Special to The Message
The Diocese of Evansville’s Offices of Family and Life, and Hispanic Ministry, are getting a boost to help expand ministries that are currently in place.
Through a competitive application process, the diocese has been awarded a three-year, $50,000 matching grant through the Catholic Marriage Initiative, a private funding initiative offered to archdioceses and dioceses across the nation. These matching funds will serve to increase the impact of diocesan ministries currently in place, and decrease program costs to parishes and participants.
Grant funds will also serve to decrease startup costs for much-needed ministries throughout the diocese. The Project Name is Catholic Accompaniment through Nurturing and Action.
Funding will be used in seven areas:
- Marriage Skills Building: Remote Marriage Preparation
Real Essentials
- Preparing Engaged Couples for Marriage: Immediate Marriage preparation (Spanish)
Joy-filled Marriage and Adventures in Marriage.
- Ongoing Marriage Enrichment
Grace Marriage
- Marriage Enrichment Retreat (In Spanish) Using JFM and AIM
Adventures in Marriage
- Accompanying Married Couples in Crisis
Building a Eucharistic Marriage
- Accompanying Couples Who Are Separated or Divorced
Life Giving Wounds
Surviving Divorce
- Accompanying Couples toward Marriage in the Church: Convalidation (Spanish)
Using a combination of Joy-filled Marriage using Joy Filled Marriage and Adventures in Marriage
- Accompanying Couples Who Have Lost a Family Member, Especially a Child
Redbird Ministries
The Office of Hispanic Ministry plans to utilize Project CANA to bring much-needed marriage preparation, marriage support and convalidation offerings to the Hispanic community.
Some parishes are already implementing some of these ministries:
- St. Mary Parish in Huntingburg has started a Surviving Divorce group and a Grace Marriage enrichment program
- St. Joseph Parish in Jasper will be starting a Surviving Divorce group in January
- St. Wendel Parish in St Wendel will be starting a Grace Marriage enrichment program in 2023
The Diocese of Evansville, along with the Diocese of Owensboro, held the inaugural Adult Children of Divorce healing retreat in August 2022. Red Bird Ministries, a ministry for parents who have experienced the loss of a child, is preparing to start early in 2023, as are several other ministries at the diocesan and parish levels.
If you have questions regarding Project CANA, or are interested in getting involved or bringing one of these ministries to your parish, email Eric Girten, director of the Office of Family and Life, at [email protected]; or Bertha Melendres , director of the Office of Hispanic Ministry, at [email protected].