contact Information:
FAMILY LIFE MINISTRY
Barbara McCarroll Walley, LPC, Director
Diocese of Lafayette
1408 Carmel Drive
Lafayette, Louisiana 70501-5298
Telephone: (337) 261-5653
Fax: (337) 261-5635
All of the enrichment programs and services described in this brochure are funded wholly/partially by Bishop's Services Appeal, fees and donations.