Southern Nebraska Register/WWME
Nebraska Worldwide Marriage Encounter will host weekend experiences in two locations in 2025. The first will be held Feb. 14-16 at North American Martyrs School in Lincoln.
The second will be held Sept. 19-21 at Boarders Inn & Suites in Grand Island.
Worldwide Marriage Encounter (WWME) is the largest faith-based marriage enrichment organization in the world. The programs have enriched and transformed the lives of married couples and priests for generations. Peer-to-peer experiences are offered, typically over a weekend, in which married couples and priests can pause and reflect privately on the meaning of their vocations and are given the tools for nurturing their love. The mission of WWME is to proclaim the value of marriage and holy orders in the Church and in the world.
Over a weekend, or in seven three-hour sessions, the Marriage Encounter experience will give couples the tools to remain strong as a couple and be a united force to provide a stable and loving environment for their children. As couples eventually become empty nesters, they can use the same tools to continue growing and thriving in their relationship, living a lifetime of love.
A Marriage Encounter is not couples therapy. There is no counseling. The experience consists of presentations, followed by private time between husband and wife.
During the Worldwide Marriage Encounter experience, each couple will “encounter” an entirely new way to communicate with one another that they may have never “encountered” before. The core value of WWME is the belief that marriage is a sacrament we live every day.
Faithful to the Roman Catholic Church’s definition that marriage is a covenant that exists between one man and one woman, any reference to “marriage” or “couple” made by Worldwide Marriage Encounter is in this context. WWME believes the daily love of the couple illuminates and gives warmth to their environment—children, friends, family; in other words, marriage is a sacrament. In WWME, married couples and priests enrich, support, and learn from each other at all stages of life.
Just as married couples give their lives to one other, a priest shares his life in service to the Church, finding ups and downs in his own journey. Whether a priest is recently ordained or has been a priest for decades, the WWME experience can enrich his priesthood with new insights about loving relationships and how God manifests himself in his relationship with others.
The WWME experience offers priests a rare opportunity to be aware of their own needs in a relaxed and private environment. He can gain self-confidence and be more comfortable in ministry and with the people around him.
A priest who attends a Marriage Encounter learns communication tools to grow in love with his “spouse,” the Church. After the experience, his feelings and thoughts often flow more freely, resulting in a deeper love, renewed and continuing dedication, and more joy in the priesthood and the relationships with his flock.
An additional benefit is that, even though a Worldwide Marriage Encounter experience is not a prayer retreat, it has been a conversion experience for many. Once a couple discovers the value to the Church of their sacramental marriage, they become more involved in their parish and in nurturing their children’s faith.
All married couples and priests are invited to attend a Worldwide Marriage Encounter Experience. To apply or for more information, visit www.wwme.org or call 402-370-5839.
