Summer school aims to set good foundations for future relationships
By Josh Low
The annual Made for Each Other (M4EO) Summer School will return in the new year with a two-day retreat themed ‘Him & Her: Vive La Difference’.
Held over two days – 27 and 28 January – at the Emmanuel Centre in Newstead, the retreat will include a variety of talks and activities, primarily aimed at young adults over 18 years of age.
Topics to be explored will include what it means to be human, dating with passion and purpose, pornography, authentic masculinity and femininity, Theology of the Body, and the political environment on gender and sex.
Presentations will be given by Archbishop Julian, Simon Carrington from Fire Up Ministries, Monique Hall, Alex Sidhu, and former Director of the Office of Youth Evangelisation, Tomasz Juszczak.
Director for the Office of Life, Marriage and Family, Dr Rachel Bradley, said the theme of the retreat was chosen to celebrate the undeniable differences and complementarity of the sexes.
“They can sometimes be obscured in the desire to stress the equal dignity of the sexes and are very important when it comes to learning to authentically love in marriage,” Dr Bradley explained.
“Australian culture currently is often quite confused about the meaning of what it even is to be human, never mind what it is to be man or woman.
“We thought it important to have some formation around this to stimulate discussion and deeper thinking about these important issues.
“I think people are also anxious about how to make a marriage work, how to know if someone is the right person to marry and what you can do to prepare for marriage,” she said.
Dr Bradley hopes participants will gain some clarity about human nature and have the chance to explore pertinent issues for those who are newly married or discerning a call to married life.
“There will be times for prayer and reflection and chances to interact socially and have fun together.
“I hope it will help set some good foundations for future relationships to flourish and the chance to hear some excellent speakers,” she concluded.