The Diocese’s Marriage and Family Life Team seeks:-

• To promote, through our network, the value of marriage as the strongest basis for family development which in turn forms the cornerstone of society. Our network extends beyond the Catholic Church and includes both ecumenical and interfaith work. We continue to work through schools and parishes in the specific areas of marriage preparation, marriage and family support and relationship enrichment. We recognise that there are a significant number of families who are either separated or blended and thus are in special need of pastoral support and care.
• To enable young people to discern the true vocation to marriage. We do this through working with our partner charity, Explore, and secondary schools in the Diocese. This work will naturally extend to other schools that will see this as part of the wider development of society. This work forms part of the curriculum for both citizenship and PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education)
• To recognise the special involvement that grandparents have in families in terms of family support, child care and the passing on of faith and values. We aim to support grandparents, as an integral part of society, in this vital role.
• To work with our partner groups and networks to provide pastoral support to families and individuals, particularly where standard support networks either do not exist or are not available to those individuals. Our particular focus continues to be in the areas of domestic abuse, dementia and mental ill health.

For more information about Marriage and Family Life Ministry in the Diocese of Brentwood please use the contact details above.