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eMatrimony.org Supporting, Encouraging, and Challenging the WWME Community |
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| Family - Weekend Effect Widow Continues Involvement in Presbyterian Marriage Encounter Gene & Nancy Robinson Think back to your Marriage Encounter Weekend for a moment and remember the Saturday afternoon presentation that made you cry. You know, the one with the question, "How do I feel about being separated from you by death?" None of us wants to spend much time thinking about that but we all know that it does happen. One of our encountered friends who has experienced that dreaded reality has found some ways to stay actively involved with Marriage Encounter. One of the ways she does this benefits many couples and, with her permission, we want to share her idea with you. We first met Gary & Nora Goetz about 10 years ago when the four of us were serving on the Presbyterian Marriage Encounter National Board. Gary & Nora were actively committed to making the dream come true, one couple at a time or many. They had a strong vision for Marriage Encounter and in the year 2000 were elected the National Executive Lay Couple for PME. Gary & Nora were looking forward to taking that office in January of 2001. In September of that year Gary had a massive heart attack. Suddenly Nora's life was turned upside down. Not only did she deeply miss Gary but she also missed the shared commitment that had been so much a part of their lives since their Marriage Encounter Weekend. She missed their dialogues and she missed being part of a hugging community. Nora's personality style of Organizer helped her find new ways to support Marriage Encounter and to remain involved with this ministry that had meant so much to them as a couple. One part of Nora's Marriage Encounter ministry is to invite encountered couples, widows and widowers to pray for Presbyterian Marriage Encounter Weekends. She does this through e-mail messages to those who have said they would like to support PME Weekends with their prayers. Nora emails the dates about a month before each Weekend and asks who can/will pray during that time. Couples are encouraged to light a candle and pray for both rookie and team couples, especially during the open-ended dialogue on Saturday night and the extended dialogue time on Sunday morning. Many couples keep their journals handy so they can be aware of the talks as they are presented. Nora emails a file containing the names, cities and states of those who will be praying for that Weekend to the administrative couple. They print copies for each couple, roll them and tie them with a red ribbon. Each couple receives a scroll on Sunday afternoon. The rookie couples have already received their prayer letters and have been told that many people are praying for them. Now, with the scroll, they have names and locations to affirm that they really have been covered in prayer throughout the Weekend. It also gives them a better awareness of the scope of Marriage Encounter and the power of prayer. We encourage the newly encountered couples to respond to Nora's invitation to add their names to her list and many of them accept. Gene & Nancy Robinson Click here for a printable page (PDF, 6KB)
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