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Family
World
Marriage Day - Seasonal
Activities - Fun - Weekend
Effect
World
Marriage Day
World
Marriage Day 2008 – Start Planning Now
World Marriage Day
is a great way to celebrate our sacrament and to publicize our values.
Start planning now so your community will be ready for the February
date in 2008.
Longest
married couple in Alliance, Nebraska
Mildred said that
marriage is a give and take relationship. Talking is an important
part as well, she said. "We always talk things out. It wasn't
all roses, but we talked it out."
Dubai:
World Marriage Day Celebrated
Per the advance registration,
there were 11 couples who completed 25 years of married life in
the month of February. However, three couples came forward to the
sanctuary and exchanged rings.
Alaska
WWME 3rd Annual World Marriage Day
Dinner-Dance & Inviting Celebration
A fun evening that
included Mass, sharing a meal and dancing, a raffle, and honoring
priests and married couples.
World
Marriage Day 2007
It is not too late!
You still have time to start or complete your World Marriage Day
plans.
World
Marriage Day Purpose & History
Follow the link
to the WMD site for this World Marriage Day Purpose and History
plus Sample Press Releases, Sample Liturgies, Ideas and Suggestions,
an Apostolic Blessing and much more.
Maine
World Marriage Day Celebrations
Share in how several
parishes in Maine celebrated World Marriage Day.
World
Marriage Day Greetings from Kenya
As you celebrate
World Marriage Day in your local community let the reality of celebrations
around the world warm your heart.
Reflections
Of Love - World Marriage Day, 1986
"Every couple who participates
in World Marriage Day - whether at a parish hall World Marriage
Day reception, a rally in a public park, a march up a city street
or a pro-marriage rally at a shopping mall - will be a reflection
of love for the whole world to see, whether on the evening television
news, the next day's newspaper pictures or to the others present."
Auxiliary
Bishop Offers Support for World Marriage Day
Military chaplains
across the United States are encouraged to use the resources made
available by Worldwide Marriage Encounter to celebrate World Marriage
Day.
Anchorage,
Alaska Plans World Marriage Day Dinner
The invitations
are out! Anybody wanting to go to the Anchorage, Alaska WMD dinner
better order tickets now before they are all gone.
History
of World Marriage Day
World Marriage Day
began as a dream in Baton Rouge, LA in 1981. Read about the history
here.
World
Marriage Day - What Can We Do?
World Marriage
Day is February 8th this year..
Here is a little bit about how the tradition has grown in the State
of Maine.
Seasonal
Activities
Barn
Mass Brings Home Advent for Central Florida Couples
It is not quite
a manger in Bethlehem, but it is the closest resemblance that you
can get to start Advent if you live in Central Florida.
Celebrating
Christmas
How one parish
celebrates a simple Christmas to help the children be a part of
Jesus’ birthday.
Love
Float 2006
This
year is the 23rd Annual Love Float and it is going to be AN INVITING
EVENT. Combine family fun, the love of Worldwide Marriage Encounter
lovers, a float on the Niobrara River AND inviting all in one! Read
on for information about this wonderful WWME opportunity to be held
at the Keller State Park, near Long Pine, Nebraska.
Easter
Story Cookies
A recipe that involves
the family and tells the Easter Story in a way the children may
better relate.
A
Challenge From Section 11 -
Make a 2006 M.E. New Years Resolution!
Most
of us have our minds full of Advent activities and Christmas preparations
but, it is not to early to start thinking about those New Years
resolutions.
Family
Advent Traditions
Advent begins November
27, 2005 here are some suggestions to help make Advent a family
celebration leading up to a joyful celebration of Christmas.
A
Priest's Journey Through Lent and Easter
Encountered priests
share their reflections on the priesthood during this season.
T'was
the Night Before an ME Christmas
Change a name here
and a phrase there and a famous Christmas poem becomes personalized
for ME lovers.
Changing
the Way We Approach Advent & Christmas
After our Weekend,
we decided to add more spirituality to our young family's Advent
& Christmas.
St.
Valentine's Day Links
A collection of links
to various internet sites that include romance, history, crafts,
and other family activities to help you celebrate St. Valentine's
Day .
Merry
Christmas, 2003
How is your family celebrating
the twelve days of Christmas?
The
Fourth Sunday of Advent, 2003
A teenage girl in
a remote village says, "Yes."
Advent
Family Sunday School
See how the Janssen
family in the Seattle, Washington area describe one of their Advent
preparations with their parish family.
'Twas
the First Night of Our Weekend
A new twist on the classic,
"'Twas the Night Before Christmas" by Steve & Darlene
Brown from Section 6.
The
Third Sunday of Advent, 2003
Does the pink candle
on the Advent wreath mean "Rejoice, the Lord is Coming"
or "PANIC"?
The
Second Sunday of Advent, 2003
Is commercialism eroding
the spiritual meaning of Advent in your lives?
