The Home Life Ministry is an integrated strategy designed to support and help existing ministries in working together to build a culture of intentional families.  The most important part of the ministry is helping people be more intentional about their faith at home.  Our ultimate goal is to strengthen marriages and empower families to pass on the faith, since the heart of our Catholic faith community lies within the family.  Through materials offered at our Home Life center, families experience positive changes bringing us closer to God and one another. 
Over this past year, our parish family experienced three opportunities to enrich faith and family life at home through Home Life’s 120 Day campaigns.  The first campaign was called It Starts at Home.  The goal of this campaign was to become “intentional” in our thoughts, words and actions within our families.  The second campaign was called: 7-5-2.  The challenge was to pray individually 7 days a week for one’s spouse, kids, grandkids, siblings, etc.;  5 days a week, including meals/bedtime as a family; and 2 days a week as a couple.  The third campaign was Summer@Home, presenting great ideas for family to grow in intentionality during the summer months in a more relaxed framework.
 
During the year, there were also 2 “mini” campaigns highlighting Thanksgiving@Home and the Christmas tradition of Oplatki.  These campaigns are simply ideas for families to take advantage of the holidays to grow in their faith and are run for that specific time frame.
 
During each campaign, plans were distributed so families could focus on a couple of areas for improvement.  At the end of the campaign, families had an opportunity to assess how much they have grown in family love and togetherness.  Having a specific plan, helps them to achieve their intended goals.
 
As part of the integration strategy, we met with key groups and ministries within the parish to share the message of Home Life.  It is our hope that through the experiences of those within the groups who have been implementing Home Life within their own families, more and more will become “intentional”, strengthening their marriages and passing on the faith to their families.