On Monday 8 February St Paul’s Catholic College in Sunbury-on-Thames was delighted to welcome Explore. Three volunteer married couples came to the school with the educational charity Explore and answered questions from Year 11 students about what makes their marriage work. St Paul’s is the 11th school in the diocese that Explore has worked with since November 2014. In that time, just over 1,000 students have had a chance to consider what the essential elements and values are that make the life-long commitment of marriage possible and to discover for themselves what the marriage vows look like in real life.
Before the dialogue began, students spent time thinking and discussing what their hopes and fears for the future were regarding marriage. These ideas formed the basis of the questions they then put to the couples. The resulting conversations covered many topics including the challenges of love and forgiveness, the pressures of time, children and work, and the need for honesty and communication to keep their relationship alive and well.
This ‘remote marriage preparation’ is at the heart of what Explore is about, equipping and empowering young people to make positive relationship choices in their future. St Paul’s Year 11 students responded to this opportunity with great maturity and enthusiasm. One student wrote: ‘I now know that you can overcome anything in a relationship if you truly love each other and want to try’. Another wrote: ‘I will definitely think more positively about marriage than I used to’, and many others expressed gratitude for the experience. Mary McGhee from Explore commented: ‘We hope and pray that this experience will provide much food for thought and prayer in the future.’
