February 6, 2009

Arusi retreat celebrates Christian marriage

Father Jim Heyd, who serves as Cardinal Francis George’s liaison for pro-life ministries in the Archdiocese of Chicago, preaches the homily during a Jan. 20 Mass at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis before he joined archdiocesan priests, high school students and chaperones on the pro-life pilgrimage to the 36th annual March for Life from Jan. 20-23 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Mary Ann Wyand)

Andrew and Terri Lyke (File photo by Mary Ann Wyand)

“Arusi” is Kiswahili for “marriage celebration.”

An Arusi retreat is an experience designed for Christian marriages, and an opportunity to discover ways that your marriage is part of

God’s plan, not just for yourselves, but also for the community.

Andrew and Terri Lyke, co-directors of Lyke to Lyke Consultants in Chicago, will facilitate the first Arusi Marriage Retreat offered in the archdiocese on March 20-22 at the Benedict Inn Retreat and Conference Center, 1402 Southern Ave., in Beech Grove.

The Lykes are nationally recognized leaders in marriage preparation and enrichment, and he is the coordinator of Marriage Ministry for the Archdiocese of Chicago.

They also direct Arusi Network Inc., a not-for-profit ministry that focuses on encouraging and strengthening marriage in the African-American community.

The retreat is sponsored by the archdiocesan Office of Multicultural Ministry and the Archdiocese of Indianapolis Black Catholic Caucus.

The retreat will help couples create or revise their mission statement so their marriage is an instrument of God’s love.

Couples will review their life stories, refresh their relationship, recreate their romance, reconcile broken promises, renew their wedding vows, and recommit to a God-centered marriage that focuses on primacy, empowerment, protection and prayer.

(The registration fee is $70 per couple. For more information, call the archdiocesan Office of Multicultural Ministry at 317-236-1562 or 800-382-9836, ext. 1562.)

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