Pieter: Marriage Encounter

[mkorhone]

Hi Pieter,

Sorry, if this letter is quite a wrong place.
However many thanks for your comments.
It is fine that you are interested in the Marriage Encounter.
We, I and my husband, have attended the work of Marriage Encounter already 13 years.
I can tell some more about it

The Worldwide Marriage Encounter (WWME) organizes marriage weekends in over 90 countries across Europe, America, Australia and Africa. Although it is based on a Christian understanding of marriage, its message is presented in a way that is accessible to Christians and non-Christians alike. Nowadays WWME is the strongest pro-marriage movement in the world. Weekends are available in the context of twelve different faith expressions such as Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist. The first Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekend was organized in 1962 in Spain by the Roman Catholic priest, Father Calvo.

The most important aim of these weekends is to deepen the intimacy and commitment of couples. The weekend also trains participants to use different kinds of communication techniques. In this way spouses can grow closer to one another.

The Marriage Encounter weekend, which runs from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, consists of a series of presentations. After a presentation spouses reflect as individuals on what they have heard and then talk together as a couple in the privacy of their own room. This same pattern of presentation, reflection and dialogue continue throughout the weekend. There is no group work because the focus is on the couple’s own relationship.

The weekend is residential and held in hotels or conference centres so that accommodation and all meals are provided. A presenting team consists of four couples and they are responsible for the weekend. One of these couples is always from the clergy or on a Catholic weekend a Catholic priest. The work of the Marriage Encounter operates entirely on a voluntary basis. All weekends are financed in advance. Couples are asked only to pay a small booking fee. At the end of the weekend couples are given the opportunity to make a confidential donation, if they wish, towards the cost of future weekends for other couples.

One of the most rewarding aspects in this work has been meeting many new couples. For example last summer we attended the meeting organized by the Lutheran Marriage Encounter in Iceland. There were over 100 couples from the Nordic countries and the United Kingdom. We really enjoyed the experience of spending time with them.

LInk to WWME
http://www.wwme.org/

P.S. I will try to comment also on the messages from other students.

Maarit

[Admin]

Thanks for the information Maarit (By the way, it's nice to know your name!) I have never heard of the Marriage Encounter. It sounds like a useful institution - learning to communicate better with the people around you can only be good. And if it helps couples stay together then that is good for everybody. Thanks for telling us about it!
Take care,
Pieter