The archdiocesan Family Life Office will host the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers conference June 21-22 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in downtown Atlanta.

The NACFLM conference is a pre-conference of the Smart Marriages conference, which will be held June 22- 25 at the Marriot Marquis.

In a letter to priests of the Atlanta Archdiocese, Lynn Crutchfield, program coordinator of the Family Life Office, called the NACFLM conference an “amazing opportunity for ministers, lay (people), married couples and singles in your parish.”

The NACFLM conference includes keynote and breakout sessions on topics dealing with marriage and family. It will begin with an opening reception on Tuesday, June 20, at 7 p.m. On Wednesday, June 21, Bishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Knoxville, Tenn., will offer the morning keynote session on “Partnership Between Families and Institutions” at 10:15 a.m. At 11:45 a.m., there will be an optional lunch with David and Claudia Arp, creators of the “10 Great Dates” program, followed by a break and a 1:30 p.m. panel discussion on “Working With Fragile Families.” The rest of the afternoon will hold roundtable discussions, followed by evening prayer, and at 7 p.m., there will be an optional banquet with John van Epp, creator of the “Love Thinks” program.

On Thursday, June 22, Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory will celebrate Mass at 10 a.m. At 1:30 p.m. Elizabeth Marquardt, author of “Between Two Worlds: The inner lives of children of divorce,” will speak. After a break, Terry Hargrave, Ph.D, will give a talk on family systems, followed at 4:30 p.m. by concluding remarks and closing prayer.

There is no registration cost for the NACFLM conference, but a donation of $100 to defray expenses is requested. The cost of the June 21 optional lunch is $10 and the optional banquet that evening is $36.

To register, send name, address, phone number, e-mail address, parish and diocese and type of ministry, along with a check made payable to NACFLM, to Susan Heider, 300 College Park, Dayton, OH 45469-2515.

For more information, call NACFLM at (937) 229-3324 or visit www.nacflm.org and click on the conference.

The Smart Marriages conference, which will be held June 22-25, is offered for therapists, clergy, pastoral counselors and those working in marriage and family ministry. The conference draws people from various religious and secular backgrounds who believe deeply in strengthening marriages.

The conference will offer sessions on a variety of topics that will apply to single and married people, including workshops on addiction and sexuality.

To register, or for more information on the Smart Marriages conference, visit www.smartmarriages.com.