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  News - National

Outreach To Military Couples and Priests Gains Momentum

LTC(Ret.) David & Lucy Snyder

Worldwide Marriage Encounter (WWME) has now completed the first year of a special outreach to make the WWME Weekend and follow-up support more readily available to military couples and priests. This outreach has been possible through the cooperation of the Archdiocese of Military Services, and in particular the liaison of Bishop John Kaising working with us as the WWME National Resource Team.

We are all aware of the significant stress on marital relationships due to the rigors of military life and compounded by more frequent deployments during wartime. As a couple who has been through separation during wartime, we are highly committed to offering our support through what we know is a most life-giving experience. The Worldwide Marriage Encounter movement is based on the sanctity of the sacraments of Matrimony and Holy Orders, and the daily use of communication tools to promote healthy, happy, intimate and responsible relationships. The WWME experience is available as a retreat type weekend, and more recently as a “non-residential” weekend where couples return home each night. With the Weekend as a “base” couples are able to share and grow together even though they may be separated for months or years.

Since WWME is already established in most dioceses in the United States, this has become a grass roots effort to make the Weekend possible near virtually every military installation. Included in this outreach is enlisting the support of both active duty and retired couples and priests to “spread the good news” through chapel programs, local commanders and by personal invitation. In some instances the Marriage Encounter Weekend has been presented on the military base itself, and Catholic chaplains in all the services have been notified by letter about this initiative. While the military is offering a variety of marriage enrichment programs, the WWME Weekend provides lifetime communication tools, and couple to couple post Weekend follow-up that make it even more attractive.

Initial efforts have been encouraging as more military couples have begun attending Weekends in their local areas. Next steps include further communication with our chaplains, as well as providing additional informational materials to all interested parties. We ask our military brothers and sisters to consider attending the Marriage Encounter Weekend, and for those who have already made a Weekend to contact us with their ideas and input. We may be reached by email at or by telephone at 813-684-6579.

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