EnCourage Announcement
By David Grobbel
The Archdiocese of Detroit will be offering a monthly EnCourage ministry support group meeting for family and friends of people who experience same-sex attractions and/or gender dysphoria. In many cases, their loved ones have adopted the LGBTQ label, and may have moved away from actively practicing their faith. The EnCourage group meeting is for family and friends to receive help and encouragement to understand the experience of their loved ones more deeply, to foster healthy relationships within their families, and to deepen their own relationship with Christ.
The first EnCourage meeting will be on Saturday, January 9, 2022. All meetings are confidential and facilitated by an archdiocesan priest who has specific training and a passion for this ministry.
The dignity and identity of Christian persons are not determined by their sexual attraction, but by their relationship to Jesus Christ through faith, hope, and love.
What Are Courage and EnCourage?
Courage provides confidential, welcoming, and informative support for men and women with same-sex attraction. EnCourage is a spiritual support group within Courage dedicated to the spiritual needs of parents, siblings, children, and other relatives and friends of persons who experience same-sex attraction.
Standing by the true teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, EnCourage members support one another and their loved ones through discussion, prayer, and fellowship.
What Do Courage and EnCourage Believe?
Courage and EnCourage believe that persons with same-sex attraction can follow Jesus Christ according to Roman Catholic spiritual and moral teaching. A person’s dignity does not depend on his or her sexual attraction, but upon his or her relationship to Jesus Christ. Persons with same-sex attraction can develop an assured, grace-led understanding of themselves while growing into their true identities as mature men and women.
How Does EnCourage Work?
EnCourage members support one another and their loved ones through discussion, prayer, fellowship, and sacrifice. EnCourage offers faithful witness to Catholic teaching on sexual morality while meeting the needs of its members with charity and compassion.
Goals of EnCourage
- Help members to grow spiritually through developing a vital relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ as authentically taught in our Roman Catholic Tradition.
- Enable members to gain a deeper understanding of the needs and struggles experienced by men and women who experience same-sex attraction.
- Help members establish and maintain a healthy and wholesome relationship with the loved one who experiences same-sex attraction.
- Assist other parents and families not to reject, but to reach out with compassion and truth to their loved one experiencing same-sex feelings and behaviors.
- Witness to our loved one by our own lives that a happy, wholesome life is to be found in union with Jesus Christ and with His body, the Church.
How Do We Find Out More About EnCourage Meetings?
To learn more about the EnCourage meeting, please call (313) 237-5900 or email encourage@aod.org. All inquiries are strictly confidential.
