The Family Room is a local show created to inspire, support, and equip families and marriages to face today’s real issues.

Join co-hosts Mari Cleveland from St. Jude the Apostle and John Gordon and Craig Wesemeyer from St. Peter Chanel as they speak with authors, theologians, and local priests and lay leaders to provide your family encouragement, resources, and hope. Enjoy heartfelt stories and engaging conversations with Catholics who are excited to share their life experiences and acquired wisdom to help your family continue to live out your faith with joy.

The Family Room debuted on September 8, 2021, with special guest Dr. Edward Sri, well-known Catholic speaker, theologian, and author of The Art of Living: The Cardinal Virtues and the Freedom to Love. Dr. Sri shared personal examples of the three ways we grow in virtue to live and love well in our marriages and families. 

Guest information of the inaugural episodes:

• • • Fr. Daniel Ketter, Judicial Vicar for the Archdiocese of Atlanta, discusses “How to Keep Your Marriage out of the Tribunal.” Aired Sept. 15, 2021
    • Melissa Foley, national speaker, retreat leader, and prayer/healing minister whose passion is to lead people to an awareness and experience of the transformative power of God’s love. She’s the founder of the healing ministry Loved Already and the author of Connected, a resource for parents who want to protect their children online. Melissa discusses how our identity in Christ equips us for relationships and conversation tools for restoring relationships. Aired Sept. 29 and Oct. 6, 2021
    • Dr. Bob Schuchts, founder of the John Paul II Healing Center, who spent more than 30 years as a therapist while also teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in marriage and family relationships, human development, applied psychology, and marriage and family therapy. His latest book, Be Devoted: Restoring Friendship, Passion and Communion in your Marriage, is about unity and healing in marriage. Aired Oct. 20, 2021
    • John Martignoni, founder of the Bible Christian Society, an apostolate dedicated to explaining and defending the Scriptural foundations of the Catholic faith. John is also Director of the Office of the New Evangelization for the Diocese of Birmingham and host of EWTN Open Line Monday, a call-in radio program of Bible apologetics. Aired Nov. 17, 2021
    • Dr. William K. Thierfelder, President of Belmont Abbey College whose mission is to educate students, guided by the Catholic intellectual tradition, so that in all things God may be glorified. Aired Nov. 24, 2021

Meet the Co-Hosts

Mari Cleveland

Mari enjoys leading retreats and giving talks across the Atlanta archdiocese and has served as a Stephen Minister, Bible study leader, and spiritual director for a Christ Renews His Parish team. Mari was blessed to grow up on Guam, a 98% Catholic island where every village has its own patron saint and what Mari describes as “the most generous people in the world!” Mari and her husband, George, are parents of two college-aged children, John and Lilly, both graduates of Blessed Trinity Catholic High School. The Clevelands are parishioners at Saint Jude the Apostle and have been active in various ministries including Parish School of Religion (PSR), Edge, Alpha, Ministry to the Sick, and St. Vincent de Paul. Mari was recognized as Saint Jude the Apostle’s 2017 Woman of the Year. Mari hosted Shelter in Peace, a local show that began airing on The Quest in April 2020 in the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic as a way to offer listeners encouragement and prayers. That show grew from “an idea for one or two episodes to pray for our listeners” to become a weekly show offering support, hope, and opportunities to grow in faith on a variety of topics. Mari has 30+ years business experience in human resources, sales, and training and provides leadership training for Fortune 500 companies.

John Gordon

John is a member of St. Peter Chanel Catholic Church in Roswell, GA, where he and his wife of 40 years, Barbara, facilitate adult education and Bible studies. John engages weekly with a small encounter group affiliated with Regnum Christi and the related Morning of Reflection at St. Peter Chanel. He works in the home improvement industry and is active in its affiliations and associations. John also hosts a home improvement radio show that has aired for 26 years and volunteers in a program, Toolbox, in Fulton County elementary schools that introduces young boys and girls to the construction trades and trade skills. He is also an active member of The Woodstock Business Conference. John is blessed with 17 years of Roman Catholic education from kindergarten through college. John and Barbara have three grown children and two grandchildren. John seeks to bring the principles and disciplines of business development and market growth to the Church so as to build the Kingdom of God.

Craig Wesemeyer

Craig is a member of Saint Peter Chanel where he volunteers in the lector and extraordinary ministers ministries. He and his wife, Kellie, have been married 31 years and live in Marietta with their two children, Gabrielle, who is attending Life Universities Chiropractic School, and Christian, who is a senior at Blessed Trinity. Craig is a cradle Catholic who grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, attending Catholic school for 12 years. He started his career in retail commercial real estate 26 years ago. Over the years he has worked in youth ministry, men’s retreats ministry, and charismatic renewal. Craig is a member of Regnum Christi and is studying at Divine Mercy University to be certified in spiritual direction.