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eMatrimony Newsletter
Supporting, Encouraging and Challenging the WWME Community |
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eMatrimony News | August 2010 |
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Greetings!
We would like to let you know that our plan is to publish and send the eMatrimony newsletter once a month, around the third Tuesday of the month, if possible.
That means that if you have something to share with the greater WWME community, please send it to us during the second week of the month. We will do our best to get it published with the next eMatrimony.
Love,
Joe & Linda Oppelt
eMatrimony editors |
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Bob & Janel Lange, Fr Joe Brando | WWME Military Team
We are Bob and Janel Lange and Fr. Joe Brando, all of the Diocese of Knoxville in East Tennessee and a longtime encountered couple and priest. Among a number of announcements made at the first North American WWME Convention this summer was our appointment as the new liaison to the military. Fr. Joe is a retired National Guard chaplain who deployed during the Bosnian conflict, and Bob is a retired naval officer, who deployed many times during his career. The three of us have the experience and heart to support military couples! Our goal is to encourage our WWME family across the continent and around the world to offer support to military families wherever they may be. We believe that there's no group of people on earth better equipped than our wonderful WWME family to love these couples and families and show them how to love each other more deeply! We are convinced that our open and apostolic outreach in love to military couples will encourage many of them to "want what we have" and attend a weekend. We (Bob & Janel) were empowered by the tools we learned on our weekend in 1979 to continue growing in our relationship during many months of being apart due to Bob's military service. We will be exploring ways to invite more military couples to our weekends and to assist WWME communities to present weekends to more military couples. In addition to the weekend experience, we want to offer military couples shorter enrichment programs such as "Married and in Love... Most of the Time," "Grow Closer While You're Apart," and other enrichments that WWME communities may be presenting. We also envision a military family adoption program within the WWME community. Since our appointment, the three of us have met with the Chancellor of the Archdiocese of the Military Services and the Deputy Chief of Army Chaplains, who is a Catholic priest. Both were very receptive to the above mentioned ideas for supporting military couples, and offered ways to inform the Catholic chaplains that we as a WWME community are equipped and willing to offer these means of support. To solicit the cooperation of Church communities around the country, we have put forth the same ideas in the current e- newsletter of the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers. We will continue our efforts to develop a working relationship with this organization. We welcome questions and suggestions from our North American WWME community. We hope that you all see military families as OUR military families who have special needs that we are able to meet! There is a group on Facebook, Worldwide Marriage Encounter military support, that we hope those interested in this ministry will join. The purpose of the group is to gather success stories and share them with others who want to support our troops. We will also continue to send updates to you through e-Matrimony. WELUVY'ALL!
Bob & Janel Email423-246-1570
Bob & Janel Lange and Fr. Joe Brando WWME Military Ecclesial Team |
North American Community Pillar News
Dear Brothers and Sisters, we have been asked to add more people to the community list-serve. If you know someone, who would like to join this list to receive important information about the WWME, please forward this information to them.
To join the community list-serve:
send your name, email and section you belong to, to Sharon Brooks at the
WWME Office (wwmeoffice@sbcglobal.net)
If you want to receive the electronic eMatrimony newsletter with news about the movement go to. eMatrimony.org and register - it's easy and free.
If you are looking for enrichments, outlines for community nights and other resources for your community, go to the WWME library at: erl.wwme.org
If you have any questions, or suggestions, send us an email.
Jesus & Lilia Ibarra & Fr.Francois Pellissier
Community Pillar coordinators
- Note: this is a new address!
