St. John's Church congratulates all who are in love and who want to be sacramentally married in our church! We support you and will do all we can to help you to prepare not only for your wedding day, but for your married life together.

In order to do this, we ask that all couples participate in some kind of marriage preparation program. Several options are available to couples:

o Weekend programs sponsored by the Diocese of British Columbia are usually held in Victoria throughout the year.

o We also offer a program called For Better and For Ever: A Resource for Couples Preparing for Christian Marriage to assist engaged couples as they prepare for their upcoming marriage.

This ministry includes the participation of the engaged couple, the Rector, and a married couple in our parish. This married couple is called a "Sponsor Couple."

After meeting with the Rector, the engaged couple is paired up with one of our sponsor couples. For five evenings these couples meet in the home of the married couple. Having completed a portion of the program before each evening (reading a few chapters and answering questions) the couples come together to discuss their response to the material.

These discussions not only provide marriage preparation for the engaged couple, but also marriage enrichment for the sponsor couple. The one-on-one format allows for the individual needs of each couple to be addressed, and for trust and friendship to build between the couples that could continue to be enjoyed after the wedding day. There is also the hope, that the faith and commitment to their parish family witnessed by the sponsor couple, is infectious and that the newly-married couple will choose to continue to worship at St. John's Parish, or another faith community, on a regular basis after they get married.

Following their time with their sponsor couple, the engaged couple meets with the Rector again to plan their wedding day.

If you would like further information or to contact the Rector
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