Madison Marriage Encounter is a weekend away from home which affords married couples the opportunity to examine their lives together, their weak and strong points, their attitudes toward each other, God, their family and the society in which they live. The central goal is to discover their place in God's plan of creation through honest and trusting communication.

The weekend is conducted by a team of married couples and clergy who have been trained together in preparation to present topics on various areas of married life. Their responsibility is to set the atmosphere and be of service to the attending couples.  All Marriage Encounters are hosted at the Bishop O'Connor Center in Madison, WI.

For the most current schedule of upcoming events, or for more information go to www.marriageencountermadison.org.   Additional information can be found at the National Marriage Encounter Website at: http://marriage-encounter.org.

Worldwide Marriage Encounter dedicates itself to assisting couples to live a joy filled and happy marriage. This is done by providing a weekend experience, a support community for dialogue and growth, and shared marriage values. It is through this awakening in couples, an awareness of the gift that they are as the Sacrament of Matrimony, that couples are assisted in strengthening and renewing the Church and its work of changing the world.

This is a Catholic experience; however, couples of any faith are invited to join us.  The Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekend experience is for any couple who desires a richer fuller life together.  This is a very private experience - couples are never required to share about themselves.  Presentations are given to the group as a whole and after each presentation, each couple goes back to the privacy of their room for personal discussion.

Worldwide Marriage Encounter currently holds 2 weekend experiences a year in the Madison Diocese.  Weekends are also available in the Milwaukee Archdiocese as well as at the Bishop Lane Retreat Center, Rockford, IL. For additional information, visit the website at www.alifetimeoflove.org or call to reserve your place at (888) 574-5653.

Retrouvaille (ret-ro-vi) is a program designed for couples struggling in their marriage. If your marriage is tearing the two of you apart, if there is little or no meaningful communication, or if you are considering separation or divorce, we believe Retrouvaille can help you.

The Retrouvaille program starts with a weekend that will help couples to re-establish communication and gain insight into their lives as individuals and as a couple.  A team of three married couples who have been helped by Retrouvaille and a priest or clergy person shares presentations throughout the weekend. Team couples have known disillusionment, conflict, pain, and anger in their marriages and offer hope from their experiences. You will discover you are not alone in your struggle or your desire to save your marriage

Just as marriages do not reach crisis in a weekend, forgiveness, healing and change do not happen in a weekend. A series of post-sessions follow the initial Retrouvaille weekend, in which topics important to re-building marriages are explored. Couples continue to learn and grow through CORE, a monthly gathering of the Madison Area Retrouvaille community.

Upcoming Programs In Madison

January 18-20, 2008
April 11-13, 2008
July 18-20, 2008
October 17-19, 2008

For more information about Madison Area Retrouvaille, or to register for an upcoming program, please visit us on the web at www.MadisonAreaRetrouvaille.org or call 608-249-2377.  If you wish to remain anonymous when calling for more information, you need not identify yourself. If you then wish to register for a program, please be assured that all names are kept in strictest confidence.