CATHOLIC MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER NORTHERN IRELAND Reference and Administrative Details for year Charity name: Catholic Marriage Encounter Northern Ireland Charlty Commlsslon Number: 101458 N.I Contact Person: MadelRne Mccully 9. Kingsfort Crescen( Derry BT48 7TB Tel: 02871350612 Email: Trustees: The trustees serving for financial year I/1/2020- financial year 31/12/2020 Madeline Mccully Thomas Mccully Daniel Lynch Kieran Casey Sarah Casey Secretary: Elizabeth Murray Executive Officer Thomas Mccully
2020 Annual Review of Catholic Marriage Encounter Northern Ireland. During the pastyear Marriage Encounter and Engaged Encounterweekends were held as virtual weekends due to Covid-19 restrirtions on social distancing. The Nation31 Leadership team were invited to attend a European Council in Austria in February, dealing with Christian marriage, relationship education, forniation, and marriage preparation and family life. Priests and religious received a parallel programme. In May, following a selection process and ratification at a National Board Meeting, a new leadership team of a couple and a priest were selected for Marriage Encounter. They are Emmet Gerard Mccluskey and Mary Margaret Mccluskey with Fr. Sean Coyle, a Columban priest. Again, to Covid restrictions, one other European Council was held virtually. The fruits ofthese were disseminated from the European Council to the National Board of Ireland and thence to regional areas for team workshops and group gatherings which were held by Zoom. Catholic Marriage Encounter Northern Ireland supplied teams and interested couples for Marriage Enrichment weekends organised by our associate organisation-catholic Marrlage Encounter Ireland. Follow-up meetSng were held by Zoom which allowed couples from different regions to fully participate in further enrichment programmes. The marriage preparation programme of Engaged Encounter was particularly successful and well embraced by the participating couples even though it was a virtual experience. Marrled couples continued to meet by Zoom on a regular basis across the province. These meetings were particularly valuable during lockdown when couples and families needed extra relationship support. The participants on the Marriage Enrichment Weekends and Engaged Encounter were dellghted to participate in the follow-up programmes by Zoom. These were particularly successful. It was an unusual year and new ways of thinking are emerging for presenting the programmes. These will be discussed at National Board meetings in the coming year. Signed.. Madeline Mccully