Sponsor Couples

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Sponsor Couples

A Sponsor Couple is a couple-to-couple ministry in which married couples mentor engaged couples to help them prepare for Christian marriage. The goal is to:

Foster a sense of care and concern to the engaged couples and help them prepare for their commitment within the Church and community.
Explore with the engaged couples issues through the results of the marriage preparation instrument (Fully Engaged).
Help the engaged learn to pray together.
Provide engaged couples an opportunity to understand Sacramental Marriage through their own lived experience.

What the Training Involves

The six-hour training uses many different learning modes: group interaction, lectures and role playing. Some topics are:

Role of the Sponsor Couple
Working Together as a Couple
Using the Relationship-Assessment Tool (Fully Engaged)
Overview of Marriage Preparation
Marital Spirituality
Special Areas of Concern (such as cohabitation, premarital sex, interfaith, etc.)

Suggested Qualities of a Sponsor Couple

Believe in marriage as a permanent and faithful commitment.
Belief in God and Church are necessary to a successful relationship.
Are generous, warm and nonjudgmental.
Are realistic and hopeful regarding the day-to-day living of marriage.
Are open-minded and can share their own lived witness of the sacrament.
Have the ability to listen well, reflect back and encourage participation without threatening.
Can be witnesses and companions with the engaged couples in their continued search for a fulfilling and successful marriage.
Have been married for at least three years, are following the teachings of the Catholic Church, and support the diocesan guidelines in preparing couples for marriage.
Endorse and support the teachings of the Church such as birth control, premarital sex, cohabitation, etc.
Understand the principle of confidentiality.

Training Registration and Cost

Registration deadline is at least one week prior to the scheduled training. Complete registration form and send to...

Office of Marriage & Family/SPC
305 7th Ave N Ste 100
Saint Cloud, MN 56303-3633

After the training, parishes in the St. Cloud Diocese are billed $100 per couple (if training is given in a parish setting, an additional fee for mileage is charged). The fee includes the Fully Engaged manual, handouts, training expenses and refreshments.
*Note: For training outside the diocese, the cost is $150 per couple.

Sponsor Couple Training Dates

Training Dates Scheduled

Date	Time	Location
October 8, 2011	9 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.	Pastoral Center, St. Cloud
Janualry 21, 2012	9 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.	Pastoral Center, St. Cloud
March 3, 2012	9 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.	Pastoral Center, St. Cloud
October 6, 2012	9 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.	Pastoral Center, St. Cloud

Training may also be scheduled on a parish or deanery/regional basis. Contact our office to arrange additional training sessions.

What Sponsor Couple Training Involves

What does the training involve?

The six-hour training uses many different learning modes; group interaction, lectures and role playing. Some topics are:

Role of the Sponsor Couple
Working Together as a Couple
Using the Relationship Assessment Tool (Fully Engaged)
Overview of Marriage Preparation
Marital Spirituality
Special Areas of Concern, i.e. cohabitation, premarital sex, interfaith

Fully Engaged Materials & Scoring

Materials

We carry a complete line of materials. To order, call 320-252-4721 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Financial Supplement

Answer Sheets are available for printing (may print back-to-back) - please be patient for this large download