Joined by Grace Starter Pack
Format: Paperback, DVD, and Digital
Publication date: October 14, 2016
Description
Winner of the Association of Catholic Publishers 2017 Excellence in Publishing Award: Programs for Ministry (Second Place).
“Joined by Grace is the cadillac of all marriage preparation programs.”
Most Rev. Joseph E. Kurtz, Archbishop Emeritus of Louisville
Joined by Grace was developed with one goal in mind: to help engaged couples build strong, life-giving, and lasting unions by inspiring them to welcome God into their marriages more completely.
Offering couples the tools they need for life after their wedding day, Joined by Grace shows how the seven sacraments can help build marriages that are rooted in Christ by teaching couples to accept and be fully present to one another, give themselves completely, and serve and forgive each other.
Published by Ave Maria Press—the publisher of Together for Life and a leader in marriage ministry for almost 50 years—written by marriage experts John and Teri Bosio, and produced by the Emmy-winning Spirit Juice Studios, Joined by Grace provides parish leaders, mentor couples, and engaged couples the most comprehensive, innovative, and up-to-date marriage preparation program for Catholic parishes today and the first to emphasize the connection between marriage and the other six sacraments.
The Joined by Grace Starter Pack includes:
- Program Manual (1 copy)
- Mentor Guides (2 copies)
- English Couple’s Book (1 copy)
- Spanish Couple's Book (1 copy)
- DVD (1 80-minute-long disc)
- Digital Access to the Videos and Program Components for Marriage Coordinators, Mentor Couples, and Engaged Couples
Order a Joined by Grace Starter Pack to review the material for your parish. Once you decide to adopt the program, you can stock up on other resources: Couple’s Pack, Mentor Pack, and Program Manual.
Product Details
What makes Joined by Grace unique?
For more than six years, we listened to the needs, concerns, and desires of parish leaders for engaging, realistic marriage preparation materials based on Church teaching. And we listened to Pope Francis, bishops, theologians, marriage and family coaches and counselors, and leading researchers on the needs of married couples today. Joined by Grace was created from what we heard. The program was piloted by dozens of couples in parishes around the country.
Marriage prep doesn’t have to feel like an obligation. Joined by Grace is an engaging guided journey toward a lifelong Christian marriage. Incorporating the wisdom of Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation on marriage and family, Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), the program allows pastoral leaders and mentors to help couples build strong, life-giving, and lasting marriages by demonstrating how the grace of each sacrament can help couples learn to love each other as Christ loves the Church.
Joined by Grace was developed in partnership with John and Teri Bosio, who have been married for more than forty years and have helped hundreds of engaged and married couples through their ministry.
We also partnered with Emmy-winning production company Spirit Juice Studios to produce the Joined by Grace DVD, which features real married couples filmed unscripted in their homes, sharing stories and insights from their own lives about living the sacraments through good times and bad.
The Joined by Grace DVD includes videos by pastoral leaders Tim and Sue Muldoon, Keara Ette, and Rev. Neil Wack, C.S.C., that offer recaps of key themes for each program segment. These experts present Church teaching in language that both engaged and mentor couples will welcome and understand.
Joined by Grace offers good science alongside Church teachings to help couples build a lasting and holy relationship, rooted in Christ and the grace of the sacraments.
While developed for use by mentors and engaged couples or small groups, the Program Manual offers a weekend retreat format as well.
An online library includes free resources to support marriage ministry coordinators, mentors, and engaged couples at JoinedbyGrace.com.
Ave Maria Press will host training webinars by John and Teri Bosio and other marriage experts for mentor couples and parish program leaders.
-
“Well-grounded in the Church's sacramental theology.”
“Joined by Grace uses real-life vignettes that draw engaged couples into a deep process of learning and discernment. The program’s approach is well-grounded in the Church’s sacramental theology and provides a basic appreciation of the life of grace at work within us. Suitable for use with couples at every level of faith development and knowledge, it makes good use of mentor couples as companions for the engaged and sets the stage for ongoing support and marriage enrichment. Solid theology, practical examples, and engaging parishioners together provide a great recipe for a man and a woman who will be joined by grace as they pledge their love for life.”
Most Rev. Joseph E. Kurtz
Archbishop Emeritus of Louisville -
“An excellent tool.”
“An excellent tool to help parishes welcome young couples to marriage and prepare them to embrace their Christian vocation.”
Most Rev. David R. Choby
Bishop of Nashville -
“An invaluable resource for engaged couples.”
“Joined by Grace has proven to be an invaluable resource for the engaged couples we have mentored during the past two years. The Couple's Book provides valuable insights on the spiritual dimensions of marriage and facilitates vital discussions across a range of topics including finance, intimacy, spirituality, and more. Every couple we worked with read the chapters and came to the next meeting saying, ‘We needed to talk about this.’ Because the program is structured around a catechesis on the sacraments, engaged couples grow spiritually. It is a must-have resource. We no longer facilitate marriage preparation without this wonderful book in our tool kit.”
Deacon Paul and Amy Taylor
St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church
Lebanon, Tennessee -
“A true blessing.”
“I have used the Couple's Book over the past two years in preparing seventeen engaged couples for marriage and found the book to be a true blessing. Many of these couples tell me of conversations they have had about important matters that they otherwise would never have had, if not for what they read there. I highly recommend this book for both its practical approach and deep spiritual base.”
Deacon Mike Catalano
St. Henry Catholic Church
Nashville, Tennessee -
“Beautiful.”
“We saw in both our engaged and mentor couples a definite uptick in their sacramental knowledge and faith. They came away better equipped to live sacramentally, and that is beautiful.”
Rev. Andrew Gawrych, CSC
Former Associate Pastor
Tri-Community Catholic Parish
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Related Products
-
Joined by Grace: A Catholic Prayer Book for Engaged and Newly Married Couples$11.95 -
Joined by Grace Couple’s Pack$19.95 -
Joined by Grace Mentor Pack$49.95 -
Joined by Grace Program Manual$19.95 -
Libro de parejas Unidos por la gracia$19.95 -
The Order of Celebrating Matrimony Complete Ritual Card Edition$79.95 -
Just Married$18.95 -
101 Tips for a Happier Marriage$13.95
Additional Resources
Press Kit
View Document
Eileen Ponder on Mater Dei Radio
Listen
Joined by Grace Order Form
View Document
John and Teri Bosio on CatholicTV's "This is the Day"
Follow Link