„This will be a time for conferences, workshops, common prayer, and meetings with those who deal with family issues. The theme of this year’s Congress will be the Family as a Place of Encounter and Development”, Family News Service was told by Bishop Piotr Turzyński, delegate of the Polish Bishops’ Conference for the Pastoral Care of Polish Emigrants. The bishop invited the public to take part in the 7th World Congress of Polish Families Abroad, to be held on August 23-25 this year in Brussels. You can still sign up for the event.
Last year, the Congress was held in Gdańsk, with more than six hundred people in attendance. This year, as part of the seventh edition, Polish families from around the world will meet at the Notre-Dame du Chant-d’Oiseau House in the Belgian capital. „At the congresses we want to enhance the understanding of the Christian vision of the family and form people who will serve engaged and married couples and families in their communities. We are also looking forward to the presence of Poles from Eastern Europe”, stressed the delegate of the Polish Bishops’ Conference.
The agenda of each edition of the congress includes interesting topics touching on various areas of family life, testimonies of spouses, and engaging workshops on family psychology. Fiancées, spouses, and whole families can find here something to their own liking, including useful tools in the development of marital and family life. In addition, the Congress provides an opportunity to confront contemporary challenges. „The chaplains of Polish families living abroad have taken a whole series of initiatives to help engaged couples and spouses in all kinds of crises and in the development of Christian marriages”, observed Bishop Turzyński.
„All of us who are watchful observers of the world today are aware that we are at a turning point and that we are faced with a serious crisis of civilization and values, confusion and chaos. This crisis is also affecting the family”, stressed Bishop Turzyński and added that the measures taken for migrant married couples and those planning to get married are a response to the hardships they are faced with.
The speakers at this year’s Congress include Aneta and Arkadiusz Sieminkowie, a married couple of 23 years, parents of four, who have lived in Belgium for the past 20 years. They take a variety of activities benefiting families, such as marriage preparation workshops and animated themed dates for married couples.
Aneta and Arkadiusz invite everyone who cares about the well-being of their marriage and family to participate in the Congress. „During the Congress, in addition to listening to interesting lectures and workshops, there will also be time to exchange experiences”, they said in a recording for the Polish Emigration Chaplaincy and added that during the Congresses they put a premium on „personal meetings with other participants. Friendships are born, which are later followed by cooperation”. They urged everyone to invest in their marriage and their family!
The Congress is organized by the Polish Emigration Chaplaincy, the Council of Polish Families Abroad, the Family Assistance Foundation, and the Polish-speaking Chaplaincy in Belgium. This year’s congress topics include: building and strengthening mature marital and family relationships, communication and conflict resolution, re-emigration, and raising and supporting the development of children and adolescents. The event’s program will feature papers, workshops, a panel debate, an integration evening, testimonies, a tour of Brussels, and the entrustment of families to St. Mary. The participants will listen to prominent speakers.
Deadline for registration is the end of June if there are still places available:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdxqTbArpLIwulKyLk78As714yi2Y0lSBuTHcpf0ufv9zbzew/viewform
More information and a detailed agenda of the Congress:
https://opoka.news/vii-swiatowy-kongres-rodzin-polonijnych-bruksela-2024