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Worldwide Marriage Encounter at St James Basking Ridge |
| About | History | Upcoming Encounters |
What is Marriage Encounter?
It is a weekend for you and your spouse to be alone together, away form the distractions and tensions of everyday life, to rediscover each other and to focus together on your relationship for an entire weekend.
The emphasis of Marriage Encounter is on communication. It is designed to give married couples a time to share their feelings, hopes, disappointments, joys, and frustrations...and to do so openly and honestly in a face-to-face, heart-to-heart encounter with the one person they have chosen to live with for the rest of their life.
It's not a retreat, nor marriage counseling, nor group sensitivity. It's a unique approach aimed at revitalizing Christian marriage. Every marriage deserves that!
Is This For You?
This is for any married couple who desires a richer, fuller life together--whether they have been married only a short time or for many years. A marriage can never be too good. Marriage Encounter is also for priests and religious who want to revitalize their relationship with the people of God and develop an even deeper appreciation of their own vocation.
Do You Have to Be Catholic?
No! The weekend is presented by three Catholic couples and a Catholic priest. It is Catholic in its theology of Marriage, but couples of all faiths can benefit from it and are welcomed and are encouraged to attend.
What Happens at a Marriage Encounter?
An atmosphere is created in which a couple can concentrate fully on one another. Talks, given by a team of trained couples and a priest, give a husband and wife an opportunity to look at themselves and to look at their relationship with each other, with God and with others. Marriage Encounter starts with the love you have for your spouse and helps you to expand, and deepen that relationship. The weekend gives you the means to do this--the rest is up to you!
Does the Weekend Respect the Couple's Privacy?
YES! The weekend is oriented towards the privacy of each individual couple. The presentations are given to the group as a whole. After each presentation, a husband and wife have time in the privacy of their room for their own personal discussion.
How Does a Marriage Encounter Enhance a Marriage?
The fundamental difference among marriages that are good, average, or poor is the level of communication between the husband wife. For those with good communication, it's a chance to deepen it; and for those whose communication has faded, it's a chance to begin again.
The weekend presents an opportunity for you to stop, take a fresh look at yourselves, your marriage, and your priorities. You learn a communication technique which allows and encourages you to explore the important areas of your life together in a spirit of love and understanding. The weekend experience offers every couple the insights, the tools and the confidence to enrich their marriage and to strengthen their love for one another. For many couples, "Their Weekend" is one of the most significant experiences of their lives.
When and Where?
Marriage Encounter Weekends are held regularly at local motels and retreat houses. Weekends can fill up fast, so early registration is advised. The weekend begins on Friday evening at 8:00 p.m. and ends Sunday afternoon at about 4:00 p.m. Meals are provided on the weekend.
What Does a Marriage Encounter Cost?
A $40 NONREFUNDABLE REGISTRATION FEE confirms your food and lodging. At the end of the weekend, each couple is given an envelop and is asked to make a donation. No one is every refused the opportunity to make a weekend because of lack of funds.
Central NJ website: http://www.wwmecentralnj.org/
Jean Marie and Fred Dour; 908-766-2868; jfdour@verizon.net
The St. James Marriage Encounter group meets every 3rd Friday under the church in room 6. You are invented to participate in the group after you have made a weekend.
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2008 February 1-3, 2008 Ramada Inn Somerset Exit 12, I-287 Upcoming Encounters
April 25-27, 2008 Ramada Inn Somerset Exit 12, I-287
July 18-20, 2008 Ramada Inn Somerset Exit 12, I-287
November 7-9, 2008 Ramada Inn Somerset Exit 12, I-287
The History of Marriage Encounter
In Spain in the 1950’s, Spanish priest Fr. Gabriel Calvo developed a series of conferences ending in questions that encouraged husbands and wives to become more open and honest in their relationships. In 1962 he brought together 28 Spanish couples for the first “Encuentro Conjugal” weekend. In 1967, Spanish couples and priests came to the United States and “Marriage Encounter” was presented to the English-speaking world for the first time at Notre Dame University. By January 1969, American couples and priests were conducting weekends. Leaders in the New York area developed the core WorldWide Marriage Encounter movement under the guidance of Ed and Harriet Garzero and Rev. Charles Gallagher, a Long Island youth retreat master. The New York leadership placed a new emphasis on weekend follow-up and the development of “community” to provide support for living the values learned on the weekend. Couples who attended these weekends began to encourage friends to experience the weekend as well. Soon new presenting teams and priests were trained, other areas of the country began presenting weekends, and Marriage Encounter as we know it today was born. Today Marriage Encounter weekends are presented in more than 90 countries and 160 local areas in the United States. There are also versions of the weekend representing many different religious expressions and it is presented in a variety of languages. The weekend is supported by an army of volunteers, couples who have experienced it and feel so strongly about the positive effect it has had on their relationship that they gladly work to spread the news to others