Vogel
Family Advent Adventures
Looking for Advent traditions
for a young family? Check out what the Vogel family is doing.
Please send your Advent celebration ideas to
so we can share them with
others online.
The
First Sunday of Advent, 2003
The First Sunday of
Advent 2003 is November 30. How will you be preparing for the Christ
Child's birth this year?
A
Cornucopia of Thanksgiving Links
A collection of
links to various internet sites that include prayers, history, crafts,
and other family activities to help you celebrate the Thanksgiving
holiday.
Fun
L.A.
East Annual Camping Trip, 2005
20 families gathered
at Wilderness Lakes in Menifee, California for fun, support and
sharing. Listen to their reflections from young to experienced.
News
from Our “Neck O’ the Woods”
At the WWME Campout, Camp Holy Cross, Goshen, MA
A good time was had by
all at the annual WWME campout in Massachusetts.
Annual
Algonquin Community WWME Campout
Family, fun, s'mores,
camping, and a Farkle tournament - what a way to celebrate summer
time as a Community!
Algonquin
Community Goes Bananas
This sounds
like a challenge from Illinois. Is there a Community out there willing
to beat this record?
Community-Building
Mystery Dinners
A great
Community Building idea from Section 11 that adds a little suspense.
Building
Summertime Relationships
For over 20 years Seattle
area couples and priests have gathered to build memories and relationships
at a camp in Oso, Washington.
Travels
with Wesley P. Guin
Follow the adventures
of Wesley as he travels around the world!
 Update,
June, 2004: Wesley, last seen in January, shows up after a visit
in Hawaii. Hopefully Wesley will have his camera fixed and show
us more of his travels in the future.
 Update,
February, 2004: Wesley has been getting around! Read about
his visit to France and several locations in the Pacific Northwest,
and check out the latest photos of him.
 Update,
September 20, 2003: Wesley tours the Pacific Northwest and visits
a Section 13 Pillar meeting - and learn about a forthcoming trip
overseas!
Massachusetts
WWME Family Camping Experience
Every year,
families from all around Massachusetts gather to share in the fun
of camping together.
Weekend
Effect
Small
Steps – Big Gains
A Personal Plan for Growth
The fifth tool offered
on Sunday of the Weekend in the Presentation “Keeping Our
Relationship a Priority” is reevaluation. In this article
one couple shares how their efforts were best accomplished through
setting small but specific goals.
It
Happened On The Way To The Dance
When asked to write for
their local newsletter about their vision for Community this couple
wrote the following letter about how they hoped all Communities
would be.
Affirming
Military Couples
Please consider
how you as a couple, or how your Community, can support the WWME
couples separated by one spouse being deployed in military service
to our country.
A
Letter From the Past... Our Personal WWME Story
We'll be the first
to tell you that marriage is not an easy road. It's a day to day
journey that we must choose to travel together. We still struggle,
we have our fights, but each morning we have a choice and we try
to choose love.
An
Open Letter
A couple shares that
for them what it came down to was this: we wanted to change our
relationship, like it was on the Weekend, but not enough to change
our way of life.
Spiritual
Ponderings about a WWME Weekend
Some of you
might be asking, “Why would a priest go to a Worldwide Marriage
Encounter Weekend?” Here are a couple of reasons.
Encourage
Vocations
What did you
want to become as an adult when you were three years old? What inspired
that desire? Have you suggested to your children at an early age
to consider a religious vocation?
The
Importance of Fatherhood in Parenting
“Our
Weekend team had told us: "Remember there is no sacrament of
parenthood, but there is a Sacrament of Matrimony." I believe
the greatest gift a father can give his children is to love their
mother more. To me, this is the most meaningful legacy a father
can leave his children.”
What
Are You Doing Out THERE, Ralph?
“We know
the solution-… It’s being crazy enough and daring enough
to risk being different and getting others to sit up and question
the way they're living. We know we can change the world with that
kind of ministry.”
Continuing
Our Journey
On the Weekend we bought into
the reality that we have a stake in each other’s lives. It
is a good to be reminded that our Mission Statement calls us to
assist couples and priests to live an intimate and responsible lifestyle.
Detroit
Weekend Enthusiasm Leads to Inviting
One of the greatest
things about this Weekend referral was to hear my husband describe
what a wonderful Weekend it was and hearing him say things about
our marriage I never really thought I would.
No
Couple is an Island
“It's great
to have other couples have a stake in us. We know that we've helped
other couples through tough spots, just as we have been helped.”
Little
Actions, Great Love
Worldwide
Marriage Encounter offers couples and priests a safe and understanding
environment to share what is happening in their lives. This presentation
is a vulnerable story of how one couple made the decision to love
and to be loved. Please keep their journey in your prayers.
Make
Good Marriages Better
Of his Weekend
a Bishop shares, “But I must tell you that it became a time
of great renewal for me as I reflected on my own call to the priesthood
with my brother priest who was the presenter that weekend.”
