June 2008 - Father Vernon Clark

D.J. Cunningham had pretty much decided to give up her counseling practice in Cody, Wyoming, when the building where her office was located was put up for sale.

But her pastor at St. Anthony of Padua Church, Father Vernon Clark, prevailed on her not to take down her shingle just yet: there was a "crying need for Catholic counseling" in that wild West town, named after Buffalo Bill Cody.

Father Clark knew the abysmal marriage statistics in the state:  at one time, three out of four marriages in Wyoming ended in divorce. He offered Cunningham an office at the parish, to serve as a consultant. And with assistance from the Diocese of Cheyenne's Marriage and Family Life Office, the pair helped develop an innovative approach to putting young couples on the right foot for marriage.

The "Marriage Mentoring" program at St. Anthony of Padua parish, now in its fourth year, trains couples who have been married at least five years to assess the strengths and weaknesses in engaged couples' relationships and help them work through the weak spots. The one-on-one (or actually, two-on-two) interaction has proven very successful, as the young couples appreciate the "real-life experiences" that the marriage veterans have to share.

The diocese hopes to roll the program out to other parishes, possibly providing on-line training for the mentors.