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Arusi Marriage Retreat
Ushuda Marriage Wkshp
Couple Communication®
God-Couples
REFOCCUS Inventory
Relationship Enhancement®
The Arusi® Retreat is an experience designed for Christian marriages. It is an opportunity to discover ways your marriage is part of God's plan.
  • Revise your mission statement as a couple so to make your marriage an instrument of God's love.
  • Review your life stories and collaborate on a forward-moving narrative of faith.
  • Refresh your relationship to experience newness in yourselves and each other.
  • Recreate romance and rekindle the fire and passion of your marriage.
  • Reconcile broken promises and broken dreams and begin anew.
  • Renew your wedding vows and recommit to a God-centered marriage with a deeper spirit of Primacy, Empowerment, Protection, and Prayer.

What is it? Who should attend? Retreat Leaders How to host Comments by Participants Contact Us


This experience is for Christian married couples who want to deepen their spirituality as a couple. You don't have to have a perfect marriage (No one does). But, you must have a desire for commitment and want to keep that commitment for the glory of God.

What is it? Who should attend? Retreat Leaders How to host Comments by Participants Contact Us


Andrew and Terri Lyke are leaders in marriage preparation and marriage enrichment for over twenty years. Andrew is the Coordinator of Marriage Ministry for the Archdiocese of Chicago. Together they are co-directors of Lyke To Lyke Consultants and are the spiritual guide for Arusi Network, Inc. They write for Catholic News Service and several diocesan newspapers nationally.
With their skills as marriage coaches, group facilitators and their pastoral sensitivity, they guide couples toward discovering their spiritual synergy and reshaping their vision of marriage toward a more Godly union.

What is it? Who should attend? Retreat Leaders How to host Comments by Participants Contact Us


What does it take to host an Arusi® Retreat

If you would like to bring the Arusi® Retreat to your area, here are the critical needs to meet:

  • A minimum of 15 couples at $100 per couple (maximum 30)
  • In addition, the host must provide:
  1. Lodging for two nights (Friday and Saturday) for all participants and the retreat leaders
  2. All meals for the participants and retreat leaders
    (Friday evening through Sunday late morning)
  3. Conference space with adequate P/A
  4. Worship space
  5. Musician(s) to enhance prayer services
  6. Priest/Minister for Saturday Reconciliation Service and Sunday Liturgy
  7. Video Screen
  8. Whiteboard or newsprint with markers
  9. Hospitality for Saturday night social (e.g., wine and cheese)
  10. Volunteers to assist with registration, room  assignments and general hospitality
  11. Cultural symbols relevant to marriage, African-American culture, and Christianity.
  12. Art & environment for prayer/worship
  13. Travel and expenses for retreat leaders
    Arusi Network, Inc. will work with the host to minimize travel expenses.

Note: We highly recommend using a religious retreat center or a hotel with adequate conference and breakout space. If using a retreat center, be clear in your arrangements about the Saturday night social and use of chapel space.


What is it? Who should attend? Retreat Leaders How to host Comments by Participants Contact Us


Comments by Arusi® Retreat Participants

"Sharing your personal experiences really broke the ice and got things going in the right direction for us."

"Don’t stop this process. This keeps couples in the light of God."

"Some of the best things about the Arusi Retreat were being around people who love one another, seeing so many good examples of marriage, and having people who show their care, love and faith to one another and to the group to facilitate the process. I saw the way their eyes met."

"I enjoyed this retreat. It was my first marriage retreat. Being in the midst of other married couples was a positive experience. I would be more than willing to do another."

"I really enjoyed this process. It was my first couples retreat. We needed this to be with people more like us and to experience couples in the church who have made marriage work."

"The Arusi retreat has wonderful, dynamic leaders. We thank you for loving and trusting God and each other enough to share your gifts with His people."

"This was a blessing for me. And I thank St. Peter Claver Church and the Lykes for a job well done."

"I learned a lot about myself and my husband."

"This was a spirit-filled weekend that was much needed and much enjoyed."

"The Arusi Retreat has allowed us to look at our marriage and to realize our blessings throughout our married life."

"The Arusi Retreat and the presenters were very helpful and informative. It was also fun and relaxing."

"The Arusi Retreat surpassed all my expectations, not to mention my husband’s. He had "Jazz Fest" on the brain and was determined not to participate. Yet, this experience moved him. We haven’t stopped touching and expressing our blessing since."

"Andrew and Terri Lyke are wonderful examples of God’s grace working through African-American couples. Who needs Ozzie and Harriet? Thank you for a weekend filled with love."

"Thank you for sharing your personal stories with us as a group and in a one-on-one setting."

"This Marriage Retreat was a blessing to myself as well as my spouse!  We learned more just over the weekend than we could have possibly learned through out the 17.5 years of our marriage.  We were able to get a better perspective on the most important things in our relationship. To Andrew and Terri:  We feel as though we've found more than just a couple that sponsored a marriage Retreat.  We feel as though God has sent you to us for all of the special reasons that you both have given to our marriage.  We feel that you both are now a part of us. Our feelings go beyond thank you."

"Andrew and Terri and the staff did a wonderful job. May God continue to bless each and everyone of you on the work that you do in his name (Jesus). Thank you."

"I feel renewed about my marriage. when we left the retreat we felt so good about our relationship. We will take the tools and the skills that you guys taught us and apply it to our marriage."

"The blessing of having an encounter with two such gracious people (Terri and Andrew) is just that, a blessing. What resulted from this in our relationship is unbelievable, even after 40 years."

"We arrived not knowing what to expect but left feeling like we did not want to leave."

"This was our first marriage retreat and we both enjoyed it very much. This is already helping each of us in our marriage and we are sharing what we learned with our married daughter."

"I have told all of my friends about this retreat and about the Lykes.  The retreat was exactly what we needed.  We have had a great week, which is out of the ordinary for us.  We are in debt to the Lykes.  I know that every day will not be perfect, but if we can communicate and continue to have great days, we will be all right."

"We would like to thank Andrew and Terri for everything. We met new friends from all age groups. We really needed this teaching for ourselves and our marriage.  Thanks for everything to our new friends. Andrew and Terri please continue to teach this blessing to couples. There's a lot of us out there that need this."

"The retreat was good for us at this time in our marriage. It helped us to learn how to communicate better. It opened our eyes as well our hearts. We think that every couple should have a refresher course on their marriage no matter how long they have been married. It was a good mix of couples from 9 months to 40yrs. We watched and learned from all. Thank you for sharing your time and experience with us. May God continue to bless both of you."

What is it? Who should attend? Retreat Leaders How to host Comments by Participants Contact Us


The name "Arusi" and the symbols used in the Arusi® Retreat are registered at the U.S. Patent Office and are for the exclusive use of Arusi Network, Inc. and Lyke To Lyke Consultants. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2008 Andrew Lyke


© 2008 Arusi Network, Inc.
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