Catholic Bishop of Northern Alaska
Marriage and Family
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Catholic Engaged Encounter Retreat Weekends
An atmosphere is created for each person to concentrate exclusively on their fiancé/fiancée, free of the distractions, pressures and interruptions of daily living – a “time out” away from home, friends and wedding preparations. There are no group dynamics or group therapy. It is a quiet weekend, specifically designed to give you the opportunity to talk honestly and intensively about your future together – an opportunity to discover a deeper appreciation of your relationship and God’s call to unite in a permanent union, the Sacrament of Matrimony.
The weekend consists of a series of presentations beginning Friday evening and ending Sunday afternoon. Led by a team of married couples and a priest, each couple is encouraged to reflect individually and then talk privately on many aspects of marriage, always from the viewpoint of your own relationship. Among the subjects you will have an opportunity to discuss with each other are your ambitions, goals, attitudes about God, sex, money, children, family, and your role in the Church and community. Personal reflection and couple discussion are the main focus of our weekend. Since each relationship is in a different place, your private answers will be unique and special to your relationship.
Through personal sharing, the members of the presenting team talk about what the Sacrament of Matrimony means to them individually and the impact a great marriage can have on the world. We will not tell you how to live your lives. Our stories are meant to encourage you to explore your own attitudes and expectations. We will offer some good ideas and tools to help the two of you to continue growing closer through the years.Why Should We Go on A Weekend?
Our motto is a “A wedding is a day; a marriage is a lifetime.” Think of all the preparation you have done for your career or job. Most us spend years studying or learning. Think of the preparation taken for your wedding day. Most people spend months planning and many dollars preparing for their wedding. But how much time and effort do we spend preparing for what we hope will last 50 or 60 years – our marriage? Ask yourself this question: “Am I willing to spend 30 hours devoted to hearing ideas and learning skills that will help to make my marriage the best it can be?”
Couples preparing for a Catholic marriage in the Diocese of Fairbanks are required to attend an Engaged Encounter Retreat and complete Beloved Marriage Prep classes before their wedding. Couples may also use catholicmarriageprep.com in lieu of the in-person Beloved sessions but they are still strongly encouraged to attend an Engaged Encounter Retreat. To learn more about Catholic Engaged Encounter, please visit fairbanks.engagedencounter.com or email [email protected].
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Family Life Education offers training and skill building resources and guidance for prevention and intervention in regard to relationship issues for general family and marriage life, parent and child interaction and understanding developmental child behaviors. Also included are Family Advocacy and Faith Formation, which explore the dynamics of the papal term "domestic church" which understands the family and parish relationship and recognizes both as valuable and growing changing systems.
Any or all of these topics can be presented as a workshop training or office visit can be arranged for counseling or consultation:
Some Parenting Training Topics- Why Parents Behave the Way They Do.
- Why Children Behave the Way They Do.
- Effective techniques for dealing with behaviors.
- Dealing with difficult behaviors.
Marriage Life Skill Development Topics
Prepare and Enrich is a marriage preparation tool for evaluating the strengths and weaknesses in the relationship of couples seeking marriage. Included are counseling sessions to increase awareness of both areas and tools to nurture strengths and provide necessary skills for growth.
Family Advocacy Training Topics- The Christian Vision of Family Life
- Family Spirituality
- Process of Change and Family Systems
- Introduction to Family Systems Theory
- Family Systems Theory: Its Relationship to the Ministering Person
- Parish As A System
- Family Life Cycle
- Partnership between Family and Parish
- Living Out of Possibility: Creating the Future
Family Altar, Prayer and Activities for Finding the Holy in the Ordinary.
"...we familied people who inhabit homes, who live among and with people who give us identity, whom we serve, by whom we are served, need to turn to our homes and them around just as we would turn over and admire a handcrafted piece of pottery that has been given us to appreciate... (In so doing) we will come upon the ways in which family members sense the presence of the indwelling God and the ways in which they respond to the passionate call of God truly to become transfigured people." (Wendy Wright, Sacred Dwelling)
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...a lifeline for marriages.
The Challenge of Relationships
Someone once said "marriages may be made in heaven, but they sure take a lot of work on earth." In our society, with the pressures of conflicting demands and too little time, personal relationships are often taken for granted. With all the distractions, we easily forget that strong, caring, loving relationships take work.
Without attention and care, marriages wither. Couples slowly and quietly drift apart or are being torn apart by terrible words and actions. Many are married in name only, or just stay together "for the sake of the kids." For many, it has been ages since they knew the joy of a loving relationship.
When infidelity, alcohol abuse, or drug dependency is involved, the situation may seem even more hopeless. Retrouvaille is helping couples put the pieces back together and rebuild loving relationships. Retrouvaille is a French word meaning "rediscovery."
The Retrouvaille Experience
Retrouvaille is a program for couples who have the sincere desire to build or rebuild a stable, loving marriage. Though Catholic in origin, the program is open to all married couples regardless of religious background.
Retrouvaille consists of a weekend experience, followed by a series of 12 presentations offered within the three months following the weekend phase. Husbands and wives are helped to re-establish communication and to gain new insights into themselves as individuals and as a couple. A team of married couples and a priest present the weekend. The team couples, who have experienced disillusionment, pain, anger, and conflict, offer hope as they share their personal stories of struggle, reconciliation and healing.
Register for Retrouvaille
Currently, couples the Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks has combined efforts with the Archdiocese of Anchorage, and Retrouvaille Weekends are held in Anchorage. The Fairbanks Diocese hopes to resume local Retrouvaille presentations within the next year or two.
For information, please contact the local Retrouvaille team couple, George and Wanda Bowder, at 907-488-9063.
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