Dear Editor,
There is wide agreement that the Synod is the beginning, not the end, of a process of deep reflection on the Church's teaching and practice on sexual relationships.
Serious attention should be given to issues such as communion for the divorced and remarried, LGBT couples and individuals and single parenthood.
Very serious attention should also be given to marriage as we know it - the committed life-long union of a woman and a man, open to having children.
In pledging themselves to each other the couple are called to become and remain a Sacrament - in and by their relationship to make Christ present and active in their world.
How to live out that commitment to self-giving in the day-to-day messiness and pressures of life requires the most positive, realistic and robust preparation.
Apart from references to the "need for good Marriage preparation" the Synod said little specific about that.
This is an area where the married laity can come into their own.
Having administered the Sacrament to each other, and striving to live the calling each day, married couples should have the key roles in devising, structuring, and facilitating the process of preparation.
It is the engaged couple who have the real grafting to do under the guidance of the married couple. The role of the priest needs further clarification as a member of the preparatory team.
After 20 years'experience of offering Marriage preparation, helping couples to explore the challenges ahead and, more importantly, discovering their own gifts and strengths in meeting them, we are convinced both of the need for and value of a well-developed course of preparation.
Great joy can follow, much heartache avoided.
Yours sincerely,
Patricia & Peter Simmons, North Berwick
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