Premarital Counseling

To couples wishing to be married by pastors of Catalina United Methodist Church. The purpose of establishing this program is to assist premarital couples in gaining skills for their upcoming marriage. Catalina United Methodist Church is acutely aware of the high rate of divorce in our nation. As a community of faith we deal with the consequences of divorce almost daily. Thus Catalina takes very seriously our responsibility to prepare couples for a life long relationship. All couples can benefit from looking at potential areas of conflict or areas where skills are often lacking, and gain information. Hopefully, these tools will prove helpful in their marriage as well as in other relationships. Also if a couple runs into problems in the future, a relationship has been established with a professional counselor. Areas to be covered in pre-marital work are listed below. Premarital Requirements at Catalina: Cost to Couple: $115.00 We invite you to consider this an investment in your future. Many couples spend much more than this on flowers for their wedding. While pretty, two years from now those flowers will do nothing for the relationship. The investment in counseling however, will lay the foundation for a lifetime marriage. 1. Initial meeting with a pastor at Catalina. This will be a relaxed meeting to clear a date with that pastor, to get to know one another on an informal basis, to answer any questions you may have and to talk with one another about your spiritual living. 2. Initial meeting with the counselor. After the couple has met with the pastor, cleared a tentative date and made depository fees, the wedding coordinator contacts the counselor. The counselor will contact the couple for scheduling. 3. Three group meetings (2 hours ea.) led by the counselor dealing with the following issues. Class 1: 1. Understanding the Impact of Family of Origin  A. Learning from our parents' relationship  B. Impact of parent-child relationship in this marriage  C. Drug and/or Alcohol Use/Abuse? Other Abuse?   Class 2: 1. Communication  A. Assertive vs. aggressive statements.  B. Verbal and nonverbal communication 2. Conflict  A. What is the conflict really?  B. What does each member of the couple do with it?  C. Learning to complete conflict and move on.   Class 3: 1. Expressions/Expectations of Friendship/Love  A. Exploration of how each member expresses/receives love  a. Do these match?  b. Methods of troubleshooting B. Sexuality  a. Birth control vs. children C. Gender beliefs and potential issues 2. Control Might Rear its Ugly Head!  A.  What do we do now?  a.  How and when to discuss this. 4. After completing the individual meeting and all three group meetings the couple then contacts the church office at 327-4296, or email, to schedule a second meeting with the pastor to go over vows and wedding arrangements.