The newly relaunched Ministry for the Separated, Divorced and Widowed (SDW) in the Archdiocese hosted its second monthly meeting on May 19. Like the first meeting in April, the SDW Ministry’s discernment team shared personal testimonials on the Surviving Divorce Series: Hope and Healing for the Catholic Family.
The Surviving Divorce programme, comprising 12 presentations, offers assurance that God and the Church are here to help SDW persons through this trying time. The programme includes dealing with the difficult emotions associated with divorce; coping with changes in financial circumstances; and helping children with their emotions.
Further, it helps with understanding marriage through the eyes of the Church, so that when you experience loneliness, sadness, fear, or anger, you are reminded you can turn to Jesus in prayer and to the Church in the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. This helps you to look to the future with hope and forgiveness.
The topic of the second monthly meeting was ‘Finding Strength and Help’ and started with prayer using Scripture. The facilitators again shared their personal testimonies related to the topic and participants were asked to note their thoughts on specific questions to facilitate sharing in breakout rooms.
Some questions raised were:
Feedback from the participants on the session was again very positive, as follows:
What impacted you the most from the session?
The videos; The sharing from the leaders: The very direct and meaningful, guided questions; I do not have to be ashamed that I am divorced; Unity; Prayer, Power, Purpose – these words have truly stood out for me; Each individual is impacted in different ways, but suffer the pain of discrimination especially at church and doing church duties after a divorce; There is no one thing. Everything worked together meaningfully.
What would you say is most helpful?
Wow, everything; The feeling that I am not alone; Sharing with others in the same situation; We have a confidential space to share our experiences, which is so important; Listening to other divorced persons and learning how they dealt with it, what was helpful and what was not; Having time to write my thoughts and share with others.
The SDW Ministry discernment team continues to pray this ministry will be a source of God’s Divine Mercy for the Separated, Divorced and Widowed in our Archdiocese.
You are invited to the next monthly meeting on June 16, 2023, 6– 8 p.m. The Zoom link for this meeting is:
Meeting ID: 827 4447 1163
Passcode: 226950
Photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash