It is not often that Australia gets to export a home grown relationship programme overseas! So when the first Celebrate Love seminar was held in London in May of this year, fellow couples from across Australia were supporting it in prayer.
Ross & Sally Lavisof Medowie,Newcastle, were co-ordinating the prayer campaign. They recruited ‘prayer couples’ from throughout their region to pray intensively for each of the thirty-one couples who were embarking on the seminar.
“Celebrate Love has had a powerful impact on our marriage”, said Sally. “When we experienced the seminar shortly after our fifth child was born, we were exhausted and disillusioned with our marriage. We were really struggling with the demands of our young family. Celebrate Love gave us the opportunity to focus on each other and rediscover why we decided to marry in the first place”.
“While we had a basically good marriage, in reality we were living like two strangers”, says Ross. “We were both on a treadmill trying to keep the family going and juggling every day activities. We had completely lost sight of our marriage and the importance of each other; all the fun had gone out of being married. The seminar gave us an opportunity to reconnect with the magic of our love”.
This is not an unusual response from couples attending Celebrate Love. Over two intensive days of presentations and self-directed exercises, couples give their marriage a thorough work out. Co-author Byron Pirola describes doing Celebrate Love a bit like getting back to the gym… it can be a bit tough at first but you really feel so much better for it. Topics covered include gender differences, intimacy and couple spirituality. The program is presented by married couples and is based on Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body.
Of the couples who attended the first seminar inLondon, two are already being trained to run future Celebrate Love seminars there. Over the next year, further seminars will be held with the expectation that eventually, other European countries will also take up the programme. Director of Pastoral Affairs for the Westminster Diocese, Edmund Adamus, invited Celebrate Love toLondon. He commented “the seminar really exceeded our expectations. We have high hopes for the future of Celebrate Love here inEngland”.
Closer to home plans are also underway to introduce Celebrate Love to New Zealand. Our Tasman neighbours were given a taste of Celebrate Love when co-authors, Byron & Francine Pirola were keynote speakers at the New Zealand Catholic Marriage Educators’ conference earlier this year. New Zealand has a very active volunteer ministry with over 200 Catholic couples involved in marriage preparation.