CANA Welcome for your couple
Is there a course in our country?
You can check on this map if your country offers CANA Welcome and contact the persons in charge to find a course near you. Link to the page: CANA in your country. In 2021-22, CANA Welcome has been given in about 30 countries.
What does this commit us to?
It commits you to participate in the 9 monthly meetings of the group, to prepare – if you wish – a 10 minutes introduction-reflection on the subject for one of the meetings, to participate to the weekend or the annual day and to do a small service for your church and with your group.
Can we do it over 2 years?
A priori no. The course is planned for one year. Consult the team in your country to see your specific needs.
Which couples are eligible for CANA Welcome?
All male-female couples can follow CANA Welcome. They may be civilly married or not, religiously married or not, be engaged in a second union. They can be very connected to the Church or far from the Christian faith. In welcoming and respecting each one, CANA Welcome wants to witness to a welcoming Church open to all, and proposes to each couple to walk and be enriched by the diversity of the profiles of the couples present.
CANA Welcome is not designed for engaged couples.
Organising CANA Welcome as a couple
Do we need the agreement of our church leader?
Yes, it is essential if the course takes place in a Church setting. And it is a way to get closer to your pastoral leaders, to show that you can take initiatives.
If the course takes place outside of any structure (which is not the best option but is still possible), it is not necessary. An agreement from the CANA leader (country or international) is sufficient.
How to contact our church leaders? What to tell them?
We advise you to take the communication kit that is available to you – if it is not already available online in your language, just ask CANA in your country. The kit contains most of the answers to questions that church leaders have. It is preferable (but not essential) to go to this meeting with another couple who would like to carry out this project together.
Where can I find support to set up a course?
Contact the CANA team in your country/region or, failing that, CANA International; they will tell you when and where a training course will take place. Often it is given online and therefore very easy to access.
Where can I find the CANA Welcome kits?
PEDAGOGICAL KIT
We invite you to contact the CANA team in your country who will put you in touch with the leaders of CANA Welcome in your country, otherwise contact CANA International directly.
COMMUNICATION KIT
Would you like to launch a CANA Welcome group in France or have an overview of our pedagogy?
You want to launch a CANA Welcome group in Germany?
You want to launch a CANA Welcome programme in another country?
How to talk about it and motivate the church leader / pastoral family care?
For more than 5 years, hundreds of CANA Welcome courses have been given in about thirty countries and have borne great fruit. It is a beautiful tool for ministry and to easily reach couples in their daily life who do not necessarily come to church regularly or even not at all.
You can distribute the booklet with the main information about the CANA Welcome course.
They can also read the testimonies of participating couples and leaders:
- Participating couple – CANA Welcome Germany
- Participating couple – CANA Welcome France
- Leading couple – CANA Welcome France
Can we do a group outside the church?
If you want to gather couples who know each other well (friends, colleagues, acquaintances from activities…) to experience the journey, it is an excellent idea and is even encouraged!
Can we make the course shorter or longer?
It is possible to do the course in a minimum of 3 months and a maximum of 18 months, but in my experience, a meeting of about 2 hours every month is a good rhythm.
How often can we offer CANA Welcome in our parish/church? Every 2 years, every 5 years?
It depends a lot on the parishes/churches but it is to be decided according to the renewal or not of the members of the parish/church and the dynamism, the strength, to motivate new couples to accompany/launch new courses.
What means should be given to launch/sustain a journey?
This is an important point to discuss as a team and with the CANA leaders in the country/region. This requires little follow-up, but a monthly phone call is good to maintain the link!
What place could be given to the local church leader?
In principle, it is not necessary to call on him/her, but his/her support is important. During the weekend or the day, the place of the local church leader is to be determined according to each situation/culture. Inviting him to visit you for a while during the weekend can be a good way to give him a taste of fraternal life!
Organizing the course as a parish/local church
How do you find a couple to lead the course?
Dare to call couples who wish to participate in the life of the Church, having already a good experience of life as a couple! For a couple, accepting this responsibility is a good way to move forward and grow as a couple.
How to work with a Lead Couple?
The lead couple is autonomous and is in contact with the CANA leaders in the region or country. It is therefore not necessary for the local church leader to be directly involved in the programme, but it is important that he/she is in contact with the lead couple in order to follow the progress of the programme and to be informed of any additional or subsequent needs.
How to encourage/form couples who have experienced CANA Welcome to talk about it around them?
Bring them together at the end of the course, listen to them, encourage them regularly, invite them to get in touch with the CANA leaders in their country/region/city…
During ecclesial meetings (parish, local church, etc.) ask them to give their testimony during a special time.