The Hardy-Kahaleo‘umi family participated in one of the first Marianist Family Retreat programs in Hawaii in 2010. (Photo courtesy of Brother Dennis Schmitz, SM)
The diocese is gathering a plethora of programs to help strengthen home life in Hawaii
Here’s a snapshot of the groups that fall under the Marriage and Family Ministries program that Bishop Larry Silva called together about 10 years ago.
Compiled by Anna Weaver
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Marriage and Family Ministries Program
Introduced to the diocese: About 10 years ago
Description: A diocesan collaboration of lay associations and programs to promote, sustain and enrich Christian traditional marriage and the family and to help them be more fully engaged and integrated into the Body of the Church. The group welcomes new marriage and family programs open to other parishes.
Contact: Sarah Herrmann of Embrace Family Learning at 203-6770.
The Couple to Couple League for Natural Family Planning
Introduced to the diocese: 1982
Description: The diocese-wide ministry is headquartered at Holy Family Parish’s Life Office. Its goal is to build joyful marriages through fertility awareness, the only form of family planning approved by the Catholic Church. Classes are taught by married couples for both engaged and married couples. Students can attend sessions in person and online.
Upcoming events: There will be four series of classes taught at the Holy Family Life Office in 2019, and many couples take advantage of online classes at www.ccli.org.
Why we do this ministry: We personally experienced the joy and excitement of using times of abstinence to rekindle the romance we had before marriage, and then getting to renew our honeymoon in every fertility cycle. We love how almost every couple after the first class says, “Why haven’t we ever heard about this?” They just realized that planning family size using fertility awareness is even more reliable than some forms of contraception! Natural family planning engenders strong vibrant marriages and helps couples grow in their faith.
Contact: Ed and Betty Coda at 258-6688 or codabook@gmail.com. Visit ccli.org.
Couples for Christ
Introduced to the diocese: 1995
Description: Couples for Christ started in June 1981 in Manila and is now an international program. In 1993, CFC started its Family Ministries and now we have Kids for Christ (ages 4-12), CFC Youth for Christ (ages 13-21), Singles for Christ (single men and women ages 22-40), and Handmaids of the Lord and Servants of the Lord (for widows/widowers, mature women/men, divorced women/men and single mothers/fathers). CFC also started a social ministry program called Answering the Cry of the Poor.
Upcoming events: Couples for Christ Hawaii is based at Immaculate Conception Parish in Ewa Beach and offers child and youth camps, Christian life programs, marriage enrichment and other types of retreats and events.
Why we do this ministry: Our household prayer meetings and assemblies give us the strength and courage to persevere in serving our Heavenly Father. We uphold and defend the rights of the family. We believe that marriage is indissoluble, created by God for love between man and woman, and for the procreation and proper rearing of children. We invite Jesus to be the Lord of our homes. We allow the power of the Holy Spirit to lead our family lives.
Contact: Rico and Vinya Manianglung at 382-5059 or ricvin.cfchi@gmail.com. Visit couplesforchristusa.org.
Embrace Family Learning
Introduced to the diocese: 2017
Description: Embrace Family Learning provides tools and techniques for raising children to become happy, caring, responsible and faith-filled adults. Large group workshops, six-week small group seminars, one-on-one coaching, school and parish training and other customized sessions are available.
Upcoming events: Large group workshops will be held in 2019 at Holy Family Parish in Honolulu and St. Michael Parish in Waialua, and small group sessions at Holy Family and at St. Anthony on Maui. A faculty and staff in-service will be held at the Armed Services YMCA and Holy Family School.
Why we do this ministry: This ministry has been a desire and passion of ours since we were engaged! Finally, this dream has become a reality, and we are honored to be God’s instruments in helping strengthen marriages, parents and families regardless of their make-up: married, single, multi-generational. We’re blessed to help bring positive change to our society.
Contact: Sarah and David Herrmann at 783-4673 or Success@EmbraceFamilyLearning.com. Visit EmbraceFamilyLearning.com
Hawaii Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services
Introduced to the diocese: 1970
Description: Bringing dynamic Charismatic speakers from around the world to Hawaii to stir into flame the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Forty years ago, a group of Maryknoll sisters were baptized in the Holy Spirit starting Hawaii’s first Catholic charismatic prayer meeting. Today our brothers and sisters in Christ represent various Catholic charismatic activities in Hawaii. We support marriage and families by sponsoring inter-generational retreats, workshops and prayer services.
Upcoming events: Deacon Larry and Andi Oney will be the featured speakers at the 41st Regional Charismatic Conference at Catholic Charities Hawaii July 12-14
Contact: chariscenter.hccrs@gmail.com.
Hawaii Catholic Engaged Encounter
Introduced to the diocese: 1975
Description: Retreat weekends are held at St. Stephen Diocesan Center on Oahu, St. Joseph Church in Hilo, St. Damien Church on Molokai, Sacred Heart Church on Lanai, Immaculate Conception Church on Kauai, St. Anthony School on Maui. The goal is to prepare engaged couples for the sacrament of marriage by providing a life-giving view of marriage and by challenging couples to communicate honestly with each other. In the Diocese of Honolulu, Engaged Encounter is a required part of a couple’s marriage preparation. Weekends are for engaged couples or civilly married couples getting their marriage convalidated in the Catholic Church.
Upcoming events: List of retreat weekends scheduled are at ceehawaii.org/register.
Why we do this ministry: We enjoy serving with other married couples who love the Catholic faith and love the sacrament of marriage. We feel our marriage has been enriched by forming friendships with couples who have been married for many years who impart their wisdom of how to make a marriage work. We cherish our marriage more because of all the support we receive from fellow ministry members.
Contact: Donna Lyn and James Baguio at (720) 900-4633 (Google Voice/text) or hawaii.engaged.encounter@gmail.com. Visit ceehawaii.org, Instagram @hawaii_cee, or facebook.com/hawaiicee.
Love Ed
Introduced to the diocese: 2017
Description: These parish-based sessions use resources published by St. Benedict Press. Love Ed is designed to equip, guide and educate parents to talk more comfortably and effectively with their children about life, love and sexuality. Sessions are available for pre-adolescent and adolescent children and their parents. The parish or school hosting a Love Ed session finds six to eight parents or grandparents to facilitate sessions.
Upcoming events: February at Immaculate Conception Parish in Ewa Beach and a date to be decided at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Pearl City.
Why we do this ministry: Children look to their parents for guidance. Love Ed is designed to help parents have deeper, more meaningful conversations that can forge an important relationship between them and their children surrounding the topics of love, life, sexuality and purity.
Contact: Jayne Mondoy at 203-6745, jmondoy@rcchawaii.org. Visit www.saintbenedictpress.com/love-ed/
Marianist Family Retreat Program
Introduced to the diocese: Early 2000s
Description: One and two-day retreats are offered with a half-day option. New themes and activities in the works. Retreats are held at the parish requesting a retreat. This retreat is for the whole family. The main themes are affirmation, communication, reconciliation and commitment. Topics are introduced by puppets followed by age-appropriate small group activities. The families then work together on a special project they can take home as a reminder of the experience. The activities provide families time to reflect on the challenges of family life and how the Gospel helps us navigate them.
Upcoming events: Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa Parish Family Retreat on April 6. St. Anthony Parish in Wailuku and Resurrection of the Lord Parish in Waipahu will hold family retreats in fall 2019.
Why we do this ministry: This retreat offers something for everyone. “It takes a village” to plan the retreat. Some are leaders, some are cooks, some are “runners” for supplies, some lead prayers. We train parish leaders so that the retreat will be an established part of parish life and not dependent on “outsiders” to run it.
Contact: Brother Dennis Schmitz at 232-6691 or baldschmitz@aol.com. Visit marianisthawaii.wordpress.com.
Marriage in Christ
Introduced to the diocese: 2016
Description: Marriage in Christ is a national program sponsored by the People of Praise targeted to make good marriages stronger. It helps couples keep Christ at the center of their marriage, renew and deepen personal love and friendship between spouses. Marriage in Christ has two-hour seminars, one night a week for five weeks, including a video, personal sharing by the host couple, small group discussion, individual couple time and prayer. Manuals provide at-home prayer and enrichment activities.
Upcoming events: A seminar is scheduled at St. John Vianney Parish in Kailua in February 2019. Additional seminars available upon request. Parish couples can be trained to facilitate the seminar in their own parishes.
Why we do this ministry: It has blessed our marriage, and we are blessed to see the good it has brought to others. It is fun to work together, and we enjoy meeting so many wonderful couples who also value their marriage.
Contact: Thomas and Mary Duddy at 386-8696 or Duddyhawaii@gmail.com. Visit marriageinchrist.com
Sacred Gifts
Introduced to the diocese: 2018
Description: This diocese-wide ministry is an immersive exploration of the human vocation to love. Rooted in the image of God and made perfect in the person of Jesus Christ, authentic love traverses every stage and circumstance of human life. The ministry offers opportunities to reflect deeply on the issues surrounding sacramental vocations, everyday Christian living, human sexuality and gender. Days of reflection and immersive seminars are adapted for parishes or groups.
Upcoming events: Diocesan faith formation conferences
Why we do this ministry: I love to see my participants’ eyes light up when they connect to the deep joy in the church’s teachings on authentic love, and how they are naturally empowered to give witness to it. They come away more hopeful and energized, and that feeds my own hope for future generations.
Contact: Melissa Maleski at 291-0342 or melmaleski@gmail.com. Visit jerusalemsdaughter.com.
Theology of the Body/ Hamau I Loko Foundation
Introduced to the diocese: 2016
Description: Based at the TOB Center of Hawaii at the Holy Family Life Office, our goal is to uphold human dignity and build the culture of family through talks and retreats for schools, parents, youth and young adults, as well as Catechesis of the Good Shepherd training and classes for children age 3-15.
Upcoming events: Theology of the Body training and faith formation across the diocese including Sunday video presentations and discussions at 7 p.m. at Holy Family and monthly sessions at Holy Family on Saturdays, 9-10 a.m., Feb. 16, March 9, April 6 and May 4.
Why we do this ministry: People discover the dignity of loving in and through their body. The precious intimate conversation with our maker is wholly satisfying.
Contact: Maile Aiu Domingo at 222-0644 or hamauiloko@gmail.com.
Worldwide Marriage Encounter
Introduced to the diocese: Over four decades ago
Description: The Hawaii Encounter offers weekend experiences on Oahu, Maui, and soon the Big Island. WME offers marriage enrichment sessions like “Love Never Ends” and “Languages of Love.” Its mission is to proclaim the value of marriage and holy orders. Marriage Encounter offers married couples, priests and religious an experience of deepening relationships in a Catholic tradition.
Upcoming events: Feb. 10 – World Marriage Day, March 1-3 “Ke Ola Mau, Seize the Day” Community Enrichment on Maui. WME weekends on Oahu: May 24-26, Aug. 30-Sept. 1. On the Big Island: Sept. 20-22. On Maui: Nov. 15-17. World Priest Day on Oct. 27. There will be a search for the “Longest Married Couple in Hawaii” in June with details to be announced.
Why we do this ministry: WME has helped us transform our own relationship for the better and provides us the tools to grow in our Marriage sacrament. What keeps us in this ministry is the excitement we feel while on a WME weekend as we see a change in the relationships of the couples as we share our love story with them, and the beauty of their sacrament when they keep God in the center.
Contact: Fred and Donna Ventura at 298-4241 or fred.donna.ventura@wwme.org. Visit hawaiiwwme.org or facebook.com/hawaiiwwme.