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" Formation Through Relationship" (FTR) in the Pacific
WOW!!!! The Holy Spirit has blessed us abundantly these past 12 months as we have planned to bring the FTR to Pacific. Our 5 Days of formation was grace filled beyond belief and the Pacific Secretariat has been transformed. We had 6 couples and a priest from the Solomon's, 14 couples and 2 priests from Fiji, 10 couples and 3 priests from Australia, 12 couple and 4 priests from Australia and of course a fabulous couple from the USA. We began arriving in Nadi Fiji on Monday 05th July and transferring to Taveuni (1 ½ hour flight) on Tuesday 06th. On Tuesday evening we had the traditional Fiji Kava ceremony of welcome. Very formal and full of ritual. On Wednesday 07th we began our formation time with a silent retreat day lead by Fr. Sulio and Fr. Mike. The focus was on the beauty of God's creation and baptism. During the day we had adoration and reconciliation. We also had a 'getting to know you' session in the evening. We borrowed this from IET. On Thursday we had Pacific's first ever priest day. We borrowed this from the 40th Convention in Ontario. We also invited the local parish priest, the novice master and his noviciates. All novices in Taveuni dialogue each day and spend 1-2 months living with an daily dialoguing ME couple as part of their formation. They were a special dimension to the day. At the final mass, every couple came forward to bless each priests hands, very emotional! In the evening we had another getting to know you session. On Friday we had a day at the beach with a BBQ picnic lunch and much singing with the Solomon's and Fijians. After dinner we had another getting to know you session. We thought it would be a 'short one' as it had been a long week, hot day in the sun, and we had a big couple of days ahead with Bob and Joy. Not so! They just wanted to keep on sharing, so we left them to it. We were thoroughly in relationship with God and each other heading into the FTR. Saturday 5:30 a.m. the heavens opened with monsoon rain which continued until we had finished FTR on Sunday. It kept us cool and focused and intimate. Bob and Joy were a delight. Saturday night at mass we re-commissioned our Australian ET for a further 12 months. We showed 'laugh your way to a better marriage' after dinner. Sunday at the conclusion of FTR we had our thanksgiving mass. We presented our National ET's with Mission Cross's (borrowed this from North America) and then each couple and priest came and let a candle from them as we played 'go light your candle' and sent them out to be missionaries and prophets. We finished the night with a celebration with the local community. Lots of food and singing and dancing. Monday saw us saying goodbye, not an easy or quick thing for the helpers. At 10:00 a.m. we started our Pacific meeting and took time during the day to farewell each group. The feedback from everyone has been fantastic. Everyone is inspired and on fire. To bring first world and third world couples and priests together has been a graced experience. We now understand the concept of WWME family at a much deeper level. Our couples and priests from Australia and NZ now realise that their sacrifices to live the WWME lifestyle are small compared to their family from the Solomon's and Fiji. Our Solomon's and Fiji couples and priests have grown in confidence as they have learnt that they are living the dream as well as, if not better, than the rest of us. So as we say in the Pacific, thank you, thank you, thank you. We could not have done this without you. Thank you for your generosity in terms of finance and personnel. Thank you for allowing the FTR to go 'off shore', and thank you for encouraging and inspiring us. The FTR translates across language, culture and outline (pacific has 2 outlines). Perhaps it's time to take it to the rest of the WWME family? Please pass on our love, prayers and thanks to all of your sections who so generously helped us to get there. A special thank you to Section 17 who have been able to provide half of the funds needed to finance the Solomon's for the next 12 months. Love and Hugs
Brett, Shelly and Fr. Carl
PET
Other News from the Pacific:
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Updated WWME Web Site!
Have you checked it out yet?
The web site for Worldwide Marriage Encounter has been renovated and improved! Go to www.wwme.org and you will see a clean new look. The home page lists upcoming weekends, and has an easy zip code search for weekends as well. Take some time to re-acquaint yourself with this site! |
 North American Convention Followup: Inspired Inviter Awards
Four couples and 19 areas, along with one United States Section and one Canadian District, were honored with Inspired Inviter Awards at the 2010 WWME North American Convention held recently in Atlantic City, New Jersey,
The Inspired Inviter Awards were created in 2008 to inspire a greater excitement for inviting in order to increase the number of couples and priests attending the WWME Weekend. This marked the first time the awards have ever been presented by Worldwide Marriage Encounter.
The criteria to be nominated for an individual award centered on individual couples who had the most exciting and compelling stories of individual inviting efforts - such as filling a Weekend on their own. The timeframe for the award was the period from January 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010.
Those receiving the individual awards were Mark & Michelle Blackwell from Section 7, Mark & Dianne Scoggins from Section 10, Arturo & Marissa Huereque from Section 14 and Dave & Karen Demers from Section 20.
Each of the honored couples went above and beyond to make weekends occur in their home areas.
The criteria for the awards for the areas, section and district were based on one area in each section having the greatest percentage increase in number of couples/priests making a Weekend-- between April 1, 2009 and March 31, 2010, as compared to, April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009.
Following the same criteria, two awards were given, one to a US Section and one to a Canadian District, with the greatest percentage increase in couples/priests making a Weekend during the same timeframe.
