Marriage-enrichment opportunities
Taking care of your marriage from the very beginning should be a priority. However, the seasons and cycles of marriage bring change. Those early days of dating, with long talks and feelings of being so close that nothing could ever be more important than each other, make way for family life and children, maintaining a home, jobs, career changes, and all the many challenges that occur in daily life.
Today’s couples express a desire for a deep friendship and good communication with their spouse. They want to feel connected at the deepest level of their covenant bond. Sometimes they wake up one morning and say, “What happened?” This can happen early in marriage, during the middle years of raising a family, when they are experiencing the “empty nest” transition after the children leave home, or in their senior years. Couples want to appreciate all that they have in their lives and to recapture the deep friendship, great love, and oneness that are the desire of every married person’s heart.
Marriage-enrichment opportunities offer couples a chance to deepen their spirituality, improve their communication, work on financial issues, break old patterns of hurt, and learn to forgive. Check out our upcoming events to register for marriage-enrichment opportunities.
Bishop Richard F. Stika’s message to married couples
Marriage Encounter
Turn a good marriage into a great one with a Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend. The emphasis of the weekend is communication between husbands and wives. The weekend provides an environment for couples to spend time together, away from the distractions and tensions of everyday life, while encouraging them to focus on each other and their relationship.
It’s not a retreat, a marriage clinic, a group sensitivity session, or a substitute for counseling. It’s a unique approach aimed at revitalizing marriage. Every marriage deserves that kind of attention.
For more information, contact John or Anne Wharton at 423-581-1815.
To make reservations, contact John or Manuela Ptacek.
Upcoming weekends:
- March 5–7, 2010, Airport Hilton, Alcoa
- Aug. 27–29, 2010, Hilton Garden Inn, Knoxville
- Nov. 19-21, Meadowview Convention Center, Kingsport
Masses in celebration of marriage
In 2010 Bishop Stika is hosting three special celebrations, one each in Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Kingsport, to honor married couples and their commitment to the sacrament of marriage. At each location Bishop Stika will offer Mass, with the opportunity for participants to renew their wedding vows. Each Mass begins at 11 a.m., with a luncheon following. To make reservations for the remaining celebration, contact the Office of Marriage Preparation and Enrichment at 865-584-3307.
- Saturday, July 31, 2010, St. Dominic Church, 2517 John B. Dennis Highway, Kingsport, TN 37660
Retrouvaille core group
Couples who have been through the Retrouvaille program are encouraged to take part in the Retrouvaille core group, which meets on the third Saturday of every month.
For more information, contact Kelly or Heather Neuner
P.O. Box 232
Jefferson City, TN 37760
423-254-0331
Learn more on the national Retrouvaille website.
