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eMatrimony.org Supporting, Encouraging, and Challenging the WWME Community |
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| News - Convention Never a Stranger in WWME Fr. Dennis O’Brien Dear Northwest Florida ME Lovers, We have just returned from the WWME 35th Anniversary Convention in DeKalb, Illinois. The theme of the convention, “You have to believe,” was elaborated in its central vision, “By believing in the power of our loving relationships, we are Jesus alive in the world today.” There were more than 900 couples, 75 priests, 3 bishops, and even some widows and widowers gathered there from 43 states, several nations, and many faith expressions. We wish you all could have been there to share the love, prayer, and music with us. The Convention reenergized us for the WWME mission of renewal in the Church and change in the world by assisting couples and priests to live fully intimate and responsible relationships. We do this by providing them with a Catholic “experience” and ongoing community support for such a lifestyle. No where was that mission brought home more forcefully than during the week before the Convention. Here is Fr. Dennis’ recount of the amazing ways in which our Marriage Encounter community, both locally and in far-flung locations, lived out that mission: Never A Stranger I was looking forward to participating in the DeKalb Marriage Encounter Convention. I only attended the one in Atlanta and that was a good one. Before I arrived in DeKalb, I planned to visit a ME couple in Atlanta and then to visit a couple in Cincinnati who were my parishioners years ago. The visit to Atlanta was and enjoyable one. It was great to renew contacts. On the next day, I started the drive to Cincinnati. Rain was predicted. I drove through plenty of rain in Chattanooga and then a dry spell. As I was approaching Knoxville, heavy rain was falling. As I was leaving Knoxville on I-75, my car hydroplaned to the shoulder of the road. It slammed against the rocky side of the hill and flipped upside down. No other car was involved. I found myself upside down and I released my seat belt. I was trying to find an exit. Since I couldn’t get out on the driver’s side, I was heading toward the passenger side. An EMT opened the door and asked how I was. I was bleeding from the head and the rest of me felt OK. An ambulance was called and they sent me to the emergency room in Oak Ridge. The medical staff did a number of tests on me. I needed five stitches on the right side of my head. On the left side of my brain, they found an ever-so-slight bleeding. As a precaution, they kept me over night for observation. I was able to make some phone calls to let my family, the ME family, and my parishioners know what happened. There was a lot of uncertainty. Would the bleeding on the brain increase? When I am discharged, how would I pick up my belongings in my car and how would I rent a car if the doctor is going to give me permission to drive? Would I be able to attend the WWME or would I have to return? How many days would I be spending in the hospital? Before I knew it, the wheels of ME were on the move. I had an offer from a ME member in Tallahassee to pick me up and drive me back to Quincy. A ME couple living in Pensacola offered to fly me in their plane either to DeKalb or to Quincy. Parishioners and former parishioners made offers to pick me up. At 10:00 p.m. that night two women came to visit me. They and their husbands also are involved in ME. They offered me their home, the chance to pick up my belongings in my wrecked car (at that time I didn’t know that it was totaled), and a lift to rent a car. Some of my problems already had solutions. I didn’t sleep well that night. Every few hours the nurses woke me up to check my vital signs. The next morning at 8:00 a.m. I was taken to get a second CAT scan. I waited until 8:00 p.m. to get a report from the neurologist. She had surgery during the day and was not able to see me sooner. The neurologist told me that the bleeding was less than the day before and she discharged me. I telephoned the couple in Knoxville to pick me up, to get some of my things from my disabled car, and take me to their home. On Wednesday the husband and children drove me to the airport to pick up a car rental and said goodbye. I then went to the auto shop where my car was stored and I gathered the rest of my belonging and went to the convention. The WWME Mission Statement talks about providing ongoing community support. I had no idea that I would receive this kind of support. My intention was just to call the ME family to ask for prayers and to let them know what happened. Help just came pouring in. It dawned on me that, because I belong to the ME family, I am not a stranger even to the ME family whom I have never met. I am never a stranger to the ME family. (Intentionally I did not mention the names of those who offered help. You can probably guess who they are. I believe that what happened to me happened to others many times and many years before my accident and the ME family will respond the same way in the future. The love, kindness, compassion, and help I received is a characteristic of belonging to the ME family.) Love, Fr. Dennis O’Brien
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