The areas receiving the awards and their percentage increases were
Section 1 - Connecticut 26% increase
Section 2 - Archdiocese of NY 1060% increase
Section 3 - South Jersey 6% increase
Section 4 - Washington, DC 50% increase
Section 5 - Southwest Florida 200% increase
Section 6 - Western Michigan 47% increase
Section 7 - IA/La Crosse, WI 190% increase
Section 8 - South Dakota 17% increase
Section 9 - Nebraska 320% increase
Section 10 - Corpus Christi 180% increase
Section 11 - Las Vegas 57% increase
Section 12 - Central California 147% increase
Section 13 - Alaska 117% increase
Section 14 - Bakersfield 4% increase
Section 15 - El Valle West 450% increase
Section 16 - Georgia 15% increase
Section 17 - S. Fresno 465% increase
Section 18 - Chicago 94% increase
Section 19 - Mid Atlantic (DC/VA) 900% increase
The Section with greatest overall increase was United States Section 19 with 28% increase, while the Canadian District having the largest increase was District 2 with a 22 percent increase.
It was decided that the Inspired Inviter Awards will be presented annually with full recognition at the North American conventions, with the next convention scheduled for July 2012 in Sacramento, California.
Dick & Diane Baumbach and Fr. Dick Morse
North American Secretariat Weekend Pillar
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 Reflections for Scripture Dialogue & Personal Prayer
It has been said that the dialogue questions that seem the toughest are the ones we most need to do.
Fr. Paul Oborny of Wichita, Kansas, has published a book entitled "Reflections for Scripture Dialogue & Personal Prayer." In it he challenges encountered couples and religious to experience deeper and richer meaning from their dialogue experiences. The entire focus of the book is summed up in two questions from one of his reflections: "Can we be close to one another without dialogue? Why settle for just goodness when you can enjoy intimacy?"
The structure of the book is in the format of his loveletters and personal reflections on Dialogue to his spouse, the people of the Church. They focus on the full spectrum of points we experience on the Weekend, from understanding self, to listening, to deeper feelings, to compliments and criticism, as well as points beyond the weekend content. A major pillar of his reflections is a call to prayer.
The book contains about 60 separate reflections. Bring your bible. Most are based on a scripture passage that is specified at the top of the letter, and it helps to read the passage before reading the reflection. In each, Fr. Paul guides us to a creative and insightful way to understand the passage in the context of our Sacrament and our dialogue practice. His personal sharing shows us his own struggle and experience with dialogue. He challenges us to find Jesus in each other through our dialogue, and to be Jesus for each other. In one reflection Fr. Paul contemplates about Jesus giving the Apostles power to walk on snakes and scorpions. In the same way Jesus gives us in our Sacrament the power to do great things for each other in His name. Through that power we can handle even the snakes and scorpions of difficult dialogue questions, and heal each other.
On the weekend we were each given a window sticker with the Marriage Encounter logo. Fr. Paul challenges us to make the message of that sticker meaningful. Is it just a decoration? Fr. Paul suggests it can proclaim to others, "Yes, I will die to self for my beloved!"
After each reflection Fr. Paul gives us a dialogue question. Many are piercing. They dive directly to the heart of the issue in the reflection. If you are looking for a challenging dialogue series, this is a great 60-day challenge!
For couples who have experienced the Couple Prayer series and are looking for a list of scripture references for scripture prayer, this book is a superb source.
Fr. Paul wants to make this book available to couples at no cost. You can request copies via your ematrimony editors. We will let you know what the shipping costs are, and you can send us that amount.
Love,Joe & Linda Oppelt |
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10/10 Dialogue 
How have our hopes for the two of us changed since our wedding day? HDIFAMA? |
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| North American Convention: Atlantic City Followup, Part II - PHOTOS! | |
WWME 2010 Convention Photo CD with images from all three days of Convention, Couples & Section & Priest Day.
To order, email Marisa with your Name & Mailing Address.
Cost of CD is $20.
Please send a check or cash to Marisa Avramovich at 89 S. Roosevelt Ave. #6 Pasadena, CA 91107. Thanks!
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| Mission Statement | | As an online publication of Worldwide Marriage Encounter, eMatrimony serves as a resource to support, encourage and challenge couples, priests and religious to live the values of the WWME experience and grow stronger in their efforts to renew the church and change the world. |
| Contact Information | | eMatrimony Editors
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