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July 30, 2025When Jacob and AnneMarie Miller moved to Oklahoma City, searching for opportunities to enrich their faith, they found many opportunities for men or women.
Not many for both.
The domestic church movement fulfilled their search. And now the Millers are helping other married seekers, co-leading the Domestic Church Evangelization Retreat, scheduled for Aug. 29-31 at the Catholic Pastoral Center in Oklahoma City.
“Most people have never heard of the domestic church and don’t know what it entails,” AnneMarie said. “This has been both on my heart and my husband’s.
“We moved to the Oklahoma City area when we had been married for two years, and there were so many wonderful opportunities for men’s bible studies or groups or women’s bible studies, and those are so great, but I also wanted to be able to do something with my husband to nurture our marriage.”
The Domestic Church is a lay movement for married couples that provides Catholic Christian community and lifelong spiritual formation through small groups and retreats.
Scheduled for Aug. 29-31 at the Catholic Pastoral Center in Oklahoma City, the retreat is $355 per couple, with financial scholarships available. The retreat includes housing and all meals, with childcare available if needed (under the age of 2).
The Domestic Church movement was founded in Poland in 1973 by Venerable Father Franciszek Blachnicki, with the close guidance and support of his friend and local bishop, Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope Saint John Paul II.
Today, there are more than 13,000 couples in Domestic Church in Poland, and nearly 5,000 more Domestic Church couples around the world.
Led by the Millers, parishioners of Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Oklahoma City, the retreat is a way for married couples of all ages and stages of life to reconnect to each other and God.
The Domestic Church Evangelization Retreat provides sacramentally married couples with an opportunity to begin their spiritual journey together, or deepen it. The retreat serves as the introduction to domestic church for those interested in beginning formation in a domestic church circle. However, the retreat can fruitfully be attended by any sacramentally married couple. The retreat includes daily Mass, talks and time for couples to encounter the Lord together.
The Millers first attended the married couple’s retreat run by the domestic church in 2018, later joining ongoing formation with the domestic church. Ongoing formation is achieved through the following methods: formation for parents (offering spiritual formation through apps and resources), life of prayer (building a domestic church through regular prayer), family catechesis (engaging in intentional family faith formation), marriage formation (grow with your spouse through Catholic small-group communities), and systematic planning (draft plans for ongoing formation in a well-ordered manner).
The retreat is a faith opportunity for couples to take time and relax and pray as a couple.
“Many couples haven’t been on a retreat together outside of engagement retreats or marriage prep courses,” said AnneMarie. “This is a peaceful way to go on a retreat during your marriage and settle in and take a deep breath and pray about God’s direction for one’s marriage.
“We encourage any married couple to consider coming to the retreat – no strings attached – just come and spend the weekend with your spouse, reconnecting with each other and with God and praying about what he is calling you as couple to do.”
To learn more or sign up for the retreat, contact Jacob and AnneMarie Miller at [email protected] or visit domesticchurchfamilies.com to register.
Joanna Borelli is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.
See related story: Domestic Church: strengthening faith in the home