Craig and Barb Wetter have been active in Worldwide Marriage Encounter for 35 out of their 40 years of marriage, having organized and presented weekend events in the New Ulm and Winona dioceses, and having held regional and national leadership roles.
Now as parishioners of St. Mary in Alexandria, Craig said, “We want everyone in the St. Cloud Diocese to have the opportunity for such a life-giving experience for their marriage.”
Barb added, “Even when a marriage is going smoothly, the couple might be coasting. But when we coast, we’re actually going downhill. We don’t want to simply coast through life, but search for ways to make it better. WWME can help make marriages thrive.”
The third annual non-residential WWME experience will be held Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 12-13, at St. Mary’s School in Alexandria.
Non-residential, Craig explained, means that attendees organize their own housing.
“Those who come from a distance may get a hotel or stay with someone they know. Local people can drive back and forth, sleep at home and don’t have to be away from their families overnight. Some WWMEs begin Friday night, but we start early Saturday morning. It makes for a full day, but people appreciate not having to reserve their Friday night,” he said.
Holding it at St. Mary’s School and Church offers the added benefit of helping the parish to build follow-up support for marriage.
The weekend retreat starts at 7:30 a.m. Saturday and goes into the early evening, when participants return to their homes or hotels. WWME begins again Sunday morning until about 3:30 p.m.
Barb said, “There aren’t any ‘activities’ throughout the experience other than ‘working through the program.’ The presenting team consists of three Catholic couples and a priest who share their personal stories — in prepared talks — within the context of the teaching points of WWME. They’ve all experienced great benefits of a weekend and felt God’s call to work in the ministry to help others. The sessions cover different topics that married couples experience in their lives. They receive a workbook to guide them in privately communicating with each other through the topics.”
Listening with hearts, not just ears
After hearing the Wetters talk about Worldwide Marriage Encounter, Tom and Kristi Overman attended a weekend last year. The Overmans are parishioners at St. Donatus in Brooten, part of the Parishes on the Prairie ACC.
Kristi said, “We are pretty strong as a couple — we’ve been married 15 years this summer. We didn’t really know what we were getting into — it was something we wanted to do. WWME helped make the relationship even closer.”
“I was worried about open sharing,” Tom said, “and very quickly learned there is none. Everything is between you and your spouse. Though we are close, when I heard the couples that presented and saw how ‘in tune’ they were with each other, I realized we had a ways to go.”
“We learned techniques for emotional intimacy,” Kristi said, “including the importance of listening to our spouse’s feelings with our hearts, not just our ears. Afterwards, we appreciated being able to share more with each other than we had before.”
“We had a mistaken belief that this experience is only for couples with issues,” Tom added. “After attending, we know WWME is for every married couple. Every one. Every couple could benefit from this.”
The Overmans hope to be a presenting couple at the upcoming WWME in Alexandria.
According to Barb, the WWME experience includes a $75 application fee but has no actual cost. The fee can be discounted to $40 if couples apply before the end of August.
Craig said, “At the end of the weekend, there is an opportunity to make a free will donation which covers all expenses, food, training, marketing, websites, dues and other things needed to operate a nonprofit. It’s a beautiful thing, to not have to charge upfront, because that allows people to attend regardless of their financial status — their marriage can still grow by attending.”
There is a Spanish encounter in the Twin Cities, he said. They hope people in the St. Cloud Diocese could help organize a weekend for Spanish-speakers in the future.
“WWME also has a path for priests and bishops to attend, for their own personal and sacramental growth, which gives them insight for their own ministry,” Barb said. “We have witnessed tremendous miracles that happen within sacraments on these experiences.”
Tom added an additional benefit: “Being around very pro-marriage and strong married couples gives us a great sense of hope.”
WWME weekend Oct. 12-13 in Alexandria
Worldwide Marriage Encounter is a non-profit organization faithful to the Catholic Church’s definition that marriage is a covenant which exists between one man and one woman. The weekend welcomes married couples of any denomination, mixed faith or without religious affiliation.
The application fee of $75 can be discounted to $40 if applying before the end of August.
To apply or for more information, visit WWME.org or call 507-227-8229.
Featured image: Barb and Craig Overman have held national and regional offices in Worldwide Marriage Encounter. They will offer a WWME weekend experience Oct. 12-13 at St. Mary’s Church and School in Alexandria. (photo submitted)