WWME
RV Continues to Touch Lives
A WWME couple
who made a 1972 Weekend in Ohio is offered a motor home owned by
a WWME couple in Florida while the Ohio couple helps a WWME family
in Louisiana.
Our
Journey In Adoption
Read how this couple
experienced the love of WWME in 1985 as they traveled to Korea to
adopt three siblings.
Our
Journey In Adoption Revisited
Revisit
the Wright family - twenty years after the adoption of three siblings.
The
Last Word, "JOY"
"My neighbors
invited me to go on one of those Marriage Encounter Weekends. I
declined. I wasn't married - But for some reason I kept thinking
about how happy they were. I wanted some of that same joy."
Michigan
Lovers Deliver Gifts to Hurricane Katrina Victims
Love spanned
the over 1000 miles between Sterling Heights, MI. in the Detroit
area to hurricane victims in the Slidell, LA area. These email excerpts
give an idea of what Family means in Worldwide Marriage Encounter.
Our
Weekend Was Not a Dream
"My beloved couples,
our Church needs you. You teach relationship, you teach us sacrifice,
you teach us how to love. By your very lives of ministry, you answer
the call of our Church today."
Change
of Career, Change of Heart
This couple
heard the challenge on the Weekend, "It's your choice do you
want to live the World's Plan for your marriage or God's Plan?"
The
Miracle Of The Ring
A fascinating story
of WWME Family, prayer, faith and a miracle.
From
Bitterness to Joy: Stephens' Story
So, this is Stephens'
Story... a love story... a story of conversion... a story of faith...
a story of the Weekend in the lives of one couple, which bore fruit
that continues to renew the Church and change the world!
Balancing
Work and Fun
A challenge to
keep a positive and playful attitude in the midst of our busy-ness.
A reminder of how we are to love and support our relationships.
Hope
in the Lord, Suggestions for the Summer
The attached article,
reprinted with permission from the East Tennessee Catholic,
should give all of us in WWME great hope. The first half of the
article is about local information; but, the second half offers
exciting news for WWME.
A
Call To Be F.A.M.I.S.
"It is our belief
that if our Marriage Encounter Movement is to flourish, it will
depend to a very large extent on the health and vibrancy of the
local Marriage Encounter Communities; not on the message of our
Weekend, but on the people who live the message."
The
Weekend Works if We Work At It
The Weekend
is only the beginning. To truly benefit takes time and effort. But
the rewards make it all worth while.
Couple
Prayer Leads to Family Prayer
When two or three
are gathered He is there!
Our
50 Years Together
Words of wisdom and some
dialogue questions to bring them home.
What
M. E. Community Means To Us
Community is having someone
there.
Marriage
Encounter Community - Kids & Teens Included
eMatrimony
has in the past received news from James & Shaharriet Houchins
in Anchorage, Alaska. Now we find the apple has not fallen far from
the tree as their daughter Cierra and friends pool their ideas to
combat ME Teen boredom.
Community,
We Are Fred & Luisa Velazquez
From New York through
Florida to South Carolina, strangers became family in the Worldwide
Marriage Encounter Community.
Love
Is A Daily Decision
"Whenever
hope to keep the message alive was no more than a bubble on the
wind, we'd go to the share group and find strength to try again,
to protect that lone bubble from sharp pins, to blow more bubbles."
Lighting
The Way Together
Reflections on a
62 year marriage shining as an example for their family.
Conversion
to New Life in the Church
Worldwide Marriage
Encounter's mission of renewal in the church touched these couples.
The
Lost Art of Kissing
Valentine's Day is
just around the corner. Are your kisses passionate? If not, what
are you going to do about that?
Family
Dialogue Becomes A Value At The Section 10 Convention
Section
10’s Family Convention, “A Family of Believers,”
made this family into believers in family dialogue.
Communication
– The Games We Play
Crossing the communication
gap between our Personality Styles may require our statements to
be more complete.
Today
Is All We Have, So Love Each Other With All Your Hearts
An extended Marriage
Encounter Family that has celebrated all facets of life together.
Widow
Continues Involvement in Presbyterian Marriage Encounter
The Worldwide
Marriage Encounter family can continue to be a support for and gain
support from our widowed family members. Please use this article
as an impetus to reach out to include in your community those who
may be widowed.
The
Weekend Lives On 
Twenty four years ago,
on their first Weekend, Bill & Mary Ann Vena accepted a challenge
from the presenting priest to make sure Worldwide Marriage Encounter
would be around for their children.
Oregon
Couple Makes an Anniversary Weekend in France
They met in France,
and so decided to make an anniversary Weekend there.
We
Are Church - Parish Ministry as a Couple
The challenge this couple
heard on their Weekend took them from sporadic mass attendance to
sharing their couple love as a part of becoming Church.
Our
Christmas Miracle
A priest when
asked about a Weekend he had just presented he said "There
were the normal amount of minor miracles and a few major miracles."
Here is a story of one of those Weekend Miracles.
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