Inter-Church Families

Do you know a family where a husband and wife are committed to different Churches; or where a couple is getting married and one partner is a Catholic and the other is not?

Interchurch families have been part of the fabric of society and the Church for centuries. Today interchurch families are gathering together, providing mutual support, and calling and enabling the Churches to look not only at the needs of such families, but to begin recognising them as a gift to the Churches, for the healing of disunity.

With the approval of the heads of the Hunter’s Catholic, Anglican and Uniting Churches, a small group of interchurch couples has formed a branch in our region of a world-wide group called the Association of Interchurch Families.

The headquarters of the Association is in the United Kingdom where the presidents include the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the Free Church Federal Council.

The main aim of the local group is to give support and bring people together for theological reflection, education and some social involvement.

Although living in an interchurch marriage can be enriching and prophetic, it can also cause difficulties and this is something the Association tries to address.

Publications cover baptism, getting married, confirmation, communion and intercommunion, death, funerals and bereavement. Branches exist in Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne.

Many couples find that religious differences do not mean division. Speaking to interchurch couples in 1982, Pope John Paul II said: "You live in your marriage the hopes and difficulties of the path to Christian unity."

Email us or Ph: (02) 4979 1157 for a copy of Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations within the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle or download a copy of Real Yet Imperfect.

Contact Us
Interchurch Families Group
Postal: PO Box 66 Swansea NSW 2281
Ph/Fax: (02) 4945 0200
Email: kevinbev@bigpond.com.au
If you'd like to visit the International Interchurch Families website click here.