About NIMMA

NIMMA has evolved since our foundation in 1974 and has responded to the changes in society we have helped bring about. The improvements have been significant but we remain a very segregated society and barriers to mixed relationships can be very real. Our mission continues and ouir aims are set out below.

• To provide support, advice and information to couples and families involved in mixed marriage/relationships.

• To raise public awareness of the issue of mixed marriage/relationships and of NIMMA's support services.

• To promote and facilitate relevant research into the needs of couples and families involved in mixed marriage/relationships.

• To lobby policy makers, churches and organisations to address the needs of couples and families involved in mixed marriage/relationships.

• To develop the capacity of the organisation to enable meeting of the strategic aims.

 

NIMMA takes part in many different activities throughout the year, ranging from informal social evenings to personal meetings with couples seeking information. Our main activities, illustrated in our news index, can be categorised as follows:

• Providing support, advice and information to couples and families involved in mixed marriage/relationships
  

• Raising public awareness of the issue of mixed marriage/relationships and of NIMMA's support services 

• Providing information to support research into the issues relevant to mixed marriage/relationships

• Lobbying policy makers, churches and organisations to address the needs of couples and families involved in mixed marriage/relationships on issues such as housing

• Holding an annual themed conference on mixed marriage

• Representing NIMMA at conferences, including international gatherings on interchurch marriage

• Givinng talks on mixed marriage to interested groups and organisations

There are many examples of how NIMMA has made a difference to individual couples and to society in general. The impact of NIMMA on local society and local people can be discovered through our publication on Celebrating the Success, Evaluating the Impact.

Of particular importance is time spent working with the clergy to help them understand the particular difficulties, and advantages, of mixed marriages. While the ability to get married has become easier over the years, the issue of baptisms has become more difficult. As couples no longer convert in order to be a single-tradition family, the desire to baptise their children into both traditions is a natural consequence. In the early days, ecumenical or joint baptisms that were concelebrated were done in much greater frequency. However, in the last 15-20 years the ability to baptize one’s children in this manner has become more difficult as church authorities have frowned upon joint baptisms.

Another issue we have addressed is housing. Finding the right place to live can be difficult for mixed marriage couples in Northern Ireland. NIMMA continues to influence housing policy in Northern Ireland and has helped bring about the significant change whereby couples can now state their prefernce to live in mixed housing rather than be made to choose between "Protestant" or "Catholic" as their designation.