Archived Newsletters
June 2011
August 2010 #4
March 2010 #3
September 2009 #2
March 2009 #1
Newsletter #5 - June 2011
Welcome to lots of new folks who are receiving the Newsletter for the first time!......some recent events:
October 23, 2010. I was invited to be the keynote speaker for the Diocese of Greensburg PA's Conference on Marriage. Bishop Brandt made a special point of affirming and thanking the sponsor couples of his diocese for their ministry to engaged couples.
October 30, 2010. Holy Trinity Parish in San Antonio TX hosted a sponsor couple Training. Folks came from as far as San Angelo TX to participate in this training.
January
21-23, 2011. I was in Hattiesburg MS for a series of
Presentations: 1 - clergy of the Diocese of Biloxi, 2 - High School &
College Singles & Dating couples, 3 - Religion educators, 4 - Training of
sponsor couples.
February 12, 2011. I directed a Training for sponsor couples at
Holy Cross in Dover DE. This parish has been using
For Better and
For Ever since the early 1980s, but they had not switched over to the
new edition. This training was wonderful and I got to meet folks who
have been involved in this ministry for many many years!
March 19, 2011. I directed a Training for sponsor couples at St. Francis de Sales in Houston TX. St. Francis de Sales and Holy Ghost were the two parishes that began the "experiment" in 1975 of using marriage couples to "sponsor" engaged couples in Houston.
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With
the invaluable help of Deacon Nhat Tran, the Vietnamese edition of
For
Better and For Ever is ready for use! You can order it from our web
site (see Order Form).
We are eager to hear your feedback.
Also, we are willing to send complimentary copies to clergy and lay leaders....contact Fr. Rob at 210-534-1129.
For information about Training Vietnamese Sponsor Couples contact
Fr. Luong Uong
at the Family Life Office in Houston. Call 713-741-8730 and ask for Fr. Luong.
You can also contact Hung & Kim Anh Vu at 623-414-6350 for information about
Training Vietnamese sponsor couples.
They presented a Workshop on For Better and For Ever at the Marriage
and Family Conference for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston on April 2, 2011.
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California Healthy Marriages Coalition's evaluation of For Better and For Ever
We have re-designed the process for getting the Pre-Test and the Post-Test to make it easier for everyone. We think it will work better if the Pastor/Deacon (or whoever is doing the first step of marriage preparation with the engaged couple) gives the engaged couple the Pre-Test when he finishes his session(s) with the couple and is ready to send them to meet with a sponsor couple. Then, after their sessions with the sponsor couple, when they return to the Pastor/Deacon, he will give them the Post-Test. All the information is on the web site at > http://marriagepreparation.com/Evaluation_byCalifornia.htm .
This way the sponsor couple does not have to deal with the Pre-Test or the Post-Test! But make sure your Pastor knows what he needs to do! Any questions? Call Rob Ruhnke 210-534-1129.
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Facebook. We are getting there....take a look and spread the word.
Find our page on Facebook
When you get there click on the LIKE symbol and tell all your friends about For
Better & For Ever.......so we can get the good news about For Better & For Ever
to everyone!
Peace and Love,
Rob Ruhnke
Director of Marriage Preparation Resources
Newsletter - August 2010 #4
In this issue.....3 points:
1 - The Vietnamese edition of Better and For Ever
With
the invaluable help of Deacon Nhat Tran, the Vietnamese edition of For
Better and For Ever is ready for use! You can order it from our web
site (see Order Form).
We are eager to hear your feedback.
Also, we are willing to send complimentary copies to clergy and lay leaders....contact Fr. Rob at 210-534-1129.
For information about Training Vietnamese Sponsor Couples contact Fr. Luong Uong at the Family Life Office in Houston. Call 713-741-8730 and ask for Fr. Luong.
You can also contact Hung & Kim Anh Vu at 623-414-6350
2 - California Healthy Marriages Coalition's evaluation of For Better and
For Ever
All the information is on the web site at > http://marriagepreparation.com/Evaluation_byCalifornia.htm I welcome ideas for making that information better and more "user-friendly."
3 - Facebook. We are getting there....take a look and spread the word.
Find our page on Facebook
When you get there click on the LIKE symbol and tell all your friends about For
Better & For Ever.......so we can get the good news about For Better & For Ever
to everyone!
Peace and Love,
Rob Ruhnke
Director of Marriage Preparation Resources
Newsletter - March 2010 #3
In this issue.....2 points: Who is that couple?
1 - US Bishops and For Better and For Ever
The Pastoral Letter of the US Bishops, "Marriage, Love and Life in the Divine Plan" was formally approved by the full body of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in November 2009.
The best news is that the pastoral letter affirms both the content (the written text) and the process (the use of sponsor/mentor couples) of For Better and For Ever. The theological and doctrinal points which are key in the pastoral letter have already been incorporated into the text For Better and For Ever. In addition, I was thrilled to note that the bishops state that pastoral ministry to marriage and family life must "invite and include the gifts of many, beginning with married couples themselves"...."the help of wise mentor [sponsor couples] are critical in this process [of marriage preparation]." So now it is "official" that sponsor/mentor couples are seen as "critical" to the ministry of marriage preparation. Please study the letter yourself > http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/marriage/love-and-life/
2 - California Healthy Marriages Coalition's evaluation of For Better and For Ever
For all USA couples - not Canada or Guam
The California Healthy Marriages Coalition
has agreed to include For Better and For Ever in the list
of marriage preparation programs they are evaluating for quality and effectiveness.
The process will include:
1 - A “Pretest”
the engaged couple fills out before they
meet with their sponsor/mentor couple.
2 - A “Post Test”
the engaged couple fills out after
their sessions with
their sponsor/mentor couple.
What you (the pastor) or your secretary need to do......3 easy steps:
Click > http://marriagepreparation.com/Evaluation_byCalifornia.htm
September 2009 - Newsletter #2
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Marriage Preparation Resources
Newsletter for September 2009 - Boletín
Sept. de 2009
#2
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Dear Robert,
If you have not yet noticed, our web site has a new look! We are no longer using the Microsoft Front Page software and have re-created the web site in Expression Web. The new (re-created) web site was put on-line on August 24, 2009. I tried to accomplish 3 main goals: 1 - I retained the pictures from the old Home Page so that people familiar with the old web site would see something familiar on the new Home Page 2 - The "menu" on the old Home Page has been replaced with a navigation bars on the top and bottom of ALL the pages...this should make navigation even easier. 3 - I tried to make the Home Page less "cluttered" and make it easier for first time visitors to get to information they may be looking for as quickly as possible by offering the links for "Engaged/Dating Couples" and ""Clergy/Marriage Educators" and "Sponsor/Mentor Couples." I hope we improved the web site, but I welcome your feedback, comments and suggestions. Peace and Love, Rob Ruhnke, C.SS.R., D.Min. Author of For Better and For Ever ------------------------------------------------- 1 - Dejé las fotos de la página principal antigua para que las personas ya familiarizadas con el ese sitio web vieran algo familiar en la nueva página principal. 2 - He reemplazado el menú en la página principal antigua con una barra de navegación en la parte superior y también inferior de TODAS las páginas... esto debe facilitar aun más la navegación. 3 - Traté de ordenar mejor la página principal y hacerla más 'limpia' para que sea más fácil para las personas que visiten por primera vez encontrar la información que buscan con la mayor rapidez posible al ofrecer enlaces para 'Parejas comprometidas / saliendo juntas' y 'Clérigo / Educadores sobre el matrimonio' y 'Parejas de padrinos / mentores'. Esperamos haber logrado mejorar el sitio web, pero agradezco su retroalimentación, comentarios y sugerencias. Paz y amor, Rob Ruhnke, C.SS.R., D.Min. Autor de En las buenas y para siempre |
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Help from California!
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 PLEASE
help us with a professional evaluation of
For Better & For Ever. The
California Healthy Marriages Coalition has agreed to evaluate
For Better and For Ever
along with all the other programs they are evaluating. When you are
assigned a couple to sponsor, go to our web site & click on
Sponsor/Mentor Couple,
then look for the link to
scientific evaluation for directions. ---------- Ayuda de California POR FAVOR ayúdenos con una evaluación profesional de En las buenas y para siempre. La Coalición de Matrimonios Sanos en California (California Healthy Marriages Coalition) ha aceptado evaluar el programa En las buenas y para siempre junto con todos los demás programas que están evaluando. Cuando a usted se le asigna una pareja a la cual va a apadrinar, vaya a nuestro sitio web a la página principal y oprima Español; después busque el enlace: Evaluación para En las Buenas y para Siempre... para instrucciones específicas. |
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"Hope" magazine and For Better &
For Ever
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 The
Redemptorists of the Denver Province USA began a quarterly magazine,
"Hope," to highlight various ministries of the Redeptorists. The first
edition features "For Better & For Ever" and you can see it on the
Redemptorists web site >
http://www.redemptoristsdenver.org/pdf/HOPE-09-summer.pdf-------------- La revista "Hope" y En las buenas y para siempre Los Redentoristas de Denver (Redemptorists of the Denver Province USA) iniciaron una revista trimestral, 'Hope', para destacar los variados ministerios de los Redentoristas. La primera edición destaca 'En las buenas y para siempre' y la puede ver en el sitio web de los Redentoristas. Después de ingresar al sitio web, oprima "News & Events" y después "Current Magazine" > http://www.redemptoristsdenver.org/pdf/HOPE-09-summer.pdf |
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We
are fortunate to have some wonderful friends in California.
The California Healthy Marriages Coalition has agreed
to evaluate 