On February 2, 2013 we attended our most recent class at the Incarnation Community Center in Glendale. The week prior we attended a powerful Marriage Encounter Weekend held in Encino at the Holy Spirit Retreat Center.
We want to blog on the call of couples who enter the diaconate formation and why some couples may leave before completing the program. In January our class discussed the departure a couple who had been on the diaconate journey with us. It is important to talk about and understand the reasons a couple may chose to leave.
When you begin the process you are told that at any time you are able to choose to leave the program. The reason might be family obligations, career, or other personal reasons. Occasionally, a couple may discover that they are not being called to the diaconate, or at least not at this particular time. The couple is able to choose to leave permanently or temporarily depending on the situation.
In turn a couple may be asked to leave the program by the formation staff. From the time of the initial information meeting until the night before ordination, the formation staff, after much thought, discussion, and prayer, may feel it’s in the best interest of all to ask a couple to leave the program. This could be for a variety of reasons including class participation (homework, discussion and quiz results), attendance, spousal participation or other activities deemed not fitting for a deacon couple.
Even though the previous week’s Marriage Encounter weekend helped us to grow closer as a couple and a group, the departure of our classmates had a definite impact on all of us. It brought home the realization that this is a journey that may or may not end in ordination. That during this formation period one or more of our classmate couples may leave the program. We pray that each couple on this journey is willing to accept what God has in store for them. Please pray for us and for them too.
Our next event is another class on February 16th, at Alamany High School, Mission Hills.
If you are interested in becoming a Deacon Couple, you are invited to attend an Information Day presented by the Office of Diaconate Formation. Here you can meet the formation staff and learn more about the formation program.
Sunday, April 14, 2013 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at St. Maximilian Kolbe, 5801 Kanan Rd. Westlake Village, 91362
If you have any questions about the Diaconate, please ask us or send us an e-mail to wyb@wyb.com. We greatly appreciate your prayers and support and will continue to keep you informed of our journey.