Celebrating the Early Years of Marriage

Photography by Jack Crombie.

By Karolyn Ellis, Catholic Outlook, May 2012

The inaugural Celebrating the Early Years of Marriage event on 22 April this year was organised by the Marriage and Family Relationship Education Services of CatholicCare Social Services (CCSS), Diocese of Parramatta.

It was an occasion to promote and highlight the importance and value of marriage and to give parishioners across the Diocese an opportunity to show their support for marriage.

Supporting young couples in their marriage is very important to CCSS. Research has shown the benefit and importance of a strong and committed couple relationship as a secure cradle for raising children.

We have received a huge amount of parish and diocesan support for Celebrating the Journey, held in September for couples celebrating wedding anniversaries of 25 years and more.

At CCSS we felt there was an opportunity to show support for those couples embarking on marriage and to validate the struggle and sometimes more difficult tasks of raising a family as well as maintaining a strong couple relationship in the early years of marriage.

Bishop Anthony Fisher OP presided at the morning Mass in St Patrick’s Cathedral and welcomed guests with a blessing before lunch. The Bishop enjoyed meeting the families and couples who attended.

What a sight to see so many families from about 20 parishes enjoying the beautiful day and wonderful surroundings of the Mercy Congregation Centre to celebrate the vocation of marriage, particularly in the earlier years.

More than 56 couples and 90 children registered for the event, with 16 volunteers from CCSS Pre Marriage Education, Natural Fertility Planning Education, CCSS staff and seven members of the North Rocks Youth Group who willingly gave their time to prepare the lunch venue, entertain the children and welcome families.

Feedback from couples was very positive towards showing support for marriage and attending these events to celebrate their significant wedding anniversaries (1^st, 5^th, 10^th, 15^th and 20^th), and of the value of bringing their children to the Cathedral as a first-time experience.

The photos taken on the day, including many groupings with Bishop Anthony, will be posted on the CCSS website for viewing at www.ccss.org.au 

You can also contact the CCSS Parramatta office tel (02) 9933 0222. We welcome any feedback or suggestions about this gathering and ideas for other events to support marriage and families.

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