We wrapped up our 8 Dates Parish Edition last week with a fun dinner and fellowship hour and our final session.
It was the perfect way to conclude our 5 month journey with 35+ couples from St. Spyridon gathered together to cover “Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love” based on the book Eight Dates by John Gottman, PhD.
This program was made possible by the incredible Family and Wellness Team from the Metropolis of San Francisco. They created a Parish Edition to enable parishes like ours to hold these sessions locally. The Parish Edition includes videos, handouts and much more with an Orthodox perspective to “Eight Dates”. The Family and Wellness team instructed us on sharing and facilitating the program in our parish. We were blessed to have George Papageorge, MFT from the Family and Wellness Team join us and speak at this final session.
Over the 5 month period couples were encouraged to put into practice what they learned from the sessions and the book by going on special dates to discuss specific topics. Some of these topics included: conflict, family, work and money, growth and spirituality, etc. Some photos from our sessions are included below and you will see photos of the couples’ dates in the cover photo. We even had 3 couples get married during the program!
The couples deepened their relationships not only with each other, but also with other participating couples through fellowship and discussion groups. Our plan is to carry this Marriage & Family Ministry forward at St. Spyridon and bring more opportunities to learn and grow in our marriages together. Watch for upcoming events in the near future.
If you are interested in learning more about this ministry, program or would like to be informed about future events please contact Maria Tschetter or Courtney Korban.
