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What
is Worldwide Marriage Encounter?
Worldwide Marriage
Encounter is a movement within the Catholic Church, which began
in the late 1960's, with the intention of giving married couples,
priests and religious the opportunity to take responsibility for
what is happening in their lives.
- Over 5 million
couples in almost 100 counties have experienced a weekend.
We live in an
age where marriage and family life are under threat. A Marriage
Encounter Weekend offers couples the opportunity to grow closer.
It helps people to refocus on the values that are really important
to them and to live more joyful and purposeful lives.
- It is not
aimed at marriages that are in difficulty, because Marriage Encounter
does not offer advice or counselling for marriage in crisis.
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What's
special about a Marriage Encounter Weekend?
The Weekend
offers a communication technique, which helps each couple to explore
the choices they are making, their attitudes towards each other,
their frustration and their joys, in a spirit of love and understanding.
As time progresses
and the early romance begins to wear off, most married couples drift
into taking each other for granted. Other things begin to take up
more and more of their time and the vision they had for their marriage
begins to fade, A Marriage Encounter Weekend gives a couple time
alone together and helps them to rediscover that vision, no matter
how long they have been married.
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What's
in it for priests and religious?
There are some
striking parallels between the Sacraments of Matrimony and Holy
Orders. These Weekends offer priests and religious the chance to
examine and renew the relationship they have with their people.
This fresh perspective can help them to develop an even deeper appreciation
of their vocation.
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Do
you have to be Catholic?
The Weekend
is presented by three Catholic couples and a priest, so is Catholic
in orientation, but mixed faith couples or even those who have no
faith at all are welcome and can benefit by enriching their relationship.
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What
happens on a weekend?
The Weekend
is residential - from Friday evening to late Sunday afternoon. It
is a strictly private experience between each couple. There are
no group dynamics. Throughout the Weekend, presentations are given
to the group as a whole, but after each presentation, the husband
and wife have time for their own personal discussion in the privacy
of their own room. The only time everyone is asked to speak
out is to introduce themselves to the group at the beginning
of the Weekend. However, it is a busy, structured Weekend, with
little free time.
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What
does a Weekend cost?
There is a nonrefundable
registration fee of £25. On the Sunday afternoon, the cost
of the Weekend is explained and each couple is given a blank envelope
and asked to give as generously as possibly in the light of what
they can afford. We wouldn't want anyone to miss the opportunity
of experiencing such a rewarding weekend because of a shortage of
money.
Weekend
Dates
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What
about engaged couples?
There are also
Engaged Encounter Weekends, which give the engaged couples the opportunity
to talk openly about their attitudes and values and to take an honest
look at the way they want to live their future lives together. These
Weekends are run on similar lines to the Marriage Encounter Weekends.
Links
to other denominations
Baptist
and Anglican
Marriage Encounter sites